Papa Lightfoot | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Alexander Lightfoot |
Also known as | Papa George Lightfoot |
Born | Natchez, Mississippi, U.S. | March 2, 1924
Died | November 28, 1971 Natchez, Mississippi, U.S. | (aged 47)
Genres | |
Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 1940s–1971 |
Labels |
Alexander "Papa" Lightfoot (March 2, 1924 – November 28, 1971), also known as Papa George Lightfoot, was an American blues singer and harmonica player. [1]
Born in Natchez, Mississippi, Lightfoot recorded several sessions in his late twenties—for Peacock Records in 1949 [1] (which were never issued), Sultan Records in 1950, Aladdin Records in 1952, and Imperial Records in 1954. After final singles for Savoy Records in 1955 and Excello Records in 1956, [2] Lightfoot quit recording, still an obscure Southern blues harmonica player. [1]
As interest grew in rural Delta blues in the 1960s, Lightfoot's name became more well-known and, in 1969, record producer Steve LaVere went to Lightfoot's home town of Natchez, and asked him to record again. [3] The result was the album Natchez Trace, released on Vault Records in 1969, which brought Lightfoot briefly to the forefront of the blues revival. [1] Rural Blues Vol. 2 followed on Liberty Records later that same year. [4]
However, his comeback was cut short by his death in November 1971 of respiratory failure in Natchez, Mississippi. [3] [5]
The recordings were reissued in 1995 as Goin' Back to the Natchez Trace, with six additional tracks and recorded monologue. [6]
In 2009, Lightfoot was posthumously honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Natchez, granted by the Mississippi Blues Foundation. [7] [8]