He was "rediscovered" in 1964 by the blues enthusiasts John Fahey, Bill Barth and Henry Vestine who found him in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi.

[1] Because of legal issues concerning the rights to the songs, the recording was not released by Takoma.

The material for Greatest of the Delta Blues Singers was recorded in the home of the musicologist and author Richard K. Spottswood in December 1964 and completed in July 1965.

Biograph also released the material on CD as Hard Time Killing Floor Blues in 2003.

In his review for AllMusic, Jason Ankeny wrote: "Although his guitar skills have lost a step in the intervening years, the passage of time has only made James' vocals that much more expressive; his new material is especially devastating, in particular 'Sick Bed Blues' and 'Washington D.C. Hospital Center Blues', both detailing the fight with cancer that eventually led to his death.