Henry Thomas (blues musician)
| Henry Thomas "Ragtime Texas" | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1874 Big Sandy, Texas, United States |
| Died | 1930 (?) |
| Genres | Country blues, ragtime, gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songster, musician |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, quills (panpipes) |
| Years active | Recording career 1927–29 |
Henry Thomas (1874–1930?) was an American country blues singer, songster and musician, who had a brief recording career in the late 1920s which has latterly been influential. He was often billed as "Ragtime Texas". His style is an early example of what later became known as Texas blues guitar.
Thomas was born into a family of freed slaves in Big Sandy, Texas in 1874. He began traveling the Texas railroad lines as a hobo after leaving home in his teens. He eventually earned his way as an itinerant songster, entertaining local populaces as well as railway employees.
He recorded 24 sides for Vocalion Records between 1927 and 1929, 23 of which were released. They include reels, gospel songs, minstrel songs, ragtime numbers, and blues. Besides guitar, Thomas accompanied himself on quills, a folk instrument fabricated from cane reeds whose sound is similar to the zampona played by musicians in Peru and Bolivia. His style of playing guitar was probably derived from banjo-picking styles.
His life and career after his last recordings in 1929 have not been chronicled. Although researcher Mack McCormick stated that he saw a man in Houston in 1949 who met Thomas' description, most biographers indicate he died in 1930, when he would have been 55 or 56 years old.
Thomas's legacy has been sustained by his songs, which were revived by musicians beginning in the folk music revival of the early 1960s. Among the first of these was "Honey Won't You Allow Me One More Chance", which was reinterpreted by Bob Dylan on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963 under the title "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance". Dylan may have been introduced to Thomas through Harry Smith's 1952 compilation Anthology of American Folk Music, which includes two of Thomas' songs, "Old Country Stomp" and "Fishing Blues". Dylan may have heard Thomas's song on the 1962 album Henry Thomas Sings the Texas Blues. Although Dylan reworked the melody and almost totally rewrote the lyrics, he credited Thomas as co-writer on Freewheelin'.
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