Jack O'Diamonds - Texas Slide Blues - Mance Lipscomb - Blind Lemon Jefferson

Jack O'Diamonds is a Texas gambling song and is usually said to describe the card game Monte. Blind Lemon Jefferson was the first to record it in 1926; it's also his only bottleneck of knife style recording.
John and Alan Lomax recorded the song several times during their 1934 field trip of Texas penitentiaries. The Jack O'Diamonds lp cover you see in the beginning of this video has some great recordings of that trip.
Although it's a very well known song it wasn't recorded much after the second world war. Mance Libscomb and the British skiffle king Lonnie Donegan were the only ones so far.

I'm combining the versions of Mance Lipscomb and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Mance does not sing a chorus which Blind Lemon does.
YOu can find Mance's version on youtube under the faulty title of 'Jack of spades'.
Steve James' book/cd 'Roots and Blues' has tab of this song.

I'm playing my old Stella in DADF#AD tuning.

Check out my new slidelesson dvd available at
http://www.youtuberecords.com/dsp02.php

Category:

Music

Tags:

• acoustic
• texas
• blues
• mance
• lipscomb
• blind
• lemon
• jefferson
• daddystovepipe
• fingerstyle
• fingerpicking
• bottleneck
• slide
• guitar

[rusher38]

Man that is really good.

Does your guitar have a maple fretboard?

[daddystovepipe]

@rusher38

Thanks.

No, it's "mot" aka "mother of toiletseat"

It's a kind of plastic imitation of mother of pearl that was popular in the 20ies - especially used for toiletseats, hence the name.

[Girtattoo187]

what tuning do you play in?

[daddystovepipe]

@Girtattoo187

DADF#AD tuning

I always mention the tuning in the description btw

[snagoons]

Your git is soo beautiful, in all possible aspects. What is it?

[daddystovepipe]

@snagoons

It's a "Stella" from around 1927

google stella guitars to learn more

[ZEDZOR2]

Excellent Karl.Your timings so swampy it sends me back in time.

[daddystovepipe]

@Zakkenayo

Walkin' Blues in the style of Johnny Shines/Robert Johnson

Joe Turner Killed A Man in the style of Mance Lipscomb

Someday Baby Blues in the style of Miss. Fred McDowell

All solo's and a typical verse are tabbed out; everything is taught bar by bar

[cleger29]

Thanx satan, Awesome thanx. Love it

[Zakkenayo]

What are the names of the three songs you teach on your dvd?