Walter (Furry) Lewis the country blues guitarist and song writer was born about 1900 and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where he learned guitar in the early 1900s by listening to his mentor, a middle-aged street singer, named Blind Joe. Never a full-time musician, Lewis played mainly on local streets where his most popular piece was "John Henry." From 1927 to 1928, he recorded twenty-three sides. Most notably "John Henry" and "Kassie Jones" arguably one of the great blues recordings of the '20s. Known to be one of the best blues storytellers, and an extremely nimble-fingered guitarist who both picked and used a slide, he was equally adept at blues and ragtime.
During the folk blues revival in the 1960s the personable Lewis began a second career as a concert performer. Lewis opened twice for The Rolling Stones, played on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and had a part in a Burt Reynolds Movie , W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings (1975). Furry was a charming man who was a living repository for the blues, as many of his contemporaries had passed on by the time anyone had a real interest in preserving and documenting the lives of these musicians who where among the first to record the blues.
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