 He worked locally in Jackson, Mississippi in juke joints in the 1930s, and recorded with Little Brother Montgomery in 1935 on Bluebird Records.He began using the moniker "Monkey Joe" during that decade.Late in the 1930s he worked as a session musician for Lester Melrose, and recorded under his own name with Charlie McCoy, Fred Williams, Big Bill Broonzy, and Buster Bennett as backing musicians.