Yank Rachell (1910-1997)
Blues Mandolin Man
James "Yank" Rachell was the primary exponent of blues mandolin,
although he also played guitar, violin, harp and sang expertly well. Born on
a farm outside Brownsville, Tennessee, Yank Rachell picked up the mandolin at
the age of eight, mainly teaching himself; an early encounter with
"Hambone" Willie Newbern
early ..ed him as well. Rachell began to work dances with singer and guitarist
Sleepy John Estes
in the early '20s. In early 1929, he co-formed the Three J's Jug Band with
Sleepy John Estes
and pianist Jab Jones. The Three J's Jug Band were an instant hit and managed
to work the dances during the lucrative jug-band craze in Memphis and traveled
often to Paducah, Kentucky. The group recorded 14 sides credited jointly to
Sleepy John Estes
and Rachell for Victor for 1929 and 1930. After the record business was
flattened by the depression, the Three J's broke up. Estes and harmonica player
Hammie Nixon
went on to Chicago to seek their fortune in the nightclubs, but Yank Rachell
decided to try his hand at farming and also worked for the L&N Railroad.
Ironically, it was Rachell who was next to record -- during a stopover in
New York Rachell teamed up with guitarist Dan Smith and laid down 25 titles
for ARC in just three days, though only six of them were issued. Shortly before
the ARC date, Yank Rachell had discovered a kid harmonica player that he
believed had real talent,
John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson.
They worked together at the Blue Flame Club in Jackson, Tennessee starting in
1933. In 1934 Williamson went north to Chicago. With the success of
"Sonny Boy" Williamson's
first Bluebird dates of 1937, Rachell decided to join
Sonny Boy Williamson
in Chicago for sessions in March and June of 1938. Yank Rachell also contributed
four sides of his own to each session, and then 16 more in 1941 with
Sonny Boy Williamson
backing him up. Some of the 1941 tracks are among his best:
It Seem Like a Dream, Biscuit Baking Woman and Peach Tree
Blues were all successes for both Rachell and Bluebird. But in 1938,
while working in St. Louis with
Peetie Wheatstraw,
Yank Rachell had married and started to raise a family. During the peak of his
musical career, Rachell kept his day job and did not lead "the life"
at least not the same one that claimed his friend
Sonny Boy Williamson
on June 1, 1948. After Williamson's murder, Rachell drifted away from music and
relied solely on straight jobs to make his living, settling permanently in
Indianapolis in 1958. His wife passed away in 1961, and afterward he began to
resume performing. In 1962, Rachell was re-united with
Hammie Nixon and
Sleepy John Estes,
and the three of them began tearing up the college and coffeehouse circuit,
recording for Delmark as Yank Rachell's Tennessee Jug Busters.
Sleepy John Estes
died in 1977, and from that time Rachell worked mainly as a solo act. Yank
Rachell was a long-time regular at the Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis, and
recorded only sporadically in his last years. Nonetheless, he was working on a
new album when he died at age 87.
(quoted from Yank Rachell Tribute Pageat myspace.com)
Where is Yank Rachell's official website?
Please email us!
Visit also these related Sites:
Yank Rachell Tribute Pages
Yank Rachell page at myspace.com.
Biographical Information on Yank Rachell
Yank Rachell biography at wikipedia.org.
Yank Rachell biography by Marc D. Allan.
Yank Rachell biography by Ian Angus.
Yank Rachell biography at mandozine.com.
Yank Rachell biography by Craig Morrison.
Yank Rachell biography at thebluestrail.com.
Various Articles on Yank Rachell
Article by Ron Hacker.
Yank Rachell Discographies
Yank Rachell discography at wirz.de.
Yank Rachell Videos
Yank Rachell and Sleepy John Estes. Runtime 04:17.
Do you miss an important site? Anything wrong?
Is there any broken link? Please email us!
Search for more information on Yank Rachell! Click on this link:
Yank Rachell
