MILK COW BLUES (vinyl)

Description

Left-handed slide guitarist, James "Kokomo" Arnold was one of the great innovators of blues guitar. Influenced by Hawaiian guitarists Frank Ferera and Sol Ho'opi'i, he plays his instrument flat on his knees. His influence—particularly his use of the bottleneck—would be decisive for many musicians. Originally from the southern suburbs of Atlanta, he received his first guitar lessons from his cousin John Wiggs. James left his native Georgia in 1919 to work in various steel mills in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Gary. He arrived in Chicago in 1929 and got involved in bootlegging during Prohibition. The following year, he briefly returned to the South to Memphis for his first two recordings with Victor under the pseudonym Gitfiddle Jim. However, he quickly returned to Chicago, where he settled permanently. Thanks to "Kansas" Joe Mac Coy, he met Decca producer J. Mayo Williams, who signed him shortly after. In 1938—after achieving several commercial successes—he left the music scene and took a job in a factory in Chicago. Much later, in 1959, he was found by French researchers Jacques Demêtre and Marcel Chauvard while living modestly in a small apartment. However, Kokomo absolutely did not wish to resume a career as a bluesman. According to some sources, Kokomo allegedly participated in sessions organized by Victoria Spivey and Willie Dixon, but no evidence of this has ever been found. He passed away from a heart attack in 1968.