ABSTRACT
James “Yank” Rachel was born in 1910 in Brownsville, Tennessee. As a child, he learned the mandolin, which became his main instrument. In the teens he worked locally with Willie Newbern and in the 1920s he performed in the Brownsville area with Sleepy John Estes. He first recorded with Estes and Jab Jones in 1929, and on further sessions was accompanied by Dan Smith, Charlie Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson, Washboard Sam, among others. He was rediscovered along with Estes and Hammie Nixon in the 1960s and played festivals and college concerts, continuing to record into the 1990s. He died in 1997.
