Dan Pickett (musician)
| Dan Pickett | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Founty |
| Born |
August 31, 1907 Pike County, Alabama, United States |
| Died | August 16, 1967 (aged 59) Boaz, Alabama, United States |
| Genres | Country blues, Piedmont blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, guitarist, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1924–1972 |
| Labels | Gotham Records |
James Founty (August 31, 1907 – August 16, 1967), better known as Dan Pickett, was an American Piedmont blues and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He recorded fourteen tracks for Gotham Records in 1949, several of which have been issued more recently. AllMusic noted that "Pickett had a distinctive rhythmic style and unique phrasing that makes his records compelling decades after his release".
For many years, blues researchers failed to firmly establish Pickett's identity. More recently, with continuing diligence and the discovery of a contact made regarding royalty payments, more information emerged.
Pickett was born in Pike County, Alabama. In 1949, he traveled to Philadelphia, where he recorded fourteen songs, ten of which were released by Gotham Records as five 78-rpm singles the same year. The other tracks, along with alternate takes of those issued, remained unreleased for decades. Unusually for the time, the recordings were made on a master tape and were of better quality than most other recordings of that era. The songs Pickett recorded were mainly reworkings of songs issued in the 1930s, including versions of Leroy Carr's "How Long", Buddy Moss's "Ride to a Funeral in a V-8", Blind Boy Fuller's "Let me Squeeze Your Lemons" (renamed "Lemon Man" by Pickett), and Pickett's only gospel music recording, "99 1/2 Won't Do".
By the 1960s, the recordings had gained a legendary status among record collectors, being deemed to be some of the best commercial country blues recordings in the post–World War II era. Eventually there emerged a letter dated July 1950 from a James Founty to Charles R. Paul, an attorney, dated July 1950, in which Founty claimed he had not been paid royalties. Investigations at that time concluded that Founty's label had paid him for the recording session and that any royalties were determined by that single contractual arrangement. The connection to Dan Pickett was established when it was noted that he did not record more material under any name.
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Wikipedia