John Jackson, Piedmont guitar master and influential traditional musician, was born near here on25 Feb. 1924. One of fourteen children of tenantfarmers Suddy and Hattie Jackson, Jackson learnedsongs on the guitar and banjo from his parents,traveling and local musicians, and records. Hemoved to Fairfax County in 1950, where he workedvarious jobs and started a grave-digging business.Introduced to the Washington, D.C., folk scene in1964, Jackson performed on eight records, at clubs,on radio, and at festivals in the U. S. and Europe.He received the prestigious National HeritageFellowship Award in 1986. Jackson died at homein Fairfax Station on 20 Jan. 2002.
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