Is it possible to be an unassuming legend? If so, Greenville’s own Josh White certainly fits the bill.
There was a time when White was one of the most famous men in America. The singer, guitarist, activist and actor once claimed a seat at President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s table, but today he isn’t as well-known as he should be. But as a blues and folk player, as a civil rights pioneer, and simply as an immensely talented artist, Josh White’s legacy lives on, in the grooves of albums like “Josh At Midnight” and in the voice of his son, Josh White Jr.
Josh White was born in Greenville in February 1914, and he started singing in his church choir at the age of five. Before long, he learned how to play guitar from local artists like Blind Joe Taggart and Blind Man Arnold. In fact, it was Taggart that helped White get his big break. White and Taggart traveled to Chicago in 1927 and met Mayo Williams, a producer at Paramount Records who immediately recognized White’s abilities on guitar and vocals. He made his debut recording with Taggart, “Scandalous & A Shame.” By 1930, White was recording gospel tunes on his own, with his biggest successes still ahead of him.
White truly blossomed in the 1940s. He landed in a Broadway production of “John Henry,” starring the great Paul Robeson. White played the legendary bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson. He then began collaborating with some of the greatest artists of the era, including Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly, all the while perfecting his startlingly dexterous guitar work and smooth, confident vocal delivery.
He became an iconic figure in “race music” throughout the decade, scoring hits with “St. James Infirmary,” “Jelly, Jelly,” “The House I Live In,” and his most popular tune, “One Meatball.”
The three-paneled, bronze sculpture honoring Josh White in downtown Greenville includes what White said to the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee in September, 1956.White’s career in the 1940s became one of historic firsts. He hosted a national radio show and undertook one of the first American tours of concert halls as an African-American. He appeared in multiple films, including “The Walking Hills” and “The Crimson Canary.” And he was ahead of his time as an activist, performing political protest songs and singing at human rights rallies long before other folk artists of the 1950s and ’60s.
He also forged a friendship with FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt. He gave a command performance at the White House in 1941, the first African American artist to do so. White was so well-loved by the President and First Lady that he gave five more command performances before Franklin’s death in 1945.
All during this time, White remained a devoted activist, recording anti-segregationist songs for his album “Southern Exposure” and continuing to speak out against racism.
The 1950s were far less kind to White. His outspoken activism landed him in front of the infamous House on Unamerican Activities Committee in Congress, and his testimony before the committee was interpreted by his fellow folk singers as cooperation with the enemy.
White spent much of the time between 1955 and his death touring and living in Europe, where he still found audiences eager to see him perform. He died of heart disease in 1969.
In the last few years, though, this unassuming legend has been honored by his hometown several ways, as has the recording industry at large. In 2016, Ramseur Records reissued his classic 1956 album “Josh At Midnight,” and Greenville Mayor Knox White declared August 20, 2016 to be Josh White Day in the city. And in 2021, a new sculpture by Joe Thompson paying tribute to White was unveiled at the corner of Hammond Street and Falls Park Way in downtown.
Josh White’s legacy still looms large. Artists from Pete Seeger to Elvis Presley to Phish to Nat King Cole counted him as an influence, and his reputation as one of Greenville’s finest sons has been restored.
