Henry Jesse James Townsend, known as Henry "Mule" Townsend, and born on October 27, 1909, in Shelby, Mississippi, was an American blues singer, pianist, and guitarist. He learned guitar from a local blues guitarist named Dudlow Joe while living in St. Louis and began touring and recording by the late 1920s, earning the nickname "Mule." His first recordings were made in 1929 for Columbia Records. Townsend's career spanned nine decades, working with early blues pioneers and recording on various labels. He found greater appreciation for his music in Europe during the mid-1950s. Townsend was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1985. He passed away on September 24, 2006. Townsend posthumously received a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2008 for his performances on Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas (2007).
