Henry Franklin "Dick" Justice (April 2, 1903 – September 12, 1962)[2] was an American blues and folk musician, who hailed from West Virginia, United States.

Dick Justice
Birth nameHenry Franklin Justice
Born(1903-04-02)April 2, 1903
East Lynn, West Virginia, U.S.[1]
DiedSeptember 12, 1962(1962-09-12) (aged 59)
Yolyn, West Virginia, U.S.[1]
Genres
Occupations
  • Coal miner
  • Musician
Instruments
Years active1929
LabelsBrunswick Records

Biography

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Born Henry Franklin Justice,[3] he recorded ten songs for Brunswick Records in Chicago in 1929. Justice was heavily influenced by black musicians, particularly Luke Jordan, who recorded in 1927 and 1929 for Victor Records.[4] Justice's "Cocaine" is a verse-for-verse cover of the Jordan track of the same name recorded two years earlier.[5] The song "Brownskin Blues" is also stylistically akin to much of Jordan's work but stands on its own as a Justice original.[6]

Justice is musically related to Frank Hutchison (with whom he played music and worked as a coal miner in Logan County, West Virginia),[7] Bayless Rose and The Williamson Brothers.

His recording of the traditional ballad "Henry Lee" was the opening track of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music.[8] Justice recorded four sides ("Guian Valley Waltz" and "Poor Girl's Waltz", "Muskrat Rag" and "Poca River Blues") with the fiddler Reese Jarvis.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b Haddox, Chris (May 2021). "Dick Justice". Wvu.edu. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  2. ^ "Illustrated Dick Justice discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  3. ^ Bush, John. "Dick Justice". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "Dick Justice". Music to Blow. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08.
  5. ^ Simpson, Brent (11 March 2012). "Cocaine Blues". Down Under Delta.
  6. ^ Millward, David Hatch ; Stephen (1987). From Blues to Rock : An Analytical History of Pop Music (Pbk. ed.). Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780719023491.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Wolff, written by Kurt (2000). Country Music : the Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides. p. 26. ISBN 9781858285344.
  8. ^ "Anthology of American Folk Music". Smithsonian Folkways.
  9. ^ Byrd, Ivan M. Tribe; foreword by Robert C. (1996). Mountaineer Jamboree : Country Music in West Virginia. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky. p. 37. ISBN 9780813108780.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)