Delta Blues Museum Artist Spotlight: Arthneice "Gas Man" Jones

Friday, August 02, 2013

Delta Blues Museum

Clarksdale, MS

In time for the 26th annual Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival, the Delta Blues Museum honors Clarksdale's own Arthneice "Gas Man" Jones. An accomplished vocalist and harmonica player, he and his band were among the regularly featured artists year after year at the Sunflower Festival, nearly from its beginning.

Born in 1946 in Glendora, Mississippi, and raised in Coahoma County, Gas Man's career as a harmonica player and songwriter was shaped by the late Johnnie Billington, who taught Arthneice as well as Arthneice's own band mates and other local legends through his work as a music instructor in Lambert and later for the Delta Blues Education Program. Arthneice fronted The Stone Gas Band-for many years, the house band at Margaret's Blue Diamond in Clarksdale's New World district - and the harmonica master had an unparalleled command of the language and often seemed to create as he performed, never missing a beat. During the 1990s, The Stone Gas Band was a stand-out in the local Blues scene, earning a strong following and praise from audiences and critics for delivering tight, solid performances.

Only at the Delta Blues Museum can visitors learn more about Arthneice "Gas Man" Jones & The Stone Gas Band through the Museum's free "From the Archives" program, sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council. This multimedia event held at the Museum on August 08, 2013, focused on the life and music of Gas Man and his band, featuring panelists Terry "Big T" Williams and Howard Stovall - both former members of The Stone Gas Band. Experience the life and music of Gas Man and other Blues greats at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi - the Land Where Blues Began.