Jack Kelly
b. c.1905, Mississippi, USA. d. c.1960, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Kelly's first jug band, formed in 1925, included Frank Stokes, Dan Sane and Will Batts. Kelly, Batts, Sane and juggist D.M. Higgs were the South Memphis Jug Band on record in 1933. (Kelly, Batts and a guitarist, possibly Ernest Lawlars, recorded again in 1939.) Their sound was characterized by Kelly's vibrant singing, the broad, bluesy tones of Batts’ fiddle and the complex interplay of twin guitars. Kelly's penchant for re-recording the tune of Highway No. 61 Blues is offset by a talent for striking lyrics. After the band broke up in 1934, Kelly worked either solo, with Stokes, or in ad hocbands. In 1953, he recorded for Sun, playing piano with Walter ‘Shakey’ Horton and Joe Hill Louis. A 78 rpm record was scheduled, but never released; part of one side was issued many years later.