T-Model Ford

T-MODEL FORD UPDATE PER MISS STELLA: I just got off the phone with T's wife Stella. Sounds like they running lots of tests on the 92-year-old bluesman at the hospital. They're guessing it was another mini stroke. Stella says T couldn't move his right arm last night or stand up. His arm is moving a little today. (T's in a foul "Taledragger" mood today, though... so send some nice thoughts to Miss Stella.)

NEW UPDATE VIA RANDY MAGEE: "T came home from the hospital today and is doing fairly well. I talked to him briefly and he sounded good, says he can move his arms and legs now and told me he was feeling good and fixin' to eat some groceries... he's still a bad man! 21 minutes ago". Thanks for the update, Randy!

Blues Rules a écrit:T's news:

NEW UPDATE VIA RANDY MAGEE: "T came home from the hospital today and is doing fairly well. I talked to him briefly and he sounded good, says he can move his arms and legs now and told me he was feeling good and fixin' to eat some groceries... he's still a bad man! 21 minutes ago". Thanks for the update, Randy!

(10 hours ago - via Roger Stolle)

MISSISSIPPI BLUESMAN T-MODEL FORD RETURNS HOME… Finally, a little relatively good news. 92-year-old blues legend James "T-Model" Ford has left the hospital and returned home, according to his wife Miss Stella. She said the doctors removed some polyps when they scoped him. His "stomach" pain seems to be a little better now, though he isn't currently able to walk (probably due to last year's strokes and his recent lack of physical activity). T's attitude keeps waxing and waning, Miss Stella said, so please feel free to drop him a card (maybe with a little check in it if you are able) to help him feel better (and assist with the bills). Thanks, y'all.

THE T-MODEL FORD FAMILY'S NEW-ISH ADDRESS: James Ford, 216 North Delta Street Greenville MS 38703.

Roger Stolle (Cat Head - Clarksdale) a écrit:A blues great and a great man has passed… JAMES "T-MODEL" FORD... R.I.P. The self-proclaimed "Ladies Man" and "Taledragger" passed away after a long illness at home in Greenville, Mississippi, this morning surrounding by his loving wife and family. Funeral arrangements are to come. In the meantime, please consider donating to the funeral expenses using the bank information below (per Miss Estella). T-Model held a special place for his many friends, fans and family. He was a one-of-a-kind blues character, and anyone who ever met him has some amazing and/or ridiculous tale to tell. Thank you T for everything. You made this world a much richer place. Please go easy on the house band upstairs… as you (as you once declared) play "in the key of my woman left me." R.I.P. and here's to you… It is now and forever "Jack Daniels Time!"

ERIN COULEHAN a écrit:
T-Model Ford, a Mississippi singer and guitarist who took up the blues later in life, died yesterday of respiratory failure at home in Greenville. Ford claimed to be 93, though The Associated Press reports that he didn't recall what year he was born and may have been 89.

Ford took up the guitar when he was 58, after his fifth wife left him, and began playing blues at private parties around Greenville in western Mississippi. "He'd play late, then he'd spray himself with a bunch of mosquito spray and sleep in his van," said longtime friend Roger Stolle.

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During his career as a blues artist, Ford recorded seven albums, and was known for his rough-hewn sound and whiskey-fueled live performances. Ford could be playful on stage, and often interacted with attractive couples in the crowd.

"He'd say, 'You'd better put your stamp on her because if she flags my train, I'm going to let her ride,'" Stolle said.

Born James Lewis Carter Ford, it's not clear how he ended up with the nickname "T-Model." According to a record label bio, Ford was plowing fields behind a mule by the time he was 11. He also worked at a saw mill, as a truck driver and in a logging camp, and was said to have been sentenced to 10 years on a chain gang for murder when he was a young man. He released his first album, Pee-Wee Get My Gun, on Fat Possum in 1997.

"His music would take you right back to the heart and soul of the Delta, back in the day," said Bill Luckett who co-owns Greenville's Ground Zero Blues Club. He called Ford "a master of old school blues."

Ford was married six times, and is said to have fathered 26 children.