ABOUT THE ARTIST

John Cephas was born in Washington, D.C. in 1930 into a deeply religious family and raised in Bowling Green, Virginia. His first taste of music was gospel, but blues soon became his calling (as he describes in his new song,) "I Was Determined". After learning to play the alternating thumb and fingerpicking guitar style that defines Piedmont blues, John began emulating the records he heard by Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Blake, Gary Davis and other early Piedmont artists.

Aside from playing blues, John worked early on as a professional gospel singer, carpenter and Atlantic fisherman. By the 1960s, he was starting to make a living from his music. John joined pianist Wilber "Big Chief" Ellis band and worked with him until Ellis' death in 1977. Among his many endeavors, John serves on the Executive Committee of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, and has testified before congressional committees.