Ishmon Bracey recorded just sixteen songs, yet collectors treat his original 78s as holy grails of Mississippi Delta blues. Born in Byram, Mississippi, around 1899 or 1901, he learned bottleneck slide guitar directly from local players Rubin Lacy and Louis Cooper and cut his teeth at rural fish fries, dances, and juke joints where there was no amplification and the music had to physically cut through the crowd. After relocating to Jackson, he was discovered in 1927 while playing on Mill Street by talent scout H.C. Speir, which led to his first recording sessions for Victor at the Memphis Auditorium in February 1928, backed by Charlie McCoy.

This episode explains why Bracey's piercing, unembellished nasal voice was perfectly suited to the primitive acoustic horn recording of the era, how he broke convention by recording for Paramount with th ...