Mance Lipscomb (April 9, 1895 - January 30, 1976) was an American blues singer, guitarist and songster. He was born Beau De Glen Lipscomb near Navasota, Texas. As a youth he took the name Mance (short for emancipation) from a friend of his oldest brother, Charlie.Lipscomb was born April 9, 1895.
His father had been born into slavery in his mother was half African American and half Native American. His father left home when he was a child, so he had to leave school after the third grade to work in the fields alongside his mother. For most of his life, Lipscomb supported himself as a tenant farmer in Texas. His mother bought him a guitar and he taught himself to play by watching and listening.
He became an accomplished performer then and played regularly for years at local gatherings, mostly what he called "Saturday night suppers" hosted by someone in the area. He and his wife regularly hosted such gatherings for a while. Until around 1960, most of his musical activity took place within what he called his "precinct", the area around Navasota,Texas.
Inicialmente, Mance tocaba el violín, en fiestas campestres y salas de baile, y solo comenzó a tocar la guitarra mucho más tarde. Era un verdadero músico folk, que incluía en su repertorio no solo blues, sino también rags, gospel, baladas..., todo ello en un estilo ligero y bailable, con una técnica autodidacta y original en la guitarra. Entre sus temas más populares, estaban Buck and wing, que era una danza típica de las plantaciones (su padre había sido esclavo en ellas), y Heel and toe polka.
Siempre vivió en su pueblo natal, cuidando su parcela agrícola. En 1959, con más de 60 años, grabó su primer disco para Reprise. El éxito del mismo entre los folkies, le permitió actuar en numerosos festivales, sin por ello dejar su granja de Texas. Grabó además varios discos de gran calidad para Arhoolie Records y dictó su autobiografía, editada en Estados Unidos bajo el título de I say me for a parable.
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