Blind Joe Reynolds

Blind Joe Reynolds was the nom de disque of a Louisiana street singer by the name of Joe Sheppard, who devised his false recording names primarily to keep one step ahead of the law. He was blinded in the mid-'20s during an altercation with another man who shot Reynolds in the face with a shotgun. Throughout his life, Reynolds was known throughout the South not only as a singer, but for his open disrespect for police and the legal system, his contempt for conventional morality, and his pursuit of trouble. His surviving recordings are characterized by Reynolds' shrieking, high-pitched vocals; his rolling, generous, and infectiously rhythmic slide work; and his lyrics, which tend to focus on unfaithful women. Blind Joe Reynolds was discovered in the late '20s by Memphis record store owner H.C. Spier, who recommended Reynolds to Paramount (as he had Charley Patton). In November 1929, under the name Blind Joe Reynolds, he made two records, "Outside Woman Blues"/"Nehi Blues" (issued as Paramount 12927) and "Cold Woman Blues" b/w "99 Blues" (issued as Paramount 12983). Reynolds was one of the last "new" blues singers that Paramount took on and they didn't ask for him back. Nonetheless, Reynolds made another pair of records when the Victor truck stopped in Memphis a year later. On November 26, 1930, under the name Blind Willie Reynolds, he recorded "Married Man Blues" and "Third Street Woman Blues" (issued as Victor 23258). Two other titles made on this occasion, "Short Dress Blues" and "Goose Hill Woman Blues" were not issued by Victor and test copies have yet to be found. For some time, this was further complicated by the fact that no copies of Paramount 12983, though issued, seemed to be extant. These 1929 to 1930 records were the only ones made by Blind Joe Reynolds. ...