In the blues, for every Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, and Little Walter, there are legions of blues men and women who are highly and uniquely talented artisans, and for whatever reasons, never have the opportunity to break through to a wider recognition and thus prolifically record.  Sometimes this is a chosen path due to familial and economic responsibilities, at times it is due to personal failings and demons, from time-to-time larger societal musical period tastes don’t embrace an artist’s brand of music, and oftentimes it is just plain old bad luck with its myriad factors.

Having collected blues across its entire spectrum for a great many years, I’ve come to revel in and exceedingly enjoy discovering an obscure blues man or woman whose distinctive interpretation of the music reminds me yet again why I remain so deeply committed to the blues.  The blues of Little Hat Jones represents that individualism to me, and I am of the opinion that his story and music needs to be understood to the best ability that I can do so.

George Jones (the artist who would eventually become known as Little Hat Jones) was born in early October, 1899 in Bowie County, Texas, a region located in the upper extreme eastern portion of the state roughly 290 miles northeast of Houston.  By all accounts and research, Jones was the sole child of his parents, with his father being named Felix (his mother’s first name was not uncovered by this writer).  As best as can be determined, farming was the focus of the Jones family, and at the age of 13 Little Hat turned his back on his schooling to become more involved in the family operations.  By this time, his grandfather had already passed, and his father had taken ill, so Little Hat’s involvement was exceptionally important.  The farming operation itself had come under the additional stressors of having the entirety of their cotton crop devastated and vital animals, including their cows and mules, had succumbed to various afflictions.

Little Hat’s musical curiosities began at a younger age, with research suggesting that around the age of seven he showed an interest in, and started playing piano at, the Union Hill Church Missionary Baptist Church in Bowie County.  Now, what is unclear is whether it was also about this time that Little Hat additionally showed an interest in guitar.  Fast-forwarding to the age of 13, he had indicated in various interviews that his mother provided him his first guitar at that age.  He also claimed in certain discussions with interviewers that his mother gave him this guitar to steer his interest away from playing piano in the church, whatever the reasoning may have been.

As is yet again the case with early blues artists, especially those relatively more obscure within the genre, information about Little Hat’s broader teenage period is unavailable.  It is generally offered, though, that between the years 1916-1929 he worked tedious laborer types of jobs.  But his guitar proficiencies had progressed well enough that by the 1920s Little Hat had also found an outlet for his blues by working as a busking street musician in San Antonio, Texas.

Before going any further, it must be explained how Little Hat acquired his performing name.  As research suggests, while working on a construction site in Garland, Texas he regularly wore a hat that was missing half of the brim.  As such, the “Little Hat” name was accorded him, to the point that is it alleged that his paychecks were actually made out to hm using the moniker.

Mid-1929 was to be a major time for Little Hat.  He was in San Antonio at the time, and due to his reputation, he cut two selections for the OKeh label, “New Two Sixteen Blues” and “Two String Blues.”  While at this session, Little Hat also had the opportunity to play backing guitar for Texas Alexander on nine tracks.  Impressed by what the label brass heard, Jones signed with OKeh on a three-year recording contract.

Little Hat was back in the OKeh studio a mere six days after his initial recording date to lay down four more sides.  Roughly one year later, he was again recording, with six new cuts being made, including arguably what remains his signature tune, “Kentucky Blues.”

During this period, Little Hat was frequently performing, and he was known to have played in a wide swath of the south including New Orleans, Louisiana, Austin, Texas, Galveston, Texas, and even some locations south of the border in Mexico.  The usual local events were where Little Hat could be found playing; fish fries, dances, and certainly in the jukes.  Research indicates that he played these events both as a solo act and at times he was also accompanied by additional artists including Texas Alexander, J.T. Smith, and Thomas Shaw.

This is where the legacy of Little Hat gets curious.  For all the quality of his blues, having recorded for a major blues label such as OKeh, and his demand as a performer, he never again recorded another song.  His ten sides for OKeh under his own name, and the nine he accompanied Texas Alexander on, remain the entirety of his recorded legacy.

What is known is that around 1937 Little Hat was settled into a married life with Janie Taylor in Naples, Texas (his second marriage).  He continued throughout this period to work various jobs, and stayed employed in the time period leading up to his death in 1981 at the Red River Army Depot in New Boston, Texas.

So, what was it about Little Hat’s music that made it so agreeable, afforded him a contract with OKeh, found him to be an in-demand performer, and allows his music to still be viable all these years later?  At first listen, one can hear in his guitar playing the distinguishing influence of another Texan, Blind Lemon Jefferson, but it was the manner in which Little Hat framed his compositions that make them favorably unique.  His blues tend to begin in a more increased pace only to then find him appreciably slow things down once he began to sing.  It is a very abnormal style, however one that remains quite engaging.  What is left to conjecture is whether this was how Little Hat planned his songs or if the cadence change was simply how he internally was compelled to present his blues once he began singing. 

For most blues artists, this rather unique manner of changing tempo would not be well-received by the blues-loving public, but for Little Hat, it ideally succeeded.  Nonetheless, his singing was confident, his song subject matter was strong, and his ten-song recorded legacy remains secure.  Especially as blues historiographers began drilling into the OKeh blues catalog in the late twentieth century.  In essence, Little Hat’s brilliance was rediscovered.

As fate would have it, for a blues artist as obscure as Little Hat, in 2001 the soundtrack for the Terry Zwigoff-directed movie Ghost World utilized “Bye, Bye Baby Blues,” one of Little Hat’s best (at least in the opinion of this blogger) tunes in the movie’s soundtrack.  The movie included stars such as Scarlett Johansson and Steve Buscemi.   Hopefully, that exposure introduced Little Hat’s music to a new curious audience, as his blues remains obscure yet quality-laden.