Biography
Born on 3 March 1909 in Tifton, Georgia, John Alexander Barfield grew up as the son of a cotton farmer. He picked up guitar and began performing in the Columbus region alongside his brother Coot. The pair cut sides for Columbia Records, yet in the early 1930s Barfield formed a friendship with fiddler Bert Lane and moved to Covington, Kentucky, where he became a member of the Skillet Lickers on WCKY. He appeared on WGST in Atlanta during 1936, then returned to Columbus in the late 1930s to broadcast on WRLB, lead his own band at local dancehalls, and share stages often with his close companion Rex Griffin. From 1939 to 1941 he recorded for Bluebird, and his best-known track, “Boogie Woogie,” is credited with introducing that term on disc. Enlisting in the army in 1942, he spent the remainder of the war in a German prison camp. Upon his release he settled back in Columbus, revived his career with steady local engagements, and traveled with major acts that included Bill Monroe and Griffin. Although offered a spot on Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, he chose to remain in his home territory. Around 1958 he issued additional material on his own JB imprint, but his strongest commercial impact occurred in Australia, where his earlier Bluebird recordings enjoyed such demand that they were reissued there in the 1980s. He continued performing in the Columbus area, largely overlooked elsewhere, until shortly before his death on 16 January 1974.