Whether he was playing in a small country church, on the main stage at a festival or in a packed club in Memphis, Jamie Isonhood always played with the same passion.
Isonhood, who died on Easter Sunday at age 82, traveled all over the country playing music. The local legend was a prolific performer who had his own signature style.
Isonhood taught himself to play the piano when he was only five years old and was already developing his unique style as a child. He appeared on WLBT’s “Pride of Mississippi” television program when he was a sixth grader in 1954.
“When we were in school, all the kids liked to gather around him in hopes that he would sit down at the piano and play for us,” said Walter Patterson. “There was nothing that he could not play. After church on Sunday mornings, he would often return that afternoon to practice some of the hymns he had heard during the service, and many of us quickly learned that if we timed it just right, we would be treated to a free concert.”
“One of my favorite memories in high school was Jamie Earl playing for us at recess,” said Mary Ellen Keith. “It was like our own rock concert. He had an amazing God given talent.”
By 1959 Isonhood was playing in a local band for teenage crowds, and he would soon also be playing for church revivals. He played for school dances, and he even got in a little trouble when his grandmother discovered that he’d been playing at a rural juke joint.
After graduating from high school in 1961, he headed to Memphis to pursue a career as a professional musician.
“As a musician and a music lover, I couldn’t have come along at a better time,”
Isonhood said, in a previous interview with The Herald.
Music legends like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and BB King had established Memphis as the music capital of the world. And while the era of these artists was in full swing, rising stars like Al Green and Wilson Pickett were creating an exciting new sound of their own.
“I wish I would have taken a lot of pictures from that era because one day you might see Aretha Franklin and the next day it might be Elvis,” Isonhood said. “At the time I guess I just thought it was always going to be that way.”
It didn’t take long for Isonhood’s talent to be recognized, and he quickly found himself right in the middle of one of the most exciting eras in music history.
“I stayed as busy as possible,” he recalled. “I played in clubs, did studio work and toured with whoever I could.”
In the late 1970s Isonhood moved to Portland, Oregon where he played with bands in the region and worked in recording studios.
He moved back home to Yazoo in the early 1980s. He would go on to start a family that he was extremely proud of and even ended up going back to his roots and playing at Castle Chapel Church.
“Jamie faithfully played every Sunday at Castle Chapel,” said Craig Parr, who noted that Isonhood played at his parents’ wedding in 1960. “He always got the service started on a good note. He also played gospel music when he went most anywhere.”
Isonhood loved a variety of music and could perform it all. In recent years Parr often traveled with Isonhood to help him set up and take down his equipment.
“I helped with gigs from casinos to parades and clubs to church socials and private parties,” Parr said.
Parr said he once was amazed when carrying in binders with over 4,000 songs inside to discover that the pages only had the lyrics to the songs.
“He used the lyrics in the books, but all the music was in his head,” Parr said.
Even in his later years, Isonhood maintained a busy schedule performing.
“Jamie loved to play and love to entertain,” Parr said. “Once he was playing keyboard for hours and his fingers began to bleed. He had me go to Walgreens and get Band-Aids and white gloves so he could continue playing.”
In 2005 Isonhood recorded an album titled “I Played My Blues in Memphis” at the legendary Sun Studios. He said it was the first time he was truly satisfied with a recorded version of his music and called it “the best stuff I’ve ever done.”
Local photographer and longtime friend Scott Jones shot the cover photo for that album and ended up taking countless photos of Isonhood performing over the years.
“I can’t remember the first time I heard him perform, but I know this – after that moment, I was hooked,” Jones said. “His voice had a character all its own, blending effortlessly with the keys as he delivered his signature rockabilly-blues sound. It was a true privilege to travel with him and document his musical journey through my lens.”
In 2008 Isonhood released “I Just Do It When It’s Good,” which included four tracks from a live performance at Gregory’s Shake on the Lake from 1983. At the time the Wolf Lake night club was attracting musical acts from around the region every weekend to perform for packed crowds.
A year later he released “Testifying” which was a return to his roots in gospel music. Jones took the cover photo of Isonhood standing in front of Castle Chapel Church, where he was first exposed to music.
Isonhood was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2012. He was heading out the door to travel to perform in Tunica when his wife noticed the letter in the mail informing him of the honor.
“Jamie touched so many people with his art, his energy and his kindness,” Jones said. “He will be deeply missed by those who had the joy of hearing him play.”
When asked to reflect on his career after decades of making music, Isonhood said he cherished the relationships he built along the way the most. He said it didn’t really seem like it had been that long, and he spent more time looking forward to the next performance than he did thinking about the past.
“Time flies when you’re having fun, and it has all been fun,” he said.
