Blues singer James Lewis Carter 'T-Model' Ford dies

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Stolle, who owns a Clarksdale, Miss., store called Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, accompanied Ford and other blues artists when they toured Europe in 2009. He also traveled with Ford to gigs in New York.

"He was known as one of the last really authentic Mississippi blues men," Stolle told AP. "He has a story and could back it up."

When Ford was young, he served two years of a 10-year prison sentence for killing a man in self-defense, and he had scars on his ankles from prison chain gang shackles, Stolle said.








Ford would show up for gigs early and often play longer than expected, even after heart problems beset him in recent years, Stolle said. Ford would also swig Jack Daniels on stage and chat with the audience. Often, he'd pick out a happy-looking couple that included an attractive woman and would talk directly to the man.

"He'd say, 'You'd better put your stamp on her because if she flags my train, I'm going to let her ride,' " Stolle said. "He'd do it with a gleam in his eye and a smile. He could get away with a lot."

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