Jewell “Babe” Stovall
October 14, 1907 – September 21, 1974
Jewell Stovall, better known as Babe Stovall was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist.
Babe was born in Tylertown, Mississippi, United States, in 1907, the baby of eleven children. Babe was playing guitar by the age of eight. By 23 (circa 1930), while living in Mississippi, he was learning licks by listening to the likes of Tommy Johnson. He had a unique playing style swinging his guitar around the nape of his neck and playing without looking at the fretboard. Later he busked on the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, playing in small venues in and around the French Quarter. People could reportedly hear his booming voice from blocks away.
His first (reported) recorded album, “Babe Stovall” was with Verve in 1964 (re-released in 1990 on CD).
