Lauded by Sly Stone as "the funkiest white man I know," Jim Ford was a natural and the ultimate musician's musician. Born in Kentucky, Ford relocated to California via New Orleans in the mid '60s, where he penned songs for soul stars such as Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, and Bobby Womack. His lone record, 1969's HARLAN COUNTY, found him meshing the grooves of New Orleans funk, the vocal swagger of southern soul, the earthy production and instrumentation of country rock, and a folk songwriter's sensibilities in a truly indefinable, but undeniable American roots blend. Unfortunately, the album tanked commercially and Ford, a notorious wild man, fell through the music industry cracks. Bear Family records reissued his complete works in the late '00s, a revival overshadowed by his untimely death in 2007.