283127881

IF THE RIVER WAS WHISKEY AND I WAS A DIVIN' DUCK, I'D DIVE ON THE BOTTOM AND NEVER WOULD COME UP!I WAS BORN JOHN ADAM ESTES ON JANUARY 25, 1904, IN LAUDERDALE COUNTY JUST OUTSIDE RIPLEY TENNESSEE. I WAS ONE OF SIXTEEN CHILDREN. I STARTED TO LEARN TO PLAY ON MY DADDYS GUITAR WHEN I WAS REAL YOUNG. WHEN I WAS ELEVEN, WE MOVED TO BROWNSVILLE. AROUND THEN I GOT HIT IN THE EYE WITH A STONE WHEN WE WAS PLAYIN BASEBALL. I NEVER COULD SEE GOOD AFTER THAT AND LATER I WENT BLIND ALL TOGEATHER.I NEVER DID LIKE FIELD WORK SO I STARTED MAKIN A LIVIN WITH MY MUSIC. SOON, I MET YANK RACHELL WHO PLAYED MANDOLIN, AND HAMMIE NIXON, WHO PLAYED A MEAN HARMONICA. BY 1929, ME AND YANK RECORDED FOR VICTOR RECORDS. HAMMIE WAS TOO YOUNG BUT HE JOINED US LATER ON. WE DID A LOT OF RECORDING FROM 1929 TO 1941.I RECORDED UNDER THE NAME SLEEPY JOHN ESTES BECAUSE THEY SAY I FELL ASLEEP ON A BAND STAND ONCE SO THEY STARTED CALLIN ME "SLEEPY". I DIDNT MAKE ALOT OF MONEY IN THOSE DAYS. YOU KNOW TIMES WERE HARD AND THERE WASNT ALOT OF MONEY AROUND. SO WE JUST USED OUR HARD LUCK STORIES TO MAKE OUR MUSIC. I DID MAKE SOME MONEY SINGIN AT AUCTIONS AND DANCES. WE DID WHAT WE COULD. ME AND HAMMIE WENT TO CHICAGO SEVERAL TIMES TRYIN TO GET SOME MORE RECORDING SESSIONS AND WE RECORDED ON DECCAS CHAMPION LABLE IN JULY OF '35. LATER ON IN'37, WE RECORDED FOR DECCA AGAIN AND DID ALOT BETTER. WE GOT MORE POPULAR AND BY '41 WE RECORDED FOR THE BLUEBIRD LABLE. THEY EVEN PUT ME ON THE COVER OF THE DECCA RACE RECORDS CATALOG. BUT THEN THE WAR CAME ALONG AND MESSED THINGS UP. LIFE GOT HARD AGAIN. LIFE JUST WENT ALONG TILL ONE DAY IN 1961, DAVID BLUMENTHAL CAME TO MY HOUSE TO MAKE A FILM. I SANG FOR HIM WITH MY HEART THAT DAY. IN 1962, WE WENT TO CHICAGO AND RECORDED ON DELMARK FOR ROBERT KOESTER, AND I GUESS WE DID PRETTY GOOD. IN '64, WE PLAYED AT THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL AND PEOPLE LOVED US. YOU KNOW I JUST SANG THE BLUES THAT CAME FROM MY LIFE, MY LOVES AND MY HARD TIMES. IT ALL CAME FROM MY HEART. TO HEAR THE VIDEOS JUST HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON FIRST ON MY MUSIC PLAYER. THEN PLAY VIDEOS.