1944 Adolphus Bell*
1977 Sleepy John Estes+
Ken Kawashima aka Sugar Brown*
Happy Birthday
Adolphus Bell *05.06.1944
Das späteste Debüt aller Zeiten. Adolphus Bell gehört zu jenen Originalen, die die 1994 von Tim und Denise Duffy gegründete Music Maker Relief Foundation in den weiten Landstrichen der US-Provinz aufstöberte. Die beiden ahnten, dass unter den vielen Straßenmusikern, die ihren Lebensunterhalt mit Jobs wie Kellner, Landarbeiter oder Fischer verdienen, so manch funkelndes Juwel dabei ist. Mit den Jahren veröffentlichte das Duo mehr als fünfzig CDs von Bluesern, die bislang noch nicht von der Musikindustrie und ihren nivellierenden Bedingungen gestreift wurden.
Adolphus Bell (born June 5, 1944 in Birmingham, died October 28, 2013 in Birmingham) was a blues musician, best known as a "one man band".
Bell was the son of a miner who died two months before Adolphus was born. He grew up in Luverne, Crenshaw County, working on farms. He moved with his mother to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1962 and learned guitar from neighbor George Benson, eventually joining his "All Stars" band as a bassist. During the 1960s he played around the city with his own quintet called Adolphus Bell and the Upstarts. He dubbed his 1960 Gibson guitar "Pawnshop" because every time he bought it back out of hock it had a more bluesy sound.
Discouraged with the unreliability of his bandmates, he experimented with singing while playing guitar, bass drum and high-hat himself. He played Pittsburgh, then began touring the country in a station wagon he bought with lottery winnings. He painted "One Man Band" on both sides to advertise his music.
Bell moved to Flint, Michigan with his sisters around 1970 and continued playing, supplementing club gigs with street performances and bookings at senior centers and jailhouses. He also spent a lot of time on the road. During an extended visit to Atlanta, Georgia in the mid-1970s, Bell was arrested for playing without a permit, but public pressure on Mayor Jackson led to an eventual order that police leave him alone.
In the late 1970s, Bell headed west to try his luck in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He worked as a regular casino employee and put his music on a back burner. The highlight of his sabbatical was a $200 tip from Telly Savalas. He eventually packed up his station wagon and wound his way back through the South until he found himself back in Alabama. After a brief stay in Birmingham he settled in Gadsden in 1980 and took a day job at a chicken plant while he pursued blues gigs at night. He returned to Atlanta in the late 1980s and landed a regular booking as a "street busker" at Underground Atlanta. After the 1996 Olympics Games he returned to Birmingham.
In 2004, Bell was contacted by the Music Maker Relief Foundation, which organized international tours and produced an album. He drove a brown van with his "One Man Band Show" advertised on the side panels until lung cancer forced him to stay at home. The foundation continued to help Bell with expenses and encouragement. He died in October 2013 and was buried at Oakland Cemetery.
Ken Kawashima aka Sugar Brown *05.06.
Born in 1971 and raised in Bowling Green, Ohio, Sugar Brown was born as Ken Chester Kawashima to a Japanese father and Korean mother who both immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960s. Now a permanent resident of Toronto, Canada, Sugar Brown is a modern blues musician, singer and songwriter. His brand of dark, sweet, and inconsolable blues has caught the attention of the Canadian music scene, winning the 2013 Toronto Blues Society Talent Search and quickly receiving invitations to play at the Kitchener Blues Festival and the prestigious Mariposa Folk Festival in 2014.
Sugar Brown’s blues originated while studying as a college student at the University of Chicago. By day, he studied history, political economy, and philosophy; by night he learned to play the blues from Chicago’s famed West Side blues raconteur and singer, Taildragger, as well as from blues legends such as Dave Myers and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, the late drummer of Muddy Water’s band. Sugar Brown’s blues were shaped by playing the small clubs and venues along the West Side of Chicago, where the sounds and memories of past blues greats like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, and Magic Sam were still very much alive. Taildragger’s band, The La-Z Boys, played this style of blues every week at the 5105 Club and every weekend in the summer months at the now defunct Delta Fish Market, originally a gas station that was renovated in the 1970s into a fish market (with fish transported fresh from the Mississippi delta) with live blues music. There, in the parking lot, Sugar Brown played harmonica on a large, red-painted stage behind Taildragger and before delighted, dancing audiences of the West Side of Chicago. Since the 1970s until the late 1990s, the Delta Fish Market hosted performances by the likes of Sunnyland Slim, Eddie Taylor, Taildragger, and even Lightnin’ Hopkins. For Sugar Brown, playing at the “Fish Market” was better than heaven on earth and it changed him and his thinking forever.
(The Delta Fish Market sadly went out of business in the late 1990s. In the 1980s, however, Dutch television accurately captured on film the scene at the Delta Fish Market, including live footage of Honeyboy Edwards, Eddie Taylor, Taildragger, Detroit Jr., Johnny Littlejohn, and others, here.
Taildragger is responsible for giving Ken the stage name Sugar Brown in 1992, saying to him, “You ain’t black…..and you sure ain’t white….You’re Sugar Brown.” (Taildragger’s first two proposals for Ken’s stage name were “Japanese Boy” and “The Korea Kid”, both of which Ken vetoed outright, claiming he was in a blues band not an early United Nations delegation.) After Taildragger was imprisoned for shooting and killing fellow west side bluesman Boston Blackie in 1994, however, Sugar Brown left Chicago to pursue a Ph.D. in modern Japanese history under the supervision of intellectual historian, Professor Harry D. Harootunian. He moved for several years to Tokyo to study Japanese language and history, but couldn’t stop playing and singing the blues. He studied during the day and played blues at night as a regular performer in one of Tokyo’s best known blues bars, Bright Brown.
Since completing his Ph.D. in history from New York University in 2002, Sugar Brown has been living and working in Toronto. By day, he studies and teaches at school, now as Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at the University of Toronto.
Sugar Brown - October 2015
R.I.P.
Sleepy John Estes +05.06.1977
Sleepy John Estes (* 25. Januar 1904 in Ripley, Tennessee; † 5. Juni 1977 in Brownsville, Tennessee; eigentlich John Adam Estes) war ein einflussreicher US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist, -Sänger und -Komponist. Sein Spitzname Sleepy John wird auf niedrigen Blutdruck und die sich daraus ergebenden Schlafanfälle zurückgeführt. Es wird berichtet, dass er im Stehen schlafen konnte und auch auf der Bühne eingeschlafen sein soll.
Als Kind erblindete Estes nach einem Baseball-Unfall auf dem rechten Auge. Er baute sich schon früh aus Zigarrenkisten Gitarren, um darauf zu spielen. 1915 zog die Familie nach Brownsville, Tennessee, wo Estes den Mandolinenspieler Yank Rachell kennenlernte; die beiden wurden langjährige Bluespartner. Ein weiterer Jugendfreund von Estes war Sonny Boy Williamson.
Estes, Rachell und Hammie Nixon (Mundharmonika) traten häufig zusammen auf. Mit dem Jug-Spieler und Pianisten Jab Jones gründeten Estes und Rachell in Memphis die „Three J’s Jug Band“, die 1929 und 1930 einige Aufnahmen machte. Im Jahr 1931 gingen Estes und Nixon nach Chicago. Später zogen sie auf der Suche nach Auftritten umher. 1937 und 1938 machten sie Aufnahmen in New York, unter anderem zusammen mit Robert Nighthawk.
Im Jahr 1941 zog Estes nach Brownsville zurück. Musikalisch wurde es still um ihn, und man sagt, er soll sogar für tot gehalten worden sein. 1950 wurde er vollständig blind. Im Zuge des Folk-Revivals wurde er 1962, völlig verarmt, wiederentdeckt. Er trat 1964 mit Rachell und Nixon beim Newport Folk Festival auf, nahm einige Alben auf und ging wieder auf Tour, bevor ihn gesundheitliche Probleme an sein Heim in Brownsville banden.
Sleepy John Estes starb am 5. Juni 1977 und ist in Durhamville, Tennessee, beigesetzt.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepy_John_Estes
John Adam Estes[1] (January 25, 1899[2] – June 5, 1977[3]), best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was an American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.[1]
Career
In 1915, Estes' father, a sharecropper who also played some guitar, moved the family to Brownsville, Tennessee. Not long after, Estes accidentally lost the sight in his right eye when a friend threw a rock at him.[3] At the age of 19, while working as a field hand, he began to perform professionally. The venues were mostly local parties and picnics, with the accompaniment of Hammie Nixon, a harmonica player, and James "Yank" Rachell, a guitarist and mandolin player. He would continue to work on and off with both musicians for more than fifty years.[1]
Estes made his debut as a recording artist in Memphis, Tennessee in 1929, at a session organized by Ralph Peer for Victor Records.[3] He recorded the tracks "Drop Down Mama" and "Someday Baby Blues" with Nixon in 1935. He later worked with Son Bonds and Charlie Pickett.[4] He later recorded for the Decca and Bluebird labels, with his last pre-war recording session taking place in 1941.[3] He made a brief return to recording at Sun Studio in Memphis in 1952, recording "Runnin' Around" and "Rats in My Kitchen", but otherwise was largely out of the public eye for two decades.
Estes was a fine singer, with a distinctive "crying" vocal style. He frequently teamed with more capable musicians, like "Yank" Rachell, Hammie Nixon, and the piano player Jab Jones. Estes sounded so much like an old man, even on his early records, that blues revivalists reportedly delayed looking for him because they assumed he would have to be long dead, and because fellow musician Big Bill Broonzy had written that Estes had died. By the time he was tracked down, by Bob Koester and Samuel Charters in 1962, he had become completely blind and was living in poverty. He resumed touring and recording, working with Nixon on tour and on works released on the Delmark Records label.[4] His later records are generally considered less interesting than his pre-war output. Estes, Nixon and Rachell appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964.[5]
Bob Dylan mentions Estes in the sleeve notes to Bringing It All Back Home (1965).[6]
Many of Estes' original songs were based on events in his own life or on people he knew from his home town of Brownsville, Tennessee, such as the local lawyer ("Lawyer Clark Blues"), local auto mechanic ("Vassie Williams' Blues"), or an amorously inclined teenage girl ("Little Laura Blues").[4] "Lawyer Clark Blues" referenced the lawyer, and later judge and senator, Hugh L. Clarke. Clarke and his family lived in Brownsville, and according to the song let Estes 'off the hook' for an offense.
He also dispensed advice on agricultural matters ("Working Man Blues") and chronicled his own attempt to reach a recording studio for a session by hopping a freight train ("Special Agent (Railroad Police Blues)"). His lyrics combined keen observation with an ability to turn an effective phrase.[7][8]
Some accounts attribute his nickname "Sleepy" to a blood pressure disorder and/or narcolepsy. Others, such as blues historian Bob Koester, claim he simply had a "tendency to withdraw from his surroundings into drowsiness whenever life was too cruel or too boring to warrant full attention".[7][9]
Death
Estes suffered a stroke while preparing for a European tour, and died on June 5, 1977, at his home of 17 years in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee.[3][10][11] Estes is buried at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.[11]
His gravemarker reads:[2]
Sleepy John Estes
".. ain't goin' to worry Poor John's mind anymore"
In Memory
John Adam Estes
Jan. 25, 1899
June 5, 1977
Blues Pioneer
Guitarist – Songwriter – Poet
Sleepy John Estes' epitaph ".. ain't goin' to worry Poor John's mind anymore"[2] was derived from his song, "Someday Baby Blues." "I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More" was recorded in 1935,[12] and in his song "Drop Down Mama", also recorded in 1935, Sleepy John refers to himself as "Poor John". Estes' grave at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville is located off a country road and at the far end of the cemetery. His grave is adjacent to a small grove of trees, secluded but not hidden.
In 1991, Estes was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Career
In 1915, Estes' father, a sharecropper who also played some guitar, moved the family to Brownsville, Tennessee. Not long after, Estes accidentally lost the sight in his right eye when a friend threw a rock at him.[3] At the age of 19, while working as a field hand, he began to perform professionally. The venues were mostly local parties and picnics, with the accompaniment of Hammie Nixon, a harmonica player, and James "Yank" Rachell, a guitarist and mandolin player. He would continue to work on and off with both musicians for more than fifty years.[1]
Estes made his debut as a recording artist in Memphis, Tennessee in 1929, at a session organized by Ralph Peer for Victor Records.[3] He recorded the tracks "Drop Down Mama" and "Someday Baby Blues" with Nixon in 1935. He later worked with Son Bonds and Charlie Pickett.[4] He later recorded for the Decca and Bluebird labels, with his last pre-war recording session taking place in 1941.[3] He made a brief return to recording at Sun Studio in Memphis in 1952, recording "Runnin' Around" and "Rats in My Kitchen", but otherwise was largely out of the public eye for two decades.
Estes was a fine singer, with a distinctive "crying" vocal style. He frequently teamed with more capable musicians, like "Yank" Rachell, Hammie Nixon, and the piano player Jab Jones. Estes sounded so much like an old man, even on his early records, that blues revivalists reportedly delayed looking for him because they assumed he would have to be long dead, and because fellow musician Big Bill Broonzy had written that Estes had died. By the time he was tracked down, by Bob Koester and Samuel Charters in 1962, he had become completely blind and was living in poverty. He resumed touring and recording, working with Nixon on tour and on works released on the Delmark Records label.[4] His later records are generally considered less interesting than his pre-war output. Estes, Nixon and Rachell appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964.[5]
Bob Dylan mentions Estes in the sleeve notes to Bringing It All Back Home (1965).[6]
Many of Estes' original songs were based on events in his own life or on people he knew from his home town of Brownsville, Tennessee, such as the local lawyer ("Lawyer Clark Blues"), local auto mechanic ("Vassie Williams' Blues"), or an amorously inclined teenage girl ("Little Laura Blues").[4] "Lawyer Clark Blues" referenced the lawyer, and later judge and senator, Hugh L. Clarke. Clarke and his family lived in Brownsville, and according to the song let Estes 'off the hook' for an offense.
He also dispensed advice on agricultural matters ("Working Man Blues") and chronicled his own attempt to reach a recording studio for a session by hopping a freight train ("Special Agent (Railroad Police Blues)"). His lyrics combined keen observation with an ability to turn an effective phrase.[7][8]
Some accounts attribute his nickname "Sleepy" to a blood pressure disorder and/or narcolepsy. Others, such as blues historian Bob Koester, claim he simply had a "tendency to withdraw from his surroundings into drowsiness whenever life was too cruel or too boring to warrant full attention".[7][9]
Death
Estes suffered a stroke while preparing for a European tour, and died on June 5, 1977, at his home of 17 years in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee.[3][10][11] Estes is buried at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.[11]
His gravemarker reads:[2]
Sleepy John Estes
".. ain't goin' to worry Poor John's mind anymore"
In Memory
John Adam Estes
Jan. 25, 1899
June 5, 1977
Blues Pioneer
Guitarist – Songwriter – Poet
Sleepy John Estes' epitaph ".. ain't goin' to worry Poor John's mind anymore"[2] was derived from his song, "Someday Baby Blues." "I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More" was recorded in 1935,[12] and in his song "Drop Down Mama", also recorded in 1935, Sleepy John refers to himself as "Poor John". Estes' grave at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville is located off a country road and at the far end of the cemetery. His grave is adjacent to a small grove of trees, secluded but not hidden.
In 1991, Estes was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
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