John Hurt Jr Needs Your Support

April 19, 2017 | by Denise Sullivan photo: Mississippi John Hurt, back in the day

The only living son of one of America's blues legends needs your help. John Hurt Jr. — the sole survivor of the great country bluesman Mississippi John Hurt — is living with prostate cancer in Minneapolis with few resources; he needs a mobility scooter to get around and is seeking immediate funding for it.

Hurt Jr. is also a musician by trade and interpreter of the pre-war blues his father recorded in the '20s, then revived during the early '60s folk boom when he was discovered by the young folk rock crowd.

In 2001, Avalon Blues, a tribute to the music of Mississippi John Hurt, produced by Peter Case and featuring artists diverse as Beck, Lucinda Williams, and Ben Harper, contributed to further renewed interest in Hurt's songs, from "Monday Morning Blues" to "Payday.

Here's Gillian Welch with her version of Hurt's arrangement of "Beulah Land."