H. C. Speir

Henry Columbus Speir (October 6, 1895 – April 22, 1972)[1] was an American "talent broker" and record store owner from Jackson, Mississippi.

Word spread among blues musicians that Speir could help them make records, and many came to audition at the store.

This audition process — along with the ensuing recording sessions — was dramatized in the Wim Wenders-directed installment of the television mini-series Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey, entitled "The Soul of a Man", which aired on PBS in 2003.

Among the numerous musicians whom Speir introduced to the record companies were William Harris,[5] Ishman Bracey, Tommy Johnson,[6] Charlie Patton, Son House, Skip James,[6] Robert Johnson, Bo Carter, Willie Brown, the Mississippi Sheiks, Blind Joe Reynolds, Blind Roosevelt Graves, Geeshie Wiley, and Robert Wilkins.

He is buried alongside his wife at Lakewood Memorial Park Cemetery, in Clinton, Mississippi.