“Broken-Hearted, Ragged And Dirty Too” - Sleepy John Estes (1929)
“Sleepy” John Estes was born in Ripley, Tennessee on January 25th, 1899. Around 1915 or so he lost sight in his right eye after a friend threw a rock at him during a baseball game. Estes managed to live long enough to be a part of the “Blues Revival” in the early 1960’s and enjoyed renewed popularity during that decade. Sleepy John Estes died on June 5th, 1977
Sleepy John Estes was, in my opinion, one of the finest early blues singers that ever recorded. He was a capable guitarist but it is his voice that really stands out on his recordings. His phrasing and delivery were always perfect and he possessed an excellent vibrato.
“Broken-Hearted, Ragged And Dirty Too” was recorded in Memphis,Tennessee for the “Victor” record label in 1929. The song features Sleepy John on guitar and vocals, James “Yank” Rachell on mandolin, and Jab Jones on piano.
One of the things that I love most about the records Sleepy John Estes made was that even though there weren’t drums on the recordings you can “hear” them because they rock so hard. Sleepy John’s early recordings feature just three men playing acoustic instruments but his records manage to be both bombastic and heavy in a way that you would swear that there were at least five musicians playing.
