Jessie Mae Hemphill, 71, Blues Artist
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Jessie Mae Hemphill, whose award-winning Blues career lasted decades and was heavily influenced by her upbringing in rural Mississippi, died Saturday in Memphis. She was 71.
Hemphill came from a family of musicians in northern Mississippi. Her great-grandfather and grandfather, Sid Hemphill, were fiddle players who passed on their love of music. Her aunt, Rosa Lee, was also a performer who recorded several albums.
Jessie Mae Hemphill began playing guitar around age 7, and moved on to other instruments.
She lived in Memphis for 20 years, and played the clubs on the city’s famous Beale Street before finding an international audience.
Hemphill won the W.C. Handy Award for Best Traditional Female Blues Artist in both 1987 and 1988. In 1991 she won the Handy Award for Best Acoustic Album.
