John Jackson--Traditional Musician

John Jackson, Piedmont guitar master and influential traditional musician, was born near here on 25 Feb. 1924. One of fourteen children of tenant farmers Suddy and Hattie Jackson, Jackson learned songs on the guitar and banjo from his parents, traveling and local musicians, and records. He moved to Fairfax County in 1950, where he worked various jobs and started a grave-digging business. Introduced to the Washington, D.C., folk scene in 1964, Jackson performed on eight records, at clubs, on radio, and at festivals in the U.S. and Europe. He received the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship Award in 1986. Jackson died at home in Fairfax Station on 20 Jan. 2002.