On March 7, the Library of Virginia will take visitors back to a time when street musicians roamed the Upper South, sharing the music and stories of their lives. From 6 to 7:30 p.m., the library will host a free music performance and book talk focused on Jimmie Strother, a blind Virginia songster whose recordings from 1936 continue to influence American music today.

In June 1936, Strother performed 13 songs at the Virginia State Prison Farm for famed folklorist John Lomax and the Library of Congress. Rooted in the rich soil of the Piedmont region, Strother’s repertoire epitomized the Black songsters who defied easy classification. Blinded in a steel mill explosion, Strother’s drive to connect to the world through song only grew stronger, and he drew on old spirituals and country breakdowns while also exploring blues and ragtime.

Historian and author Gregg D. Kimball will discuss his book, “Searching for Jimmie Strother: A Tale of Music, Murder and Memory,” which reveals Strother’s dramatic life and the creative and historical forces that shaped it. Kimball sheds light on the myths that surround Strother. 

 Gregg D. Kimball
 

Strother’s comedic ditties, spirituals and blues tunes reached wide audiences, and artists such as Pete Seeger and Jefferson Airplane later covered his songs. Yet beneath the surface, his music carried a dark undercurrent, addressing the realities of sundown towns, Jim Crow segregation and labor exploitation that Black Americans faced.

The event is free, but registration is required at lvavirginia.libcal.com. Limited free parking is available at 800 E. Broad St.