Biography
Fiddler James "Butch" Cage, born March 16, 1894, in Hamburg, MS, stood among the final practitioners of the 19th-century black string band tradition, his untamed and propulsive bowing evoking an era nearly erased by modern times. A cane fife served as his initial instrument of substance, after which he developed solid command of guitar, yet the fiddle ultimately claimed his deepest allegiance, its vigorous and restless phrases carrying a distinctly African character. Following the Mississippi floods of 1927, he relocated to southwest Louisiana and took up residence in Zachary, where a series of low-paying jobs supported his performances of string band music at house parties and church gatherings, frequently alongside guitarist Willie B. Thomas. In 1959 musicologist Harry Oster encountered the pair in Zachary, and the resulting field recordings offered a vivid window onto the pre-blues black string band style. The duo also made a striking impression at the 1960 Newport Folk Festival, where many listeners felt they had materialized from an earlier, faded period. Although often labeled a Cajun fiddler by admirers and critics alike, Cage’s method originated in an older African lineage that shaped the Mississippi string band. That singular, evocative approach survives on the albums Country Negro Jam Sessions (Arhoolie 1961), Raise a Ruckus Tonight (Flyright 1979), and Old Time Black Southern String Band Music (Arhoolie 2006). Cage passed away in Zachary in 1975.