T-Model Ford

T-Model Ford
T-Model Ford at Tea Bazaar in Charlottesville, Virginia, on March 1, 2010
Background information
Birth name	James Lewis Carter Ford
Born	(1923-06-24)June 24, 1923 (probable) Forest, Mississippi, United States
Died	July 16, 2013(2013-07-16) (aged 90) Greenville, Mississippi, United States
Genres	Delta blues, juke joint blues, blues rock, electric blues
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1997–2013
Labels	Fat Possum, Alive Naturalsound
Associated acts	Gravelroad

James Lewis Carter Ford (probably June 24, 1923  – July 16, 2013) was an American blues musician, using the name T-Model Ford. Unable to remember his exact date of birth, he began his musical career in his early 70s, and continuously recorded for the Fat Possum label, then switched to Alive Naturalsound Records. His musical style combined the rawness of Delta blues with Chicago blues and juke joint blues styles.

According to records, Ford was born in Forest, Mississippi, between 1921 and 1925. Researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc indicate June 24, 1923, though at the time of his death his record company gave his age as 94, suggesting a birth in 1918 or 1919. Starting with an abusive father who had permanently injured him at eleven, Ford lived his entire life in a distressed and violent environment, towards which he was quite indifferent.

Ford, an illiterate, worked in various blue collar jobs as early as his preteen years, such as plowing fields, working at a sawmill, and later in life becoming a lumber company foreman and then a truck driver. At this time, Ford was sentenced to ten years on a chain gang for murder. Allegedly, Ford was able to reduce his sentence to two years. He spent many of his years following his release in conflicts with law enforcement.

Ford lived in Greenville, Mississippi and for a time wrote an advice column for Arthur magazine. Reportedly, he had twenty six children.

According to music writer Will Hodgkinson, who met and interviewed Ford for his book Guitar Man, Ford took up the guitar when his fifth wife left him and gave him a guitar as a leaving present. Ford trained himself without being able to read music or guitar tabs. Hodgkinson observed that Ford could not explain his technique. He simply worked out a way of playing that sounded like the guitarists he admired — Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.