Mance Lipscomb (1895-1976)

August 11, 2023 
/ Contributed By: Samuel Momodu

Mance Lipscomb in the 1960s

Mance Lipscomb in the 1960s

Courtesy of Wikipedia (Public Domain)

Mance Lipscomb was a blues singer, guitarist, and songster, born Beau De Glen Lipscomb on April 9, 1895, to an African American father and an African American and Native-American mother in Navasota, Texas. Lipscomb’s father left the family when he was a young child, resulting in him having to leave school in the third grade to work the fields alongside his mother. He spent most of his life as a tenant farmer in Texas. 

When Lipscomb was fourteen, his mother bought him a guitar for $1.50. He learned to play the instrument and became an accomplished performer, playing at local gatherings in what he called “Saturday night suppers.”

In 1960, music producer Chris Strachwiz of Arhoolie Records and blues fan Mack McCormick arrived in Navasota, Texas, where they discovered and recorded Lipscomb. The trio’s work produced what would become Arhoolie Records’ first LP and Lipscomb’s first album called Texas Sharecropper and Songster. The following year, Lipscomb would release his second album, Trouble in Mind. The album included singles like Careless LoveAlabama BoundNight Time is the Right TimeMotherless Children,” and “Trouble in Mind.” The album did not chart and failed to sell at least 500,000 copies. In 1963, Lipscomb and other folk artists, including Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul, and Mary, appeared at the first Monterey Folk Festival. Lipcombs would work with other artists, including Willie Nelson, Pete Seeger, and the Grateful Dead. Fans of his work included President Lyndon Johnson, Bob Dylan, and Frank Sinatra. Lipscomb would release other albums during his career, including Mance Lipscomb: Texas Songster Volume 2 (1964) and Mance Lipscomb Vol 3: Texas Songster in a Live Performance (1965).

In 1971, Lipscomb was the subject of a documentary by Les Blank called A Well-Spent Life. In the documentary, Lipscomb uses a pocketknife as a slide; renders Big Boss ManMotherless Children, and other tunes; and recalls segregation. Lipscomb became an influential figure in the American folk music revival of the 1960s. He also became a regular performer at folk festivals and folk-blues clubs across the United States, including the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, California. Besides being known for his singing and intricate guitar style, but also known for his storytelling and as a country “sage.”

Despite his fame, Lipscomb remained in poverty for the remainder of his life. Three of his albums were released posthumously, including You’ll Never Find Another Man Like Mance (1978), Mance Lipscomb: Texas Blues Guitar (1994), and The Best of Mance Lipscomb (2009). In 1993, a book about Lipscomb called I Say Me for a Parable: The Oral Autobiography of Mance Lipscomb, Texas Bluesman. In 2010, Lipscomb was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, and the following year, a bronze sculpture of him was unveiled in Mance Lipscomb Park in Navasota, Texas. The bronze sculpture portrays Lipcomb playing his guitar while seated, which Sid Henderson sculpted.

Mance Lipscomb died on January 30, 1976, in Navasota, Texas, at 80. He is buried in Rest Haven Cemetery. The annual Navasota Blues Festival is held in his honor. 

About the Author

Author Profile

Samuel Momodu, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, received his Associate of Arts Degree in History from Nashville State Community College in December 2014 and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Tennessee State University in May 2016. He received his Master of Arts Degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University in June 2019.

Momodu’s main areas of research interest are African and African American History. His passion for learning Black history led him to contribute numerous entries to BlackPast.org for the last few years. Momodu has also worked as a history tour guide at President Andrew Jackson’s plantation home near Nashville, the Hermitage. He is currently an instructor at Tennessee State University. His passion for history has also helped him continue his education. In 2024, he received his Ph.D. in History from Liberty University, writing a dissertation titled The Protestant Vatican: Black Churches Involvement in the Nashville Civil Rights Movement 1865-1972. He hopes to use his Ph.D. degree to become a university professor or professional historian.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Momodu, S. (2023, August 11). Mance Lipscomb (1895-1976). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mance-lipscomb-1895-1976/

Source of the Author's Information:

Sources: “Mance Lipscomb,” Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/lipscomb-mance; “Mance Lipscomb,” Texas Monthly, https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/mance-lipscomb/; “Mance Lipscomb,” All Music, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mance-lipscomb-mn0000569856/biography.

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