J. D. Short was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, and harmonicist born on December 26, 1902, in Port Gibson, Mississippi. He moved to Hollandale in 1910 and Clarksdale in 1912, where he continued learning the guitar and piano. In 1923, he relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, where he performed in clubs and at house parties. He recorded as Jaydee Short for Paramount Records in 1930, as Jelly Jaw Short for Vocalion Records in 1932, and for Bluebird in 1933. In St. Louis, he played in a band called The Neckbones, which at times included Henry Spaulding, Honeyboy Edwards, Douglas Williams, and Big Joe Williams. During the late 1930s, he joined a swing band after learning to play the clarinet. He was drafted into the army in October 1942 but was discharged in March 1943 after an injury. Following World War II, he performed in St. Louis as a one-man band. He returned to the studio in 1958, accompanying Big Joe Williams on his album Piney Woods Blues. His subsequent recordings include the collaborative album Blues from the Mississippi Delta (1963), and he appeared in the 1963 documentary film The Blues performing the song “Slidin' Delta”. He died of a heart attack on October 21, 1962, in St. Louis. His posthumous releases include Stavin' Chain Blues (1965) and The Legacy of the Blues, Vol. 8 (1973).
