SONG OF THE DAY Guitar Nubbit – Georgia Chain Gang

---

Though he never made it as big as many other blues artists of his time, Alvin Hankerson, a.k.a Guitar Nubbit, did record a handful of records throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. Signed to a Boston label called Bluestown, Hankerson actually acquired his stage name many years before! During a hurricane when he was three years old, he lost the tip of his right thumb and this unfortunate incident led to his lifelong nickname, Nubbit (sometimes shortened to Nub)!

Initially active in the early 1960’s, this Florida-born blues singer and guitarist was fortunate enough to meet the owner (Skippy White) of a label called Bluestown in 1961. This lucky break resulted in a handful of 45’s, all of which were heavily influenced by the style of Blind Boy Fuller.

Spending most of his formative years in George, he relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1945. Here he attempted to teach himself to play the guitar, but after a year of trying he gave up. It would be nearly a decade later that he resumed his playing, but this time he enlisted the help of a former music teacher who gave him guitar lessons. Guitar Nubbit eventually mastered the rudiments of the instrument and went on to perform locally, playing and singing a lot of his own compositions whilst continuing his trade as a barber!

Though not his first single, Georgia Chain Gang became his most noteworthy song and followed his debut 45, Evil Woman Blues – which was released later that year in 1962. Backed on the B-side with Hard Road, I love how much can come out of just one voice, a guitar and a whole lot of feeling! Check it out above.