The history of Mississippi John Hurt reads like a real Cinderella story. Born John Smith Hurt on July 3, 1893 in Teoc (Carroll Co), Mississippi, his family moved to Avalon, Mississippi (where he grew up) when he was 2 years of age. One of ten children (all who played music of one sort or another), Hurt was the most into it and taught himself how to play. Years later, when his white landlord asked how he came up with his melodies, he replied, “Well sir, I just make it sound like I think it should.”