1998 32c Folk Musicians: Josh White

US #3215
1998 Josh White

• Part of set of 4 featuring Folk Musicians
• 11th installment in Legends of American Music series

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Legends of American Music (Folk Musicians)
Value:  32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  June 26, 1998
First Day City:  Washington, DC
Quantity Issued:  11,250,000
Printed by:  Sennett Security products
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Pane of 20
Perforations:  10.1 X 10.2

Why the stamp was issued:  This stamp is part of a set of four issued in honor of American folk musicians Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry, Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter, and Josh White.

About the stamp design:  Portrait artist Bernie Fuchs is the talent behind the stamp images.  He chose to paint in oil to give texture to his work. 

Special design details:  Like the other stamps in the Legends of American Music series, the edges around the vignette are soft rather than being a defined, crisp border.

First Day City:  The stamps were issued during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the national Mall in Washington, DC.

About the Legends of American Music Series:  The Legends of American Music Series debuted on January 8, 1993, and ran until September 21, 1999.  More than 90 artists are represented from all styles of music:  rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, country and western, jazz and pop, opera and classical, gospel and folk.  In addition to individual singers and Broadway musicals, subjects include band leaders, classical composers, Hollywood songwriters and composers, conductors, lyricists, and more.  The Legends of American Music Series was a huge advancement for diversity because it honored many Black and female artists.
The Folk Musicians stamps are the 11th in the Legends of American Music series.  They honor four musicians who wrote heart-stirring ballads and songs about political issues.  Those commemorated on these stamps are: Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter, whose greatest is was “Goodnight Irene;” Woody Guthrie, the talent behind “This Land is Your Land;” Sonney Terry, who was known for his harmonica playing; and guitarist Josh White, who sang “Nobody Know You When You’re Down and Out.”

History the stamp represents:  One of six children born to a poor preacher and his wife in Greenville, South Carolina, Joshua Daniel White (1915-1969) witnessed the fatal beating of his father when he was seven years old.  Two months later, he went on the road with singer Blind Man Arnold.  For the next nine years, he would act as “lead boy” for Arnold and dozens of other blind street singers, playing tambourine and guitar, plus singing and dancing in street shows.
In 1931, Josh moved to New York City to record for ARC Records.  He also earned money as a prize fighter.  His string of gospel hits began in 1932, soon followed by blues hits he recorded under the name Pinewood Tim.
In 1936, John lost the use of his right hand in a fight.  Regaining the use of the hand two years later, he soon starred on Broadway, in films, and at major nightclubs.  In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt heard Josh’s protest records and invited him to become the first black artist to give a White House Command Performance.
While on a goodwill tour in Europe in 1950 with UN Ambassador Eleanor Roosevelt, Josh was blacklisted in America as a communist and barred from working here.  Eventually returning, he appeared on television with President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and performed at Lyndon Baines Johnson’s inauguration in 1965.