Cornbread Harris, Anthology

It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to listen to a collection of music that spans 67 years of a single person’s career. This collection starts in 1955 with the recording of the Augie Garcia Quintet B-Side “Going to Chicago,” sung by Cornbread back when he was known around town as Jimmy Harris, and includes a recording of “Blue Blue Blue Blues” that Cornbread made with the Peterson brothers just a few years ago, in 2021. 

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What’s even more remarkable is that this 67-year set doesn’t even capture Cornbread’s entire musical career. Born in 1927, the Minnesota music legend began playing piano in grade school, found his passion for the instrument entertaining his fellow soldiers while enlisted in the Army during World War II, and started jamming with friends and gigging at parties shortly after returning home in the late 1940s. At the time of this pressing, Cornbread is 97 years young and still actively performing several times a month in the Twin Cities—including a Sunday-evening residency at a longtime favorite venue of his, Palmer’s Bar, whose rowdiness and unique charm can be heard in the recording of “Cool Rider.”

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Cornbread is primarily regarded as a live performer, and has regaled audiences of diners, bargoers, and revelers at hundreds of venues for more than seven decades. He’s been billed at different points in history as the pianist for the Augie Garcia Quintet, as a sideman for artists like Lazy Bill Lucas and James Bonner, and as the leader of the groups the Swingmasters, the Jimmy Harris Trio, the ICE Blues Band, and Huckleberry Finn, Cornbread and Friends. His charming magnetism as an entertainer is captured in such live recordings as “Never-Ending Love Song” (recorded at another favorite venue of his, The Hook and Ladder) and in his longtime calling card, “The Cornbread Song,” captured at his old Warehouse District stomping grounds, Nikki’s Cafe.

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In addition to his on-stage persona, Cornbread has also quietly, steadfastly explored his passion for original songwriting and studio recording throughout the decades. The poetry of his lyricism is showcased in songs like the heart-rending “Deeper Blues” and the plaintive ballad “Put the World Back Together,” two of the crown jewels in his treasure chest of original compositions. The latter never ceases to put a lump in my throat every time I hear it; the version included here was performed on the Steinway grand piano in Minnesota Public Radio’s studio when Cornbread visited me for a session in 2017.

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In recent years, Cornbread has learned first-hand just what “Put the World Back Together” means in his own life, as he enjoys a loving reconciliation with his long-estranged son, James Samuel “Jimmy Jam” Harris III. Two of the songs in this collection, “Cool Rider” and “Lesson,” were written by Cornbread for Jimmy in the time they were apart, and tell the story of a father whose musical influence on his famous son is undeniable. 

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Taken as a whole, this anthology is tangible proof that James Samuel “Cornbread” Harris Sr. has contributed mightily to the local music scene throughout his nearly century-long life. My personal hope is that this record brings you closer to Cornbread, shines a light on his talent, and helps to cement his role, once and for all, as a founding father of the Minneapolis Sound.

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—Andrea Swensson, author of Deeper Blues: The Life, Songs and Salvation of Cornbread Harris