"Leeds Point Blues": The Charmed Life of Deak Harp

"Leeds Point Blues": The Charmed Life of Deak Harp 

By T. DeWayne Moore

An excerpt from Contemporary Lore and Legend (Forthcoming)

I was similar to the casual listener at one time. I never put much stock into any of the myths or crazy stories folks told about musicians and the blues. I had lived hard and fast, and I had found no supernatural demon outside of myself. To look at him is not much. Medium height. A nice enough demeanor. I know I was certainly not blown away by his greatness. Not yet anyway.

A heavy shot of fast-paced blues harmonica in front of over one hundred happy, young people at Rock Springs Nature Center was my introduction. There was only one man on stage, a harmonica virtuoso named Deak Harp who claimed to hail from Oakland, California. I would later learn of his origins on the opposite coast, but he managed to make it sound as if someone had flown in a full band from the Mississippi Delta. Playing his custom-built harmonicas, attached to a cradle around his neck, he strummed--what he called--one of his diddley-beast guitars. I later learned that he crafted all his own instruments with his own hands--the tough, worn hands of a carpenter, a vocation given up long ago for a life on the road.

The instrument was made from a cigar box and a broom handle with built-in electrical amplification. His flying feet worked a base drum setup and stamped rhythm on a wine crate with an internal microphone. The three-string diddley bow and the percussion provided a soaring, hard-driving backdrop to the harmonica, which he could play with astonishing speed and even turn into the sounds of a horn-blowing freight train, pounding across the prairie. "It's hard to explain, but when I play the blues, I feel good," Harp exclaimed, having been playing music for almost 40 years. "There's mechanical music, and there is music that comes from your soul. With the blues, you can really feel it." His audience certainly did, clapping along with his strumming and enjoying lyrics about everything from the agonies of musicians forced to live in their cars to the need to down a beverage at the local watering hole. Though he told his audience that the blues had its origins in the Jim Crow South at the turn of the century, his music was from somewhere else. After all, according to Willie Dixon "not everybody's blues is the same."

Deak Harp holding a MZMF rack card

Deak was born and raised in New Jersey, far from the bay area and the Mississippi Delta. At the tender age of twelve, a young Deak Harp had realized his life was meant for more than offered on the boardwalks of New Jersey. He spent most of the next several years learning, training, bleeding, giving his all to his musicianship craft. His biggest early inspiration came when his brother introduced him to the music of James "Superharp" Cotton, who Deak subsequently followed up and down the east coast for close to five years. Cotton eventually offered the young turk a job driving his van, but no matter how long and hard he practiced, the aspiring musician never quite felt the peak of human potential was reached.

Deak was correct. He was a bit depressed too, but he was willing to put all on the line to reach the pinnacle of dextrous perfection. On the advice of locals, he decided to visit the southern New Jersey town of Leeds Point, where a supernatural being had supposedly setup in the nearby Pine Barrens. Having been scorned by its mother and transformed into a blood-curdling creature, it was said to possess great powers. It led a charmed life, according to one story. Despite being hunted for years and shot several times with silver bullets, it roamed the forests and doled out dark favors to those who crossed its path.

Not long into his search, Deak came across a spot in the road that crossed a gas main easement, and he found himself face-to-face with the infamous Jersey Devil. Some folks claim it is often possible to see the infamous cryptid standing beside the soloist on stage, guiding his hand at a frenzied pace...

He never relayed anymore of the story, and I never asked about it either. Go down to his store--located at 13 3rd Street in Clarksdale, Mississippi--and watch him work sometime. Then attend one of his performances and close your eyes. It will sound as if more than one man is on the stage performing, and when it does, open your eyes and look behind him. You may learn that he is indeed not alone....

Below is an article that summarizes the lore surrounding 

the supernatural figure; "Jersey Boasts its Own Devil," 

The (Wilmington, DE) Morning News, April 25, 1976.

Belton Sutherland's Unmarked Grave

Copyright Gary Tennant

I have compiled all the previously unknown information about Belton Sutherland, who several musicians have lamented about not knowing any historical information on this fiercely iconoclastic blues artist.  For example:

Several members of WeenieCampbell.com have expressed their sadness over the lack of information available about Belton Sutherland.  One member, for example, states, "I wish there was more info out there on Belton Sutherland."  Another contributor admits, "He is filmed performing two fine songs in Canton, Mississippi, but nothing else is said about him. His songs are quite good. Wish there was more of him."  Yet another contends that he may have only “recorded three songs, but they were powerful."  Michael Cardenas asserts that the Land Where the Blues Began is a "Crucial DVD and Belton steals it."  One of the newer members of the site writes, "I don't know how 'obscure' this bluesman is, but...[h]e only recorded 3 songs with Alan Lomax & all 3 were very raw, incredibly powerful songs. He looks & sounds like a man who has lived the blues his entire life."

GoFundMe

An Unmarked Biography of Belton Sutherland

by T. DeWayne Moore

Belton Sutherland was born on February 14, 1911--the same year as Robert Johnson came into the world of Jim Crow, Mississippi.  His parents, William and Mattie Sutherland, already had eight children, and they would have four more after Belton, making a total of thirteen.  The Sutherland family worked as sharecroppers in the small hamlet of Camden, Mississippi, not too far from St. John M.B. Church.  In fact, Belton lost his mother shortly before his eighth birthday, and her grave is located behind the church.  His mother's grave was marked following her death with a modest, yet very respectful, headstone.  While he loses his mother before a census enumerator ever writes his name in the 1920 Census, he would grow up quick as a motherless child, get married to woman named Louise, and move to Holmes County by the time his name name is again put to parchment for the federal government in 1930.  

Clarion Ledger, March 10, 1937.

It remains unclear what events transpire over the next seven years, but in the late 1930s, Belton had moved back to Madison County, where he gets arrested for forging a $25 check.  The judge sentenced him to two years on the state prison farm at Parchman.  After serving only eight months, however, the remainder of his sentence got suspended by the governor.  Not yet thirty years-old but the future show-stealer already knew how it feels to be a motherless child and to get convicted of forgery despite one census enumerator noting that he never had the opportunity to pickup reading and writing, at least not in his young life.

Changes [Were] Needed to Keep Biscuit Viable

Changes [Were] Needed to Keep Biscuit Viable 

By Dee Bailey - Clarksdale Press Register - Nov 24, 2000

[The King Biscuit Blues Festival reached a peak of over 100,000 attendees in the late 1990s, making it the largest blues festival in the Delta region.  The KBBF, however, collapsed under exorbitant costs and was forced the reconfigure the event after losing an estimated $500,000 in 2000.] 

HELENA, Ark. — It was with considerable regret — not surprise that I learned of the dismissal of Randy Williams as executive director of the King Biscuit Blues Festival.

Now, some of the statements I'm going to make in the following paragraphs will disturb some people, and they'll probably make others mad as hornets. That's OK. I feel the festival is at a crossroads, and its supporters need to do some serious thinking. 

First off, I'm told that the festival hasn't broke even in three years (I didn't think it had ever made money). I suspect it has lost money for awhile. During those three years, the festival was under Williams' leadership. It may not be fair (and, then again, it may be), but that's probably why he was dismissed. 

The fact that it hasn't made money is not all together bad. It wasn't organized as a moneymaker. It was supposed to have been a vehicle to bring people — people who spend money — into the area. It's done that and, again I suspect, has put lots of money into the jeans of some of the merchants. 

That much it has accomplished — but there is more. 

It has brought Helena and Phillips County worldwide fame. People from Berlin to Tokyo know that Helena is the home of the King Biscuit Blues Festival. That's some-thing that couldn't have been done any other way and have been successful. 

So it has accomplished its goal in that respect. 

It has shown the world, even in the light of our track record, that white people and black people can work together for the mutual good of each other. Goodness knows, that's something we've needed to prove. 

But, if the festival is going to continue, changes are going to have to be made. 

First of all — and I shudder as I write this because I know many people oppose the idea — the festival cannot continue to be a free event. Admission is going to have to be charged. 

For years now, we've been hearing fan-tastic attendance estimates — 100,000 people in attendance in 1999, for example. 

But, let's say next year the festival attracts only 50,000 people; at $10 a ticket the festival would at least break even (I'm told it takes at least $500,000 to stage the  event). We would also have a device by which we could determine just how many people attended, and it would be helpful in anticipating crowds for the coming year. 

Were I the powers that be when it comes to the festival, I'd fence off Walnut and Cherry streets from the Doughboy to Missouri Street to the other side oldie levee.  I'd place gates at strategic points and give tags or or armbands to those who forked over $10.  You'd have to double —maybe triple — the security force, but it would be worth it. 

Everything else would remain the same. Oh, yes, the music would remain the same. I'd have one stage - the main one for the blues, and I'd let the gospel stage stay at the Malco. 

If at all possible, I'd consider cutting down on the number of entertainers (as long as we had the old-timers — Robert Lockwood Jr., Pinetop Perkins, etc. — as part of the festival) and would ask the headliners to play more than one set (one a day over a three-day span). If an individual is not willing to pay $10 to see and hear the kind of talent that has been on the KBBF stages over the last few years, I'd question his right to be called a "blues fan."

Oh, yes, if possible, I'd have one rip-roaring headliner (BB. King always comes to mind, but he's probably too expensive) to close out the festival. Maybe that night, promoters could charge a little extra. 

This kind of setup isn't new. It's done all over. 

Let me emphasize that, like many others, I'm not jumping up and down and clicking my heels over the prospect of paying money to hear the blues. But I'd rather do that than to see the festival go down the drain.  

Clarksdale Press Register, Nov 24, 2000

I know there are other people who have other ideas — probably a lot better than the one outlined above. If they are around., I would urge them to contact some of the festival shakers and movers and talk with them.

The Biscuit, as it is being called these I'd days, is too valuable to be allowed to full by  the wayside. We must do everything we can to keep it vibrant and healthy and being staged on Cherry Street in Helena every October.

Bentonia and Blues--A Southern Tradition that Keeps Jukin' Along

Bentonia and Blues:

A Southern Tradition that Keeps Jukin' Along

By Debbie Chaney - Sep 25, 1982

"We used to walk through the swamp to Canton with our guitars on our backs and juke all night and walk back home...playing the blues is something I was born with" -- Jack Owens 

As long as there has been heartache, working people, children and good ole corn whiskey, it seems that blues music has been in existence. It's an art that knows only tradition and feeling.

Sitting on a stool in the Blue Front Cafe located by the railroad tracks in Bentonia, Jimmy Holmes takes a puff on his cigarette and tells how the blues has become important to him, to others and to Black culture. 

Holmes talks candidly about how he has researched the history of the blues, particularly in the Bentonia area and how the music continues to survive. "Blues is a feeling," he explains. "It is a form of music that ex-presses life whether it's good or bad. If a guy's ole lady has left him, if he's not working or somebody has stolen his lady he sets down with his guitar and begins putting words together. To appreciate the blues, you've got to live it." 

Holmes has combed the county searching out blues singers, and one of the more notable is the infamous Jack Owens. Owens, who claims to be "up in the seventies" has been playing blues since he was "crawling on the floor." 

He learned, more or less, in "the cotton fields, the corn fields and the pea fields." 

His repertoire of music includes renowned blues titles such as "The Devil," "Cherry Ball," "Keep on Gambling," and "Catfish Blues."

"Jack," said Holmes, "is almost a duplicate of the type of music Skip James, the blues great, played. He knows the guitar like he made it himself." 

Owens and Holmes will be performing at the upcoming "Gateway to the Delta" Arts and Crafts Festival Oct. 2 at the Triangle. The annual event is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce with adjoining activities sponsored by the Yazoo Arts Council and Ricks Memorial Library. 

Music performed during the festival will include concerts given by local choirs and singers, emphasizing black and white gospel, country, bluegrass and blues. Demonstrations will also be given in quilting, tatting, basket weaving, square dancing and other folk art. 

The folklife division of the festival is sponsored by the library and made possible through a grant from the Mississippi Library Commission and the Mississippi Arts Commission. Yazoo County is one of six areas in which folk life programs have been held. 

Holmes will narrate the blues division during the performance by Owens and his blind partner Bud and guitar blues artist Tommy Lee. 

Owens probably became known for his talents when he and friends would travel around the county and surrounding areas to "play at country jukes." He and Bud became partners when they "would go to the juke house and play." As far as Bud's handicap, Owens says there's no problem. "I just sit close to him so he can feel me moving— I don't know hardly how he can tell when but we just messed around so much," said Owens of the man's unique talent in being able to change keys and know when Owens is beginning another song. 

Holmes agrees, saying "Ben and Jack are like two peas in a hull. It seems like they are interchangeable. 

"They have an intangible relationship between the two of them." 

Visitors to the festival will have the opportunity to see and hear how the blues has touched the lives of these three men, Black culture and the South. And possibly even their own.