Accorded recognition and reverence as one of the primary fountainheads of blues music as a formative source for contemporary rock and roll, Son House began to play live in increasingly wider circles as the Sixties evolved. Like Reverend Gary Davis, his equally respected and influential peer (role model for Airplane/Tuna linchpin Jorma Kaukonen), House welcomed the recognition with a knowing, wry attitude, happy to play for appreciative audiences even as his long-in-the-tooth presence telegraphed the years of struggle. History, including such oft-covered tunes such as “John The Revelator” and “Grinnin’ In Your Face”–by Gov’t Mule, among others–only lent further credibility to his music and further elevated his stature to greater heights.
