Sleepy John Estes

John Adam Estes (born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee, January 25, 1899 — Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee, June 5, 1977) best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was a blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist.

In 1915, Estes' father, a sharecropper who also played some guitar, moved the family to Brownsville, Tennessee. Not long after, Estes lost the sight of his right eye when a friend threw a rock at him during a baseball game. At the age of 19, while working as a field hand, he began to perform professionally. The venues were mostly local parties and picnics, with the accompaniment of Hammie Nixon, a harmonica player, and James "Yank" Rachell, a guitarist and mandolin player. He would continue to work on and off with both musicians for more than fifty years.