Bukka White Biography

Booker T. Washington White, “Bukka White”
(1900s, presumably 1905 – February 26, 1977)

Booker T. Washington White—known as “Bukka,” a phonetic rendering of “Booker”—was born near Houston, Mississippi. He learned fiddle and guitar young and later spent time in the Delta around Clarksdale. He became known for ferocious slide work on National resonator guitars.

White made his first recordings in Memphis in 1930 for the Victor label under the name Washington White. Only four sides were issued amid the Depression.

In 1937 he recorded in Chicago, cutting “Shake ’Em On Down,” which became a hit. Soon after, he was arrested in Mississippi and sentenced to the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm). In 1939, folklorist John Lomax recorded him at Parchman; the prison recordings did not include “Shake ’Em On Down.”

Released later in 1939, White returned to Chicago in March 1940 and recorded titles such as “Parchman Farm Blues” and “District Attorney Blues.” During World War II he lived in Memphis and worked in a defense plant.

His rediscovery gathered steam after Bob Dylan covered “Fixin’ to Die Blues” in 1962. In 1963, John Fahey and Ed Denson located White via a letter addressed to Aberdeen, Mississippi, bringing him onto the folk circuit. He rerecorded older material and issued new albums while relearning parts he had set aside during his factory years.

White was related to B. B. King and helped him early on in Memphis; some stories claim he gave King his first guitar, though that detail is debated. What’s undisputed is White’s influence and his stature alongside fellow Delta greats like Charley Patton, Howlin’ Wolf, and Furry Lewis.

A vivid late document is “Furry Lewis, Bukka White & Friends: Party! at Home,” recorded informally in 1968 and released in 1972, capturing conversation, songs, and the feel of their day-to-day lives.

Bukka White toured widely through the 1960s and into the mid-1970s. He died in Memphis on February 26, 1977. His catalog—“Shake ’Em On Down,” “Fixin’ to Die Blues,” “Parchman Farm Blues,” and more—remains central to country blues.