Hammie Nixon
Hammie Nixon was an American harmonica player.Life and career
Born Hammie Nickerson in Brownsville, Tennessee, he began his music career with jug bands in the 1920s. He is best known as a country blues harmonica player, but he also played the kazoo, guitar and jug. He played with the guitarist Sleepy John Estes for half a century, first recording with Estes in 1929 for Victor Records. He also recorded with Little Buddy Doyle, Lee Green, Clayton T. Driver, Charlie Pickett and Son Bonds.
During the 1920s Nixon helped to pioneer the use of the harmonica as a rhythm instrument in a band setting, rather than as a novelty solo instrument. After Estes died in 1979, Nixon played with the Beale Street Jug Band. Nixon's last recording, "Tappin' That Thing", was recorded shortly before his death in 1984, in Jackson, Tennessee.
