Elmore James, born Elmore Brooks in Richland on January 27, 1918, became known as the “king of the slide guitar,” developing an electric style shaped by Robert Johnson’s boogie bass runs and slide playing and later influencing many blues and rock guitarists. He first played a one-string guitar, soon built a multi-stringed instrument with a lard can, performed in the late 1930s with Robert Johnson and Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2 in Belzoni, and also played with his adopted brother Robert Holston, sometimes in bands with horns and amplifiers. After living on farms in Holmes and Humphreys Counties and serving in the Navy from 1943 to 1945, he returned to Mississippi, learned more about electronic amplification while working at Holston’s radio repair shop in Canton, played on radio shows with Williamson in Belzoni and Helena, Arkansas, and made his debut recording in 1951 for Jackson’s Trumpet label. With Williamson on harmonica, his recording of “Dust My Broom,” a tune Robert Johnson had recorded in 1936, became a national R&B hit, and over the next decade he toured, moved frequently between Mississippi and Chicago, recorded for Meteor, Modern, Chess, Fire, and other labels, and had hits including “I Believe,” “The Sky is Crying,” and “It Hurts Me Too.” James, who had a longstanding coronary condition, died of a heart attack at the Chicago home of fellow musician Homesick James Williamson on May 24, 1963, and after a wake in Chicago his body was returned to Mississippi for burial. Also buried here is Lonnie Pitchford, born near Lexington on October 8, 1955, who was known for his skill on the one-string guitar or “diddley bow” and for preserving older Delta blues traditions. Raised in a family of guitar players, Pitchford built one-string diddley bows as a child, later played regular guitar in a high school band and with gospel groups in local churches and while living in Chicago, Kansas City, and Kalamazoo, and in the 1970s began publicly showcasing his one-string playing under the guidance of folklorist Worth Long, who helped him learn from blues veterans Eugene Powell, Sam Chatmon, and Robert Lockwood. Pitchford later performed across the U.S., toured Europe and Australia, appeared on several albums, and was featured in films and on television. Guitarist Curtis Price, who sometimes played with Pitchford around Lexington, also worked as a carpenter, recorded with the Star Lite Singers gospel group, and is buried here; born on May 2, 1956, he died in an auto accident on July 19, 2010. Pitchford died on November 8, 1998.