If you’ve heard them, you know how great they sound, and if you haven’t, you’re in the enviable position of being able to hear them for the first time. The Mississippi Sheiks had a rotating cast of members that variously included Lonnie Chatmon, Walter Vinson, Bo Chatmon and Sam Chatmon. In addition to this, sometimes Charlie McCoy on mandolin would join some permutation of the four under the name of the Mississippi Mud Steppers. They were a sophisticated bunch of musicians who played a wide range of material, much of it influenced by the pop music of the day, but always with a bluesy twist.

The music that intrigues me most from them seems to draw equally from blues, pop, and folk music - songs like “Lazy, Lazy River” or “Honey Babe Let The Deal Go Down“. It’s interesting to me how ‘modern’ their sound was… don’t get me wrong, it’s clearly dated in most ways, but they seemed to embody something of the spirit of the times they lived in and rather than play music derived from ragtime, played music that leaned more towards jazz.

I’m not sure that they ever sounded old-time, despite the instrumentation. In fact, it’s hard to imagine that they were contemporary with the Skillet Lickers and Charlie Poole, although I imagine they might have shared some musical tastes with Lowe Stokes and Clayton McMichen. Altogether, the Sheiks seem to me to have a very musically progressive sound for the most part, even when interpreting the same themes as Henry ‘Ragtime’ Thomas.

Resources:

Mississippi Sheiks - their songs and lyrics

The Jackson Crew - Mississippi Sheiks satellite groups

A word about guitar backup, Mississippi Sheiks style

Stefan Wirz’s illustrated discography of Sam Chatmon and the Mississippi Sheiks