Josh White
Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the South during the 1920s and 1930s. He became a prominent race records artist, with a prolific output of recordings in genres including Piedmont blues, country blues, gospel music, and social protest songs. In 1931, White moved to New York, and within a decade his fame had spread widely. His repertoire expanded to include urban blues, jazz, traditional folk songs, and political protest songs, and he was in demand as an actor on radio, Broadway, and film. However, White's anti-segregationist and international human rights political stance presented in many of his recordings and in his speeches at rallies were subsequently used by McCarthyites as a pretext for labeling him a communist to slander and harass him. From 1947 through the mid-1960s, White was caught up in the anti-communist Red Scare, and as a consequence his career suffered. Nonetheless, White's musical style would go on to influence several generations of musical artists. In 2023, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame. |
Birth and Death Data: Born February 11, 1914 (Greenville), Died September 5, 1969 (Manhasset)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1942 - 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 70561 | 10-in. | 3/23/1942 | Baby baby | Libby Holman | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 70562 | 10-in. | 3/23/1942 | Hansom Winsome Johnny ; Old smokey | Libby Holman | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 70563 | 10-in. | 3/23/1942 | House of the risin' sun | Libby Holman | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 70564 | 10-in. | 3/23/1942 | When the sun goes down | Libby Holman | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 70565 | 10-in. | 3/23/1942 | Good mornin' blues | Libby Holman | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 70566 | 10-in. | 3/23/1942 | Fare Thee well | Libby Holman | instrumentalist, guitar | ||
Decca | 72512 | 10-in. | 11/10/1944 | Waltzin' Matilda | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72513 | 10-in. | 11/10/1944 | I gave my love a cherry | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72514 | 10-in. | 11/10/1944 | House of the rising sun | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72515 | 11/10/1944 | Strange fruit | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 72516 | 11/10/1944 | John Henry | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 72624 | 10-in. | 12/13/1944 | Lass with the delicate air | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72625 | 10-in. | 12/13/1944 | Jelly jelly | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72626 | 10-in. | 12/13/1944 | Evil hearted man | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72627 | 10-in. | 12/13/1944 | Backwater blues | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72628 | 10-in. | 12/13/1944 | Frankie and Johnnie | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72629 | 10-in. | 12/13/1944 | John Henry | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72660 | 10-in. | 12/28/1944 | Letter from the Russian front | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72661 | 10-in. | 12/28/1944 | In the dugout | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72662 | 10-in. | 12/28/1944 | Beloved comrade | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72663 | 10-in. | 12/28/1944 | Lord Randall, my son | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 72664 | 10-in. | 12/28/1944 | Johnny has gone for a soldier | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 73128 | 10-in. | 11/14/1945 | I left a good deal in Mobile | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 73129 | 10-in. | 11/14/1945 | Did you ever leave a woman? | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 73226 | 10-in. | 12/10/1945 | Water cress | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 73227 | 10-in. | 12/10/1945 | Molly Malone | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 73228 | 10-in. | 12/10/1945 | I want you, I need you | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 73229 | 10-in. | 12/10/1945 | Nobody knows you when you're down and out | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | ||
Decca | 73466 | 3/26/1946 | Sometime | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73467 | 3/26/1946 | The lass with the delicate air | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73468 | 3/26/1946 | I gave my love a cherry | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73474 | 3/26/1946 | I gave my love a cherry | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73475 | 3/26/1946 | Strange fruit | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73902 | 5/6/1947 | Molly Malone | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73903 | 5/6/1947 | Dip His finger in the water | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73904 | 5/6/1947 | Green grass growing all around | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73905 | 5/6/1947 | Josh and Bill's blues-1 | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 73906 | 5/6/1947 | Jim Crow | Josh White | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "White, Josh," accessed November 9, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/210959.
White, Josh. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/210959.
"White, Josh." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Josh White
Discogs: Josh White
Allmusic: Josh White
Grove: Josh White
IMDb: Josh White
Britannica: Josh White
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: White, Josh - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82090944
Wikidata: Josh White - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q956275
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/17410229
MusicBrainz: Josh White - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f0b3af36-a38b-4e5e-bf9a-d25ae11ca741
ISNI: 0000 0000 7704 0490 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000077040490
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