As a boy he learned to play the guitar and also learned from older singers the field hollers, country rags, and traditional songs and blues popular in poor, rural areas.
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According to researcher Bruce Bastin, "While he was living in Rockingham he began to have trouble with his eyes. He went to see a doctor in Charlotte who allegedly told him that he had ulcers behind his eyes, the original damage having been caused by some form of snow-blindness."
James Baxter Long, Sr. (December 25, 1903 – February 25, 1975) was an American store manager, owner, and record company talent scout, responsible in the 1930s for discovering Fulton Allen ("Blind Boy Fuller") and Gary Davis, among other notable blues musicians.
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Ari Eisinger is a guitarist and singer from Pennsylvania, most noted as a proponent of Piedmont blues guitar from the 1920s-1930s, and as a significant authority on the music of the Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Boy Fuller, and Josh White amongst others.
The lyrics to the riff-heavy song pay homage to the blues songs of the Robert Johnson era; specifically "Drop Down Mama" by Sleepy John Estes, "Shake 'Em On Down" by Bukka White, and "I Want Some Of Your Pie" by Blind Boy Fuller.
In 1938, Blind Boy Fuller's friend and bandmate, washboard player George Washington (aka Bull City Red), introduced Brownie McGhee to Long.