Ladies First.


Jessie Mae Hemphill (October 18, 1923 -- July 22, 2006) was a pioneering electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist specializing in the primal, northern Mississippi country blues traditions of her family and regional heritage. She was born near Como and Senatobia, Mississippi, in northern Mississippi just east of the Mississippi Delta.

As one of the earliest successful female blues musicians, Hemphill has been an influential and pioneering artists. Her songs have been performed by indie musician Chan Marshall of Cat Power. Marshall used one of Hemphill's tracks on her album Jukebox without credit, to much controversy. In 2003, her protege and collaborator, Olga Wilhelmine Munding founded the Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation to preserve and archive the indigenous music of northern Mississippi and to provide assistance for musicians in need from the region who could not survive on meager publishing royalties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Mae_Hemphill