Jimmy "Duck" Holmes facts for kids

Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, born on July 28, 1947, is a famous American blues musician. He also owns the Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia, Mississippi. This cafe is a very old and special place for blues music. It's known as the oldest "juke joint" still open in Mississippi. A juke joint was a place where people could listen to music, dance, and relax after working hard.

Holmes is known as the last of the "Bentonia bluesmen." This means he is the last blues musician who plays in the unique "Bentonia School" style. Like other blues artists from Bentonia, Mississippi, Jimmy learned this special way of playing from Henry Stuckey. Stuckey was the person who created the Bentonia blues style. Holmes' music has a haunting, dreamy, and rhythmic sound. His eighth album, It Is What It Is, has been highly praised by music fans and critics.

His Early Life

Jimmy Charles Holmes was born in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. His parents, Carey and Mary Holmes, were sharecroppers. Sharecroppers were farmers who worked on land owned by someone else and paid rent with a share of their crops.

In 1948, the year after Jimmy was born, his parents opened the Blue Front Cafe. Jimmy was one of ten children. His parents also raised four of their grandchildren after one of their daughters passed away. Jimmy Holmes took over running the Blue Front Cafe in 1970 when his father died.

Learning Music

Jimmy Holmes first learned the Bentonia School style of blues from Henry Stuckey. Stuckey created this unique style after he returned to Bentonia, Mississippi, after World War I. Stuckey lived next door to the Holmes family. Young Jimmy would often hear Stuckey playing his guitar on his front porch. Around 1957, Jimmy picked up Stuckey's guitar and began to learn.

Jimmy's father, Carey Holmes, bought him his first guitar for Christmas. It was a yellow and black plastic toy guitar. In the 1960s, Jimmy sometimes played with his uncle's electric guitar when he visited him in New York City. However, it wasn't until the 1970s that Jimmy bought his first real guitar. It was a small acoustic guitar from Radio Shack. That original guitar is now on display at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

During the 1970s, many Bentonia blues musicians came to play at the Blue Front Cafe. These included Jack Owens, Cornelius Bright, Tommy West, Adam Slater, Dodd Stuckey (Henry Stuckey's brother), and Jacob Stuckey (Henry Stuckey's cousin). Slater, Bright, and West first started teaching Holmes how to play. But it was Jack Owens, who visited the Blue Front Cafe often in the 1980s, who truly helped Holmes master the Bentonia style.

Owens came to the Blue Front several times a week. Holmes would sit with him outside and learn songs like "Hard Times Killing Floor Blues," "Devil Got My Woman," "Cherry Ball," and "Catfish." At the same time, Tommy West, a Hill country blues musician, also taught Holmes his style. Holmes later used some of West's techniques in his own playing. This included using the low E string to create a steady, deep bass sound.

His Music Style

Jimmy Holmes' music uses the Bentonia tuning. This means he tunes his guitar strings in special ways, like open E-minor and open D-minor. He also uses a lower-tuned version of these. Holmes says he doesn't write down his music or lyrics. He also doesn't read music. He believes his ability to create music is a "divine thing."

Professional Journey

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, several people recorded Holmes' music. These included famous music researchers like Alan Lomax and David Evans. The first known recording of Holmes that was released was "Devil's Blues." He recorded this song with Cornelius Bright for David Evans. It appeared in 1991 on a collection album called Giants of the Country Blues Guitar - Vol. 2.

In the 1980s, Holmes began performing at the Bentonia Blues Festival. Holmes and his mother, Mary Holmes, started this festival in 1972 as a community event. It grew into one of the longest-running blues festivals in the country. Holmes also started playing at other blues festivals. He performed across Mississippi, the United States, Europe, and South America. Some of these festivals include the Chicago Blues Festival and the Waterfront Blues Festival.

In 2003, Holmes recorded his first album over three days for Shade Tree Records. This blues record label closed before the recordings were ever released. Then, in October 2005, Jeff Konkel visited the Blue Front Cafe. He returned on November 17, 2005, to record Holmes. These recordings were released in 2006 as Back to Bentonia. This was Holmes' first official album and the first release by Broke and Hungry Records. The album included some traditional Bentonia Blues songs and new ones written by Holmes.

Holmes received two Living Blues Awards for Back to Bentonia. These awards were for Best Debut Blues Album and Best Acoustic Blues Album. Jeff Konkel also won Producer of the Year for 2006.

In 2007, Broke and Hungry Records released Holmes' second CD, Done Got Tired of Tryin' . This CD also received great reviews. It was named one of the top 10 Blues Albums of 2007 by WXPN, World Cafe. It was also nominated for a Blues Music Award. In 2008, Fat Possum Records released Gonna Get Old Someday. This album contained the songs Holmes recorded in 2003 for Shade Tree Records. In 2010, Broke and Hungry Records released Holmes' fourth album, Ain't It Lonesome.

His Albums

• Back to Bentonia, 2006
• Done Got Tired of Tryin’, 2007
• Gonna Get Old Someday, 2008
• Ain't It Lonesome, 2009
• All Night Long, 2013
• Twice As Hard, 2014
• Live at Briggs Farm Blues Festival, 2015
• It Is What It Is, 2016
• Cypress Grove, 2019