Joshua Barnes Howell, known as Peg Leg Howell (March 5, 1888 - August 11, 1966), was an African American blues singer and guitarist, who connected early country blues and the later 12-bar style. He had the strong delivery and ear-catching repertoire of the professional street-singer.
He was born on a farm in Eatonton, Georgia, and taught himself guitar at the age of 21. Over time he became skilled in pre-Piedmont finger picking and slide guitar techniques. He continued working on the farm until he was shot in a fight, as a result of which he lost his right leg and began working full-time as a musician. In 1923 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia and began playing on street corners, but also served a period in prison for bootlegging liquor.
In 1926, he was heard playing on the streets of Atlanta and was recorded for the first time by Columbia Records. They released "New Prison Blues", written whilst in prison and the first country blues to be issued on the label. Over the next three years Columbia recorded him on several occasions, often accompanied by a small group including Henry Williams on guitar and Eddie Anthony on fiddle. His recorded repertoire covered ballads, ragtime, and jazz, as well as blues. Anthony's vigorous dance playing gives us a rare view of the black string-band music that was almost obliterated by the craze for recording blues guitarists.
Howell continued to play around the Atlanta area for several years, but also began selling bootleg liquor again. After the mid 1930s he only performed occasionally and, in 1952, his left leg was removed as a result of diabetes, confining him to a wheelchair. A single track by Howell was issued on The Country Blues in 1959, and in 1963 he was "rediscovered" in dire poverty in Atlanta by folklorist and field researcher George Mitchell and his high-school class-mate, Roger Brown. They recorded Howell at the age of 75 with the results issued on LP by Testament Records thirty-four years after his last recorded sessions, one of Mitchell's first field-recording sessions in his long career. He died in Atlanta in 1966.
Vol. 1
01 - Peg Leg Howell - Coal Man Blues 03:08
02 - Peg Leg Howell - Tishamingo Blues 03:22
03 - Peg Leg Howell - New Prison Blues 03:18
04 - Peg Leg Howell - Fo' Day Blues 03:14
05 - Peg Leg Howell - New Jelly Roll Blues 03:03
06 - Peg Leg Howell - Beaver Slide Rag 03:26
07 - Peg Leg Howell - Papa Stobb Blues 03:43
08 - Peg Leg Howell - Sadie Lee Blues 03:11
09 - Peg Leg Howell - Too Tight Blues 03:13
10 - Peg Leg Howell - Moanin' And Groanin' Blues 03:37
11 - Peg Leg Howell - Hobo Blues 03:20
12 - Peg Leg Howell - Peg Leg Stomp 03:33
13 - Peg Leg Howell - Doin' Wrong 03:05
14 - Peg Leg Howell - Skin Game Blues 03:09
15 - Henry Williams & Eddie Anthony - Georgia Crawl 03:26
16 - Henry Williams & Eddie Anthony - Lonesome Blues 02:56
17 - Peg Leg Howell - Please Ma'am 03:03
18 - Peg Leg Howell - Rock And Gravel Blues 03:12
19 - Peg Leg Howell - Low-Down Rounder Blues 02:53
20 - Peg Leg Howell - Fairy Blues 02:58
21 - Sloppy Henry - Canned Heat Blues 02:57
22 - Sloppy Henry - Say I Do It 02:43
Vol. 2
01 - Sloppy Henry - Long, Tall, Disconnected Mama 03:12
02 - Sloppy Henry - Palm Special Blues 03:08
03 - Peg Leg Howell - Banjo Blues 03:02
04 - Peg Leg Howell - Turkey Buzzard Blues 03:15
05 - Peg Leg Howell - Turtle Dove Blues 03:13
06 - Peg Leg Howell - Walkin' Blues 03:07
07 - Tampa Joe and Macon Ed - Wringing That Thing 03:14
08 - Tampa Joe and Macon Ed - Worrying Blues 03:13
09 - Peg Leg Howell - Broke and Hungry Blues 03:22
10 - Peg Leg Howell - Rolling Mill Blues 03:10
11 - Peg Leg Howell - Ball and Chain Blues 03:04
12 - Peg Leg Howell - Monkey Man Blues 02:59
13 - Peg Leg Howell - Chittlin' Supper 02:56
14 - Peg Leg Howell - Away from Home 02:57
15 - Macon Ed and Tampa Joe - Everything's Coming My Way 03:04
16 - Macon Ed and Tampa Joe - Mean Florida Blues 03:13
17 - Macon Ed and Tampa Joe - Try That Thing 03:21
18 - Macon Ed and Tampa Joe - Tickle Britches 03:14
19 - Macon Ed and Tampa Joe - Tantalizing Bootblack 03:09
20 - Macon Ed and Tampa Joe - Warm Wipe Stomp 03:17
21 - Brothers Wright and Williams - I'll Play My Harp In Beulah Land 03:13
