Eddie James “Son” House — Born 1902 in Riverton, Mississippi, ”Son” House is considered among the most important and powerful of the early Delta Bluesmen. Not as flashy on the guitar as some of his Delta peers, or as well known as his proteges (Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters both learned their Blues chops largely from Son House), his playing had a strong, repetitive power to it, and his vocals were forceful and moving. As a youngster Son House was fixed on being a Baptist preacher, and at 15 yrs old, he was indeed preaching. A few years later, House taught himself guitar and started playing the Blues — in spite of the church’s condemnation of Blues music and all the sins that came with it. He was soon playing alongside Bluesmen Charley Patton, Willie Brown, Robert Johnson and Fiddlin’ Joe Martin. Then, Son House ran into a little trouble with the law – killing a man, allegedly in self-defense. He was playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree — Son was shot in the leg, and returned fire, shooting the man dead. He was sentenced to 15 yrs, and sent to the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm) where he was locked-up from 1928 – 1929. He recorded during the ’30s & ’40s, then dropped out of sight until the Blues revival of the 1960s, playing at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in 1965, and the 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival along with fellow Blues legends Skip James and Bukka White. House retired in the ’70s, his health failing. In 1988, Son House lost his battle to cancer of the larnyx.