Lipscomb, Mance, 1895-1976

Mance Lipscomb, born Beau De Glen Lipscomb, April 9, 1895, Navasota, Texas, (also known as Bowdie Glenn Lipscomb), was a guitarist, songster, and Blues singer. He was born into a musical family and began playing at an early age. His mother bought him a guitar when he was eleven, and he was soon accompanying his father, and later entertaining alone, at suppers and Saturday night dances.

Although he had some contact with such early recording artists as fellow Texans Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind Willie Johnson and early country star Jimmie Rodgers, he did not make recordings until his "discovery" by whites during the folk-song revival of the 1960s. He won wide acclaim and emulation from young white audiences and performers for his virtuosity as a guitarist and the breadth of his repertoire. Admirers enjoyed his lengthy reminiscences and eloquent observations regarding music and life, many of which are contained in taped and written materials in the Lipscomb–Alyn Collection. Lipscomb represented one of the last remnants of the nineteenth-century songster tradition, which predated the development of the blues. Despite his popularity, however, he remained poor. After 1974, declining health confined him to a nursing home and hospitals. He died in Navasota on January 30, 1976.

From the guide to the Lipscomb-Alyn Collection 80-72 through 95-305, 2008-308., 1960-1995, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)