How many Mississippi Fred McDowell releases are on Riffiter?

62 releases are catalogued, spanning 1964 to 2026.

When was Mississippi Fred McDowell formed?

Mississippi Fred McDowell formed in 1904.

What genre is Mississippi Fred McDowell?

Mississippi Fred McDowell is catalogued under Blues.

What is the most recent Mississippi Fred McDowell release on Riffiter?

61 Highway Blues, released in 2026.

Artist

Mississippi Fred McDowell

Mississippi Fred McDowell is a blues artist formed in 1904. 62 releases are catalogued on Riffiter.

Blues · Best blues albums

62
Releases: 1964–2026
Active years: 1904
Formed

Discography

Singles & EPs

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More about Mississippi Fred McDowell

About

Mississippi Fred McDowell was born Fred McDowell in Rossville, Tennessee, January 12, 1904. He died in Memphis,Tennessee on July 3, 1972. He was a blues singer and guitar player in the North Mississippi style. His parents, who were farmers, died when McDowell was a youth. He started playing guitar at the age of 14 and played at dances around Rossville. Wanting a change from ploughing fields, he moved to Memphis in 1926 where he worked in a number of jobs and played music for tips. He settled in Como, Mississippi, about 40 miles south of Memphis, in 1940 or 1941, and worked steadily as a farmer, continuing to perform music at dances, and picnics. Initially he played slide guitar using a pocket knife and then a slide made from a beef rib bone, later switching to a glass slide for its clearer sound. He played with the slide on his ring finger.

A pure hill country blues musician, he played "just the straight, natural blues," and he "do not play no rock and roll." McDowell initially played the recognizable resonator guitar but, during tours and recordings beginning in the 1960s, he adopted the use of electric guitar and was probably the first original delta- or country blues musician to do so. McDowell's style is distinctive and recognizable; perhaps the dirtiest sounding guitarist ever and one of the most influential. The slide guitar styles of Bonnie Raitt as well as Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, as well as Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys are all heavily influenced by McDowell's technique. McDowell died of cancer in 1972 and is buried at Hammond Hill M.B. Church, between Como and Senatobia. On August 6, 1993 a memorial was placed on the gravesite of Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Hammond Hill Baptist Church cemetery by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund.