You've got to admire a guy whose desire to play the blues was as great as Elmore James'. He was a self-taught blues guitarist, who, at the age of 12 YO, created a one string instrument (called a “diddley bow” or “jitterbug”) by fastening a string to the side of his Mississippi shack. As our musician friends would say, "THAT'S the blues, man!" 

He was heavily influenced by other musicians of his time, such as Robert Johnson and the “second” Sonny Boy Williamson. Although Robert Johnson died in 1938, it is believed that his style played a large part in Elmore's developing musicianship.  Johnson's effect was so strong that there was some debate over whether or not it was Robert Johnson or Elmore James that penned James' most well-known song, “Dust My Broom.” Elmore was still under 20 when Johnson had recorded his version of the song.

After serving in WWII, Elmore returned to Mississippi. He spent time fiddling around with electrical parts in his adopted brother’s electrical shop, eventually devising a unique electrical sound that he employed in his music.  His first recording was on Trumpet Records in Jackson, MS in January 1951, first as sideman to the second Sonny Boy Williamson and also to their mutual friend Willie Love. He later debuted as a session leader in August with “Dust My Broom,” which became a 1952 R&B turning Elmore James into a star.  During the 1950s he recorded for the Flair, Meteor and Modern Records labels, as well as Chess and Chief Records.  The song, “It Hurts Me Too” was a hit for the latter record label. His backing musicians were known as the Broomdusters.  In 1959, he recorded what are considered his best sides for Bobby Robinson’s Fire Records label. These include “The Sky Is Crying” (credited to Elmo James and His Broomdusters), “My Bleeding Heart”, “Stranger Blues”, “Look On Yonder Wall”, “Done Somebody Wrong”, and “Shake Your Moneymaker”, all of which are among the most famous of blues recordings.

Elmore James died in 1963 in Chicago of his third heart attack, just before he was to Europe Europe with that year's American Folk Blues Festival.  He is buried in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery, Ebenezer, in Holmes County, Mississippi.  A grant provided to the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund by Phil Walden and Capricorn Records furnished his headstone. The bronze and granite memorial features what appears to be a bas relief likeness of James playing the guitar.

Muddy Waters took the Belgian blues fan (Georges Adins) to see Elmore play in Chicago in 1959, Adins recalled,

"Elmore will always remain the most exciting, dramatic blues singer and guitarist that I've ever had a chance to see perform in the flesh. On our way we listened to him on the radio as Big Bill Hill ... was broadcasting direct from that place. I was burning to see Elmore James and before we even pushed open the door of the club, we could hear Elmore's violent guitar sound. Although the place was overcrowded, we managed to find a seat close to the bandstand and the blues came falling down on me as it had never done before. Watching Elmore sing and play, backed by a solid blues band (Homesick James, J.T. Brown, Boyd Atkins and Sam Cassell) made me feel real fine. Wearing thick glasses, Elmore's face always had an expressive and dramatic look, especially when he was real gone on the slow blues. Singing with a strong and rough voice, he really didn't need a mike. On such slow blues as "I'm Worried - "Make My Dreams Come True" - "It Hurts Me", his voice reached a climax and created a tension that was unmistakably the down and out blues. Notwithstanding that raw voice, Elmore sang his blues with a particular feeling, an emotion and depth that showed his country background. His singing was... fed, reinforced by his own guitar accompaniment which was as rough, violent and expressive as was his voice. Using the bottleneck technique most of the time, Elmore really let his guitar sound as I had never heard a guitar sound before. You just couldn't sit still! You had to move..."