Mississippi John Hurt — Avalon, Mississippi

The small community of Avalon in Carroll County, Mississippi, was the home of Mississippi John Hurt for most of his life. Hurt was born nearby in 1892 and spent his adult years as a sharecropper and occasional musician in and around Avalon, making a brief appearance in recorded music in 1928 when he recorded fourteen sides for OKeh Records in Memphis and New York — sessions that included 'Frankie,' 'Spike Driver Blues,' and 'Candy Man Blues.' After those recordings failed to sell, Hurt returned to Avalon and essentially disappeared from the wider musical world for thirty-five years, continuing to play for local dances and his own pleasure.

In 1963, a folk music researcher named Tom Hoskins tracked Hurt down using a clue embedded in one of his 1928 recordings: the line 'Avalon, my home town, always on my mind.' Hoskins followed Highway 7 in Carroll County until he found Avalon and found Hurt still living there, still playing guitar, in his early seventies. The rediscovery launched a second career: Hurt performed at the Newport Folk Festival, recorded several albums for Vanguard Records, and became one of the most beloved figures of the 1960s folk revival before his death in 1966. His gentle, melodic, finger-picked style influenced generations of guitarists.

Hurt is buried at Saint James Missionary Baptist Church in Avalon. A Mississippi Blues Trail marker stands near his home site. Avalon is a tiny community on Highway 7 in Carroll County, roughly an hour and a half northeast of Jackson. The grave, the marker, and the surrounding countryside — which looks much as it would have in Hurt's time — are the primary attractions for visitors making the pilgrimage. The annual Mississippi John Hurt Festival is held in Carrollton, the county seat, in his honour.