The Resume

(February 11, 1914-September 5, 1969)
Born in Greensville, South Carolina
Folk and blues singer and guitarist
Recorded the songs 'Careless Love,' 'One Meatball,' 'The House I Live In,' 'Waltzing Matilda,' 'St. James Infirmary,' 'Joshua Fit the Battle,' 'House of the Rising Sun,' 'Strange Fruit,' 'On Top of Old Smokey,' and 'Lonesome Road'
Performed with Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger in the Almanac Singers
Dueted with Leadbelly, Billie Holiday, and Libby Holman
Appeared on Broadway in 'John Henry' (1940)
Appeared in the film 'The Walking Hills' (1949)

Why he might be annoying:

Early in his career, he used his birth name when recording religious songs and the pseudonym Pinewood Tom for blues records.
He worked as an elevator operator and dock worker for about a year when he was unable to play guitar after he punched his left hand through a glass door (1936).
The press nicknamed 'the President's minstrel' over his close relationship with FDR.
He was a lifelong smoker, which contributed to the emphysema and heart disease that undermined his health to the point that late in his career he would regularly follow a two-week concert tour by checking into the hospital for four weeks of recovery.
His fingernails deteriorated to the point that he needed to superglue artificial nails over his own to play guitar.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was one of the first blues musicians to attract white and middle class audiences.
He performed at two of FDR's inaugurations (1941, 1945) and was a frequent Thanksgiving and Christmas guest at the Roosevelts' Hyde Park estate.
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were godparents of his son Josh, Jr.
He went on a goodwill tour of Europe with Eleanor Roosevelt (1950).
Cafe Society nightclub owner Barney Josephson called him the first black male sex symbol.
He was blacklisted during the Red Scare over his outspokenness on civil rights.
He performed at the March on Washington (1963).

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Black and White
• Blacklisted
• Blues Musicians
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 83]
• Folk Singers
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [U-Z]
• I Attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom [August 28, 1963]
• I Covered 'House of the Rising Sun'
• I Died in 1969 (Ranked: 55)
• I Have Emphysema
• I Named My Kid After Myself
• I'm Remembered in a Tribute Song
• Look at My Album Cover
• Look at My Guitar
• Profiles 51751-51986 (Ranked: 51757)
• Red, White and Blue
• Stacker’s Most Controversial Song from the Year You Were Born (Ranked: 1941)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying