I've reached the dubious stage in life where I've been watching all of the great blues singers and jazz artists that I grew up listening to passing from the scene. On the one hand, it's sad, but how fortunate that we've lived in a time when their music was recorded for posterity. When jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd died last December, I grieved a bit because I took guitar lessons from Charlie when I was in high school, and I've always loved his music. John Lee's death has also bothered me, but for different reasons. He was probably the last of the truly great Mississippi delta blues stylists, and there is no one who will replace him.
