The eleventh volume of the “Blues At Home” Collection, this CD presents not only a chief blues school, but also a remarkable figure of 20th century modern art. Sleepy John Adam Estes was born in 1899 in Ripley, Tennessee, but spent most of his life in Brownsville, Tennessee, which he properly considered his home. Between 1929 and 1939, he recorded over 30 sides for Vocalion, Decca, and Bluebird, including incomparable masterpieces such as “Everybody Oughta Make a Change,” “Need More Blues,” and “Vernita Blues,” to name a few. Living in poverty for the whole of his life and being completely blind by the late '40s, Estes was rediscovered in the early '60s through the referral of Big Joe Williams. He entered the blues revival circuit, making numerous recordings and performing in the United States and all over the world until his death in 1977. Recorded informally at Estes' home in Brownsville in December 1972, this Mbirafon CD features Sleepy John alone and with the accompaniment of his old-time partner, the master harmonica player Hammie Nixon (born in Haywood County, Tennessee, between 1907 and 1913). All tracks have been fully digitally remastered from the original tapes in 2013. —Giambattista Marcucci ALBUM CREDITS Phonographic copyright & © 2013 Giambattista Marcucci All rights of the producer and copyright owner reserved Recorded, edited, and produced by Giambattista Marcucci Technical and research assistance in 1972 by Lucio Maniscalchi Image caption: Sleepy John Estes at home, Brownsville, Tennessee, 1972 Cover photograph © 1972-2013 by Giambattista Marcucci