Lion of the Blues
(Jaques Demêtre)

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Best American Roots Song
Best American Roots Performance

To all Recording Academy members – Thank you for your consideration.

“Lion of the Blues (Jacques Demêtre)” is an uptempo Chicago blues shuffle celebrating the extraordinary life of France’s beloved blues historian and my long-lost cousin, Jacques Demêtre.

The lyrics describe my cousin’s lifelong passion for the blues and pioneering visit to Chicago, Detroit and New York in 1959 when he met blues greats including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, BB King, John Lee Hooker, Sammy Price and many more.

Born in Paris, France in 1924, Jacques Demêtre was one of the first historians of the blues, traveling to the USA in 1959, writing for Jazz Hot for more than 20 years as well as for Soul Bag magazine, and penning liner notes for countless blues collections. One of the earliest to document blues musicians, recordings and blues history, Demêtre’s bi-lingual book, Voyage au pays du blues (Voyage to the Land of the Blues), a French/English account of his trip to New York, Detroit and Chicago including dozens of Jacques’ classic photos. Today a classic and important document of blues history, the book was first published in 1994, with a new full-color edition published in 2022 by Le Mot et Le Reste.

In 2010 Jacques and I discovered we were cousins – a miraculous story in its own right! – and we met in Paris for the first time, a meeting which has deeply influenced my life and music. I wrote this song in Jacques’ honor, and was able to sing it for him on the phone before he passed away unexpectedly in 2020 at the age of 96.

I released Lion of the Blues this year in Jacques’ honor and as a tribute to his remarkable life, it is a song made of love and inspired by Jacques life-long love of the blues.

I hope you enjoy it!

Jacques “Lion of the Blues” Demêtre & Valerie Ghent, Paris, France 2019

lyrics

Lion of the Blues (Jacques Demêtre)
words & music by Valerie Ghent

He was born in 1924
In Paris the city of light
Who coulda known this young man
Would make the blues his life

He loved 78’s – Ellington & Bechet
‘Til he heard Champion Jack Dupree
From that day on Jacques couldn’t wait
For any new blues release

He went to Chicago, New York, Detroit
In 1959
Met Big Bill Broonzy, Howlin’ Wolf
BB King, Muddy Waters and Sammy Price

Invited to stay, he met their wives
Making friends wherever he went
Steeped deep down inside the blues
He was the first to document – you know he’s

Lion of the Blues
Champion of the Blues
He’s a man who understands
Ain’t nothing as grand as the blues

He wrote for Jazz Hot, wrote “Land of the Blues”
Describing joy, heartache and pain
He captured the essence, stories and truths
Of blues men and women who sang

Introduced me to singers I never knew
Like Julia Lee and Georgia White
He said “I hear their spirit when you sing”
As he looked at me and smiled

Their voices came alive that summer day
He taught me song by song
Jacques showed me everything
About how the blues lives on

Name any musician
He’ll tell you their songs
What year, what record, and who
He’s walking living history
He’s the Lion of the Blues

Lion of the Blues (Jacques Demêtre)
Champion of the Blues (Jacques Demêtre)
He’s a man who understands
Ain’t nothing as grand as the blues

The very last song Jacques played for me
was “Key to the Highway”
My beloved cousin was 96
Still loving Big Bill Broonzy

There’s no goodbye, just au revoir
When you love someone true
Jacques lives on forever more
he’s the Lion of the Blues

Lion of the Blues (Jacques Demêtre)
Champion of the Blues (Jacques Demêtre)
He’s a man who understands
Ain’t nothing as grand like the blues

He’s Lion of the Blues (Jacques Demêtre)
He’s a Champion of the Blues (Jacques Demêtre)
He’s a man who understands
Ain’t nothing as grand
A man so grand he understands
A man who understands
Ain’t nothing like the blues

credits