Ben Covington

In the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, USA, Covington performed on banjo and rack harmonica while delivering blues and hokum material; his 1928 record labels further suggested he posed as blind, though evidently without much conviction. One especially striking selection opened with the line ‘I heard the voice of a porkchop say, come unto me and rest’. Covington belonged to a jug band that featured Joe Lee ‘Big Joe’ Williams, yet this group was probably distinct from the Birmingham Jug Band that recorded in 1930. He was likely identical to Ben Curry, who cut four tracks in 1932.