1890 Noah Lewis* 1)
1913 Billy Bizor*
1915 Memphis Slim*
1925 Charley Booker*
1934 Freddie King*
1970 Al Wilson+
2001 Dave Myers+
1) Das genaue Datum ist dem Autor nicht bekannt
R.I.P.
Al Wilson +03.09.1970
Alan „Blind Owl“ Christie Wilson (* 4. Juli 1943 in Boston, Massachusetts; † 3. September 1970 in Topanga, Kalifornien) war ein US-amerikanischer Sänger, Mundharmonikaspieler, Gitarrist und Komponist, der vor allem als Gründungsmitglied der Band Canned Heat bekannt war.
Wilson wuchs in seiner Heimatstadt Boston auf, studierte an der Boston University Musik und schloss dies mit einem Master ab. Er verdiente sich Geld hinzu, indem er in Cambridge in Cafés und Folk-Clubs auftrat, wie den bekannten Club 47 (später Club Passim), in dem damals bekannte Musiker wie Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Tom Rush (oder später Suzanne Vega) auftraten.
Wilson galt als Blues-Historiker und -Plattensammler und schrieb während seines Studiums und danach verschiedene Artikel über Bluesmusiker für die Musikzeitschrift Broadside Of Boston, so auch über Robert Pete Williams und Son House.
Nachdem Son House 1964 von Dick Waterman, Nick Perls und Phil Spiro wiederentdeckt worden war, half ihm Wilson dabei, sich das Repertoire an Songs, das er in den 1930er und 1940er Jahren gespielt und aufgenommen, inzwischen aber vergessen hatte, neu zu erarbeiten. Zusammen veröffentlichten sie das Album Father of the Delta Blues (Columbia Records), bei dem Wilson auf einigen Stücken die zweite Gitarre oder Mundharmonika spielte.
1965 ging Wilson mit John Fahey auf eine unbedeutende Tournee von Boston nach Los Angeles. Von Fahey bekam Wilson den Spitznamen Blind Owl, da er dicke Brillengläser benötigte, um seine schwache Sehkraft auszugleichen. Später half Wilson Fahey bei dessen Masterarbeit über Charley Patton.
Über Fahey kam Wilson mit Bob Hite zusammen, mit dem er 1966 die Band Canned Heat gründete. Mit Canned Heat feierte er seine größten Erfolge. Er spielte die Leadgitarre, Mundharmonika, Piano und übernahm zusammen mit Hite den Gesang. Zusammen mit Canned Heat trat er 1967 beim Monterey Pop Festival und 1969 beim Woodstock-Festival auf. Seine hohe Tenorstimme gehört zu den wenigen, die bei der Dokumentation klar hörbar sind. Zu dieser Zeit galten er und Henry Vestine, laut dem Musikmagazin Downbeat, als das beste Gitarristen-Duo, wobei Vestine als der bessere Gitarrist und Wilson als der bessere Mundharmonikaspieler angesehen wurde.
Neben seiner Arbeit mit Canned Heat trat Wilson noch mit weiteren Musikern auf.
1969 traf Wilson zufällig Sunnyland Slim, mit dem er das Album Slim's Got His Thing Going On aufnahm und veröffentlichte. Neben ihm wirkten auch weitere bekannte Musiker wie Shakey Horton, Johnny Shines und Willie Dixon an dem Album mit.
1970 nahm er mit Son House bei einem Live-Auftritt im 100 Club, London, ein weiteres Album John The Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions auf.
Ebenfalls 1970 arbeitete Wilson mit seinem Vorbild John Lee Hooker zusammen und wirkte bei dem Album Hooker 'n' Heat mit, bei dem der Song The World Today entstand, den er am Piano begleitete.
Da Wilson mit seinem Erfolg nicht zurechtkam und sich übermäßig viele Sorgen um die Umwelt machte, verfiel er mehr und mehr in tiefe Depressionen und versuchte mehrfach sich umzubringen.
Im September 1970 starb Wilson im Alter von 27 Jahren in Topanga an einer Überdosis Barbiturate. Dies wird heute einvernehmlich als Selbstmord angesehen, obgleich er keinen Abschiedsbrief hinterlassen hat und es gemäß der Untersuchung auch eine versehentliche Überdosis gewesen sein könnte. Zudem galt er nicht als drogensüchtig, aber dafür als depressiv.
Trivia
Wilson war ein überzeugter Anhänger des Naturschutzes. So schrieb er 1969 das Lied Poor Moon zum Thema "Mondverschmutzung" und den Essay Grim Harvest über die Riesenmammutbaumwälder in Kalifornien, die von San Francisco bis nach Oregon reichen, welches im Inlay des Canned Heat Albums Future Blues abgedruckt ist.
Early years
Wilson was born and grew up in the Boston suburb of Arlington, Massachusetts.[1] He majored in music at Boston University and often played the Cambridge coffeehouse folk-blues circuit. He acquired the nickname "Blind Owl" owing to his extreme nearsightedness.[2] In one instance when he was playing at a wedding, he laid his guitar on the wedding cake because he did not see it. As Canned Heat's drummer, Fito de la Parra, wrote in his book: "Without the glasses, Alan literally could not recognize the people he played with at two feet, that's how blind the 'Blind Owl' was." [3] Wilson wrote for a newspaper in Boston and was considered one of the foremost experts on the blues musicians who came before him. A dedicated student of early blues, his biggest influences included Skip James, Robert Johnson, Son House, Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Booker White. James was the most exalted figure in Wilson's personal music journey. In high school, Wilson studied James' 1931 recordings with great fascination. It was around that time Wilson began singing similar to James' high pitch. Wilson eventually perfected the high tenor, for which he would become known.
Canned Heat
With Canned Heat, Wilson performed at two prominent concerts of the 1960s era, the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969. Although Canned Heat's performance was cut from the original theatrical release of the Woodstock film, they were featured in the 25th anniversary "Director's Cut." The exception was "Going Up the Country," which was featured in the opening credits of the original Woodstock film.[4] It has been referred to as the festival's unofficial theme song. Wilson also wrote and sang the notable "On the Road Again." In an interview with Down Beat magazine he remarked that, "...on On The Road Again [second LP] I appear in six different capacities – three tamboura parts, harmonica, vocal, and guitar, all recorded at different times." [5]
Wilson was a passionate conservationist who loved reading books on botany and ecology. He often slept outdoors to be closer to nature. In 1969, he wrote and recorded a song, "Poor Moon", which expressed concern over potential pollution of the moon. He wrote an essay called 'Grim Harvest', about the coastal redwood forests of California, which was printed as the liner notes to the Future Blues album by Canned Heat.
After Eddie 'Son' House's 'rediscovery' in 1964, Wilson taught him how to play again the songs House had recorded in 1930 and 1942 (which he had forgotten over a long absence from music); House recorded for Columbia in 1965 and two of three selections featuring Wilson on harmonica and guitar appeared on the set. On the double album Hooker 'N Heat (1970), John Lee Hooker is heard wondering how Wilson is capable of following Hooker's guitar playing so well. Hooker was known to be a difficult performer to accompany, partly because of his disregard of song form. Yet Wilson seemed to have no trouble at all following him on this album. Hooker concludes that "you [Wilson] musta been listenin' to my records all your life". Hooker is also known to have stated "Wilson is the greatest harmonica player ever"
Stephen Stills' song "Blues Man" from the album Manassas is dedicated to Wilson, along with Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman.
Death
On September 3, 1970 Wilson was found dead on a hillside behind band mate Bob Hite's Topanga Canyon house. He was 27 years old. An autopsy identified his cause of death as acute barbiturate intoxication.[6] Wilson reportedly had attempted suicide a few months earlier, attempting to drive his car off a freeway in Los Angeles. He was briefly hospitalized for significant Depression, and was released after a few weeks.[7] Although his death is sometimes reported as a suicide, this is not clearly established and he left no note.[8] Wilson's death came just two weeks before the death of Jimi Hendrix and four weeks before the death of Janis Joplin.
Wilson was interested in preserving the natural world, particularly the redwood trees. When he died so too did the Music Mountain organization he had initiated dedicated to this purpose.[9] In order to support his dream, Wilson’s family has purchased a “grove naming” in his memory through the Save the Redwoods League of California. The money donated to create this memorial will be used by the League to support redwood reforestation, research, education, and land acquisition of both new and old growth redwoods.
Dave Myers - Blues Special Club - Buenos Aires - Argentina (1998) P.2
Happy Birthday
Freddie King *03.09.1934
Freddie King (* 3. September 1934 in Gilmer, Texas; † 28. Dezember 1976 in Dallas, Texas) war ein Bluesmusiker und einer der „drei Kings des elektrischen Blues“, neben Albert King und B. B. King. Sein Stil beeinflusste Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan und Lonnie Mack u.a. Zudem war er einer der ersten Bluesmusiker, der mit einer Band aus Schwarzen und Weißen spielte.
Freddie King wurde als Frederick Christian geboren und erhielt seinen ersten Gitarrenunterricht von seiner Mutter und seinem Onkel. Ursprünglich spielte er ländlichen akustischen Blues in der Nachfolge von Lightnin’ Hopkins, aber schon als Teenager fühlte er sich vom raueren Chicago Blues angezogen.[1] Er ging im Jahr 1950 mit seiner Familie nach Chicago und gründete bald seine eigene Band, The Every Hour Blues Boys, später spielte er mit Bands von Little Sonny Cooper und Hound Dog Taylor zusammen. Vermutlich durch den Einfluss von Hound Dog Taylor entwickelte Freddie King in dieser Zeit seinen rauen Bluesstil auf der elektrischen Gitarre.
Im Jahr 1960 nahm Freddie King die Bluessongs auf, die später zu seinen kommerziellen Erfolgen wurden. Hierzu gehören sowohl Instrumentalstücke wie The Stumble, das Peter Green auf der John-Mayall-Produktion A Hard Road eindrucksvoll arrangierte, und San-Ho-Zay, aber auch gesungene Blues-Titel wie Have You Ever Loved a Woman und I’m Tore Down, das später von Eric Clapton übernommen wurde und bei Blues-Perioden (From the Cradle) immer wieder präsentiert wird. Damit erschloss King seine Musik auch dem Rockpublikum. Zu den Standards Freddie Kings gehört auch das unverkennbare Hideaway, ein Instrumentalstück, das von Eric Clapton (zuletzt auf John Mayalls 70th-Birthday-Konzert in Liverpool) sowie von Johnny Winter in der Produktion Live in NYC ’97 arrangiert wurde. Benannt wurde das Stück nach einer der angesagtesten Bars in Chicago. In den 1960er- Jahren gehörte das Stück zum Pflichtrepertoire jeder Blues – und Bluesrockband.[2]
Nach weiteren Aufnahmen im Jahr 1964 wurde es stiller um King. Erst Anfang 1970 spielte er unter der Leitung von Leon Russell Titel wie Going Down Slow und Me and my Guitar ein. Auf der Höhe seines internationalen Erfolgs erlitt er während eines Konzerts im Dezember 1976 einen Herzanfall, an dem er kurz darauf verstarb.
Auszeichnungen
Der 3. September 1993 wurde vom Gouverneur Ann Richards zum Freddie King Day erklärt, eine Auszeichnung, die nur an texanische Legenden vergeben wird. (z. B. Buddy Holly) [3]
Das Rolling Stone Magazin setzte ihn auf Platz 25 der 100 besten Gitarristen aller Zeiten.[4]
Freddie King (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976) was an influential American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar along with Albert King and B.B. King.[1]
Freddie King based his guitar style on Texas and Chicago influences and was one of the first bluesmen to have a multi-racial backing band at live performances. He is best known for singles such as "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" (1960) and his Top 40 hit "Hide Away" (1961). He is also known for albums such as the early, instrumental-packed Let's Hide Away and Dance Away with Freddy King (1961) and the later album Burglar (1974) which displayed King's mature versatility as both player and singer in a range of blues and funk styles.[2]
King became an influential guitarist with hits for Federal Records in the early 1960s. He inspired musicians such as Jerry Garcia, Dickey Betts, Stevie Ray Vaughan and his brother Jimmie Vaughan.[3] His influence was also felt in Britain through recordings by blues artists such as Eric Clapton,[4] Peter Green,[5] and Chicken Shack. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Biography
Early life
When King was only six, his mother Ella Mae King and his uncle began teaching Freddie guitar. In autumn 1949, King and his family moved from Dallas to the South Side of Chicago.[6] In 1952 King started working in a steel mill, the same year he married fellow Texas native Jessie Burnett, with whom he eventually had seven children.[7][8]
According to his official birth certificate he was named "Fred King" at birth and his parents were Ella Mae King and J.T. Christian.[9]
1950s
Almost as soon as he had moved to Chicago, King started sneaking into South Side nightclubs, where he heard blues performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, and Sonny Boy Williamson. King formed his first band, the Every Hour Blues Boys, with guitarist Jimmie Lee Robinson and drummer Frank "Sonny" Scott. In 1952, while employed at the steel mill, an eighteen-year-old King occasionally worked as a sideman with such bands as the Little Sonny Cooper Band and Earl Payton's Blues Cats. In 1953 he recorded with the latter for Parrot Records, but these recordings were never released. As the 1950s went on, King played with several of Muddy Waters's sidemen and other Chicago mainstays, including guitarists Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Eddie Taylor, Hound Dog Taylor, bassist Willie Dixon, pianist Memphis Slim, and harpist Little Walter.
In 1956 he cut his first record as a leader, for El-Bee Records. The A-side was a duet with a Margaret Whitfield, "Country Boy,",[10] and the B-side was a King vocal. Both tracks feature the guitar of Robert Lockwood, Jr., who during these same years was also adding rhythm backing and fills to Little Walter's records.[11]
King was repeatedly rejected in auditions for the South Side's Chess Records, the premier blues label, which was home to Muddy, Wolf, and Walter. The complaint was that Freddie King sang too much like B.B. King. A newer blues scene, lively with nightclubs and upstart record companies, was burgeoning on the West Side, though. Bassist and producer Willie Dixon, during a late 1950s period of estrangement from Chess, had King come to Cobra Records for a session, but the results have never been heard. Meanwhile, King established himself as perhaps the biggest musical force on the West Side. King played along with Magic Sam and supposedly did uncredited backing guitar on some of Sam's tracks for Mel London's Chief and Age labels,[12] though King does not stand out anywhere.
Federal records
In 1959 King got to know Sonny Thompson, pianist, producer, and A&R man for Cincinnati's King Records and King owner Syd Nathan signed King to the subsidiary Federal label in 1960. King recorded his debut single for the label on August 26, 1960: "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" backed with "You've Got to Love Her with a Feeling" (again as "Freddy" King). From the same recording session at the King Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio, King cut the instrumental "Hide Away," which the next year reached #5 on the R&B Charts and #29 on the Pop Singles Charts, an unprecedented accomplishment for a blues instrumental at a time when the genre was still largely unknown to white audiences. "Hide Away" was originally released as the B-side of "I Love the Woman". "Hide Away" was King's conglomeration of a theme by Hound Dog Taylor and parts by others, such as from "The Walk" by Jimmy McCracklin and "Peter Gunn", as credited by King. The song's title comes from Mel's Hide Away Lounge, a popular blues club on the West Side of Chicago.[13] Willie Dixon later claimed that he had recorded King doing "Hide Away" for Cobra Records in the late 1950s, but such a version has never surfaced.[14] "Hide Away" has since become a blues standard.
After their success with "Hide Away," King and Sonny Thompson recorded thirty instrumentals, including "The Stumble," "Just Pickin'," "Sen-Sa-Shun," "Side Tracked," "San-Ho-Zay," "High Rise," and "The Sad Nite Owl".[15][16] Vocal tracks continued to be recorded throughout this period, but often the instrumentals were marketed on their own merits as albums. During the Federal period King toured with many of the R&B acts of the day such as, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and James Brown, who performed in the same concerts.
Cotillion, Shelter, RSO Records
King's contract with Federal expired in 1966, and his first overseas tour followed in 1967. King's availability was noticed by producer and saxophonist King Curtis, who had recorded a cover of "Hide Away," with Cornell Dupree on guitar in 1962. Curtis signed King to Atlantic in 1968, which resulted in two LPs, Freddie King Is a Blues Master (1969) and My Feeling for the Blues (1970), produced by Curtis for the Atlantic subsidiary Cotillion Records.[17]
In 1969 King hired Jack Calmes as his manager, who secured him an appearance at the 1969 Texas Pop Festival, alongside Led Zeppelin and others,[18] and this led to King's being signed to Leon Russell's new label, Shelter Records. The company treated King as an important artist, flying him to Chicago to the former Chess studios for the recording of Getting Ready and gave him a backing line-up of top session musicians, including rock pianist Leon Russell.[19] Three albums were made during this period, including blues classics and new songs like, "Goin' Down" written by Don Nix.[20]
King performed alongside the big rock acts of the day, such as Eric Clapton[21] and Grand Funk Railroad (whose song "We're an American Band" mentions King in its lyrics) and for a young, mainly white audience, along with white tour drummer Gary Carnes for three years, before signing to RSO. In 1974 he recorded Burglar, for which Tom Dowd produced the track "Sugar Sweet" at Criteria Studios in Miami, with guitarists Clapton and George Terry, drummer Jamie Oldaker and bassist Carl Radle. Mike Vernon produced all the other tracks.[22] Vernon also produced a second album Larger than Life[23] with King, for the same label. Vernon brought in other notable musicians for both albums such as Bobby Tench of the Jeff Beck Group, to complement King[24]
Death
Near-constant touring took its toll on King (he was on the road almost 300 days out of the year), and in 1976 he began suffering stomach ulcers. His health quickly deteriorated and he died on December 28 of complications from that and acute pancreatitis at the age of 42.[25]
According to those who knew him, King's untimely death was due to stress, a legendary 'hard-partying lifestyle',[26][27] and poor diet (he was in the habit of consuming Bloody Marys in lieu of solid food so as not to waste time when setting up shows).
Playing style and technique
King had an intuitive style, often creating guitar parts with vocal nuances.[28] He achieved this by using the open string sound associated with Texas blues and the raw, screaming tones of West Side, Chicago blues. As King combined both the Texas and Chicago sounds, this gave his music a more contemporary outlook than many Chicago bands who were still performing 1950s-style music, and he befriended the younger generation of blues musicians. In his early career he played a gold top Gibson Les Paul with P-90 pickups through a Gibson GA-40 amplifier, later moving on to Gibson ES-355 guitars,[29] using a plastic thumb pick and a metal index-finger pick to achieve an aggressive finger attack, a style he learned from Jimmy Rogers. He had a relatively more aggressive and creative style of improvisation than others such as, B.B. King and Albert King, considered by many to be a more exploratory and less traditional approach. Despite an often avowed desire to play slide guitar, King confessed that he could not due to his large fingers preventing him from a light enough touch.[citation needed]
King was always progressive with his blues playing style. His early instrumental hits (Federal/King Label) help coin the term "Pop Blues" King 70's recordings with Shelter and RSO Records showcased his powerhouse Rock Blues style.
Awards and recognition
In 1993 by proclamation from the Texas Governor Ann Richards September 3, 1993, was declared Freddie King Day. This is an honor reserved for Lone Star legends, such as Bob Wills and Buddy Holly.[30] Freddie King placed 15th in Rolling Stone magazine′s list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time[31] and in 2012, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Memphis Slim *03.09.1915
http://mattizwoo.blogspot.de/2013/07/memphis-slim.html
Memphis Slim (* 3. September 1915 in Memphis, Tennessee; † 24. Februar 1988 in Paris, Frankreich) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Sänger und -Pianist.
Als John Len Chatman geboren, spielte Memphis Slim seine ersten Plattenaufnahmen am 2. August 1940 für das Okeh-Label unter dem Namen Peter Chatman (& His Washboard Band) ein. Bereits die Ergebnisse seiner zweiten Plattensession (am 30. Oktober 1940 für das Label Bluebird) wurden unter seinem lebenslang beibehaltenen Künstlernamen Memphis Slim veröffentlicht.
Das musikalische Vorbild des jungen Musikers war sein Vater, ein Gitarren- und Klavierspieler, von dem er bereits im Alter von sieben oder acht Jahren das Klavierspielen lernte.
Ende der 1930er Jahre ging Memphis Slim nach Chicago. Dort begleitete er Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson II. und Washboard Sam. 1940 nahm er erste eigene Platten auf. Unter dem Titel Nobody Loves Me (B-Seite von Angel Child) nahm er eine Version vom Bluesklassiker Everyday I Have the Blues am 10. Oktober 1947 zusammen mit seinen The House Rockers auf. Sie erschien erstmals im Oktober 1949 bei dem kurzlebigen Label Miracle Records (# 145). Die A-Seite erreichte Rang sechs der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade, die B-Seite wurde als seine Komposition ausgegeben, stammte in Wirklichkeit jedoch aus der Feder von Aaron Sparks.
In den nächsten Jahren wurde er nicht nur in den USA populär. Als einer der ersten Bluesmusiker unternahm Memphis Slim ausgedehnte Welttourneen. Zusammen mit Willie Dixon trat er in Israel auf und mit Muddy Waters in der New Yorker Carnegie Hall (1959, CD: Chicago Blues Masters, Vol.1, Capitol Records). In den 50ern entstanden auch einige Singles für das Label United.
Nach einer Europatour 1962 mit dem American Folk Blues Festival entschloss sich Memphis Slim nach Frankreich zu ziehen. Dort lebte er bis zu seinem Tod 1988.
Begraben liegt der Musiker im Galilee Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 8283 Ellis Road, Memphis, Tennessee.
1989 wurde Memphis Slim in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Als John Len Chatman geboren, spielte Memphis Slim seine ersten Plattenaufnahmen am 2. August 1940 für das Okeh-Label unter dem Namen Peter Chatman (& His Washboard Band) ein. Bereits die Ergebnisse seiner zweiten Plattensession (am 30. Oktober 1940 für das Label Bluebird) wurden unter seinem lebenslang beibehaltenen Künstlernamen Memphis Slim veröffentlicht.
Das musikalische Vorbild des jungen Musikers war sein Vater, ein Gitarren- und Klavierspieler, von dem er bereits im Alter von sieben oder acht Jahren das Klavierspielen lernte.
Ende der 1930er Jahre ging Memphis Slim nach Chicago. Dort begleitete er Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson II. und Washboard Sam. 1940 nahm er erste eigene Platten auf. Unter dem Titel Nobody Loves Me (B-Seite von Angel Child) nahm er eine Version vom Bluesklassiker Everyday I Have the Blues am 10. Oktober 1947 zusammen mit seinen The House Rockers auf. Sie erschien erstmals im Oktober 1949 bei dem kurzlebigen Label Miracle Records (# 145). Die A-Seite erreichte Rang sechs der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade, die B-Seite wurde als seine Komposition ausgegeben, stammte in Wirklichkeit jedoch aus der Feder von Aaron Sparks.
In den nächsten Jahren wurde er nicht nur in den USA populär. Als einer der ersten Bluesmusiker unternahm Memphis Slim ausgedehnte Welttourneen. Zusammen mit Willie Dixon trat er in Israel auf und mit Muddy Waters in der New Yorker Carnegie Hall (1959, CD: Chicago Blues Masters, Vol.1, Capitol Records). In den 50ern entstanden auch einige Singles für das Label United.
Nach einer Europatour 1962 mit dem American Folk Blues Festival entschloss sich Memphis Slim nach Frankreich zu ziehen. Dort lebte er bis zu seinem Tod 1988.
Begraben liegt der Musiker im Galilee Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 8283 Ellis Road, Memphis, Tennessee.
1989 wurde Memphis Slim in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Memphis Slim (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988) was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other artists. He made over 500 recordings.
Biography
Memphis Slim's birth name was John Len Chatman, and he was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. His father, Peter Chatman sang, played piano and guitar, and operated juke joints,[1] and it is now commonly believed that he took the name to honor his father when he first recorded for Okeh Records in 1940. Although he started performing under the name Memphis Slim later that same year, he continued to publish songs under the name Peter Chatman.
He spent most of the 1930s performing in honky-tonks, dance halls, and gambling joints in West Memphis, Arkansas, and southeast Missouri. He settled in Chicago in 1939, and began teaming with Big Bill Broonzy in clubs soon afterward. In 1940 and 1941 he recorded two songs for Bluebird Records that became part of his repertoire for decades, "Beer Drinking Woman," and "Grinder Man Blues." These were released under the name "Memphis Slim," given to him by Bluebird's producer, Lester Melrose.[2] Slim became a regular session musician for Bluebird, and his piano talents supported established stars such as John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Washboard Sam, and Jazz Gillum. Many of Slim's recordings and performances until the mid-1940s were with guitarist and singer Broonzy, who had recruited Slim to be his piano player after Joshua Altheimer's death in 1940.
After World War II, Slim began leading bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump-blues, generally included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. With the decline of blues recording by the majors, Slim worked with the emerging independent labels. Starting in late 1945, he recorded with trios for the small Chicago-based label Hy-Tone.[3] With a lineup of alto saxophone, tenor sax, piano, and string bass (Willie Dixon played the instrument on the first session), he signed with the Miracle label in the fall of 1946. One of the numbers recorded at the first session was the ebullient boogie "Rockin' the House," from which his band would take its name. Slim and the House Rockers recorded mainly for Miracle through 1949, enjoying commercial success. Among the songs they recorded were "Messin' Around" (which reached number one on the R&B charts in 1948 and "Harlem Bound."[4] In 1947, the day after producing a concert by Slim, Broonzy, and Williamson at New York City's Town Hall, folklorist Alan Lomax brought the three musicians to the Decca studios and recorded with Slim's on vocal and piano. Lomax presented sections of this recording on BBC radio in the early 1950s as a documentary titled The Art of the Negro, and later released an expanded version as the LP Blues in the Mississippi Night. In 1949, Slim expanded his combo to a quintet by adding a drummer; the group was now spending most of its time on tour, leading to off-contract recording sessions for King in Cincinnati and Peacock in Houston.
One of Slim's 1947 recordings for Miracle, released in 1949, was originally titled "Nobody Loves Me". It has become famous as "Every Day I Have the Blues." The tune was recorded in 1950 by Lowell Fulson, and subsequently by a raft of artists including B. B. King, Elmore James, T-Bone Walker, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Carlos Santana, John Mayer and Lou Rawls.[5] Joe Williams recorded it in 1952 for Checker; his remake from 1956 (included in Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings) was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1992.[6]
Early in 1950, Miracle succumbed to financial troubles, but its owners regrouped to form the Premium label, and Slim remained on board until the successor company faltered in the summer of 1951. His February 1951 session for Premium saw two changes in the House Rockers' lineup: Slim started using two tenor saxophones instead of the alto and tenor combination, and he made a trial of adding guitarist Ike Perkins. His last session for Premium kept the two-tenor lineup but dispensed with the guitar. During his time with Premium, Slim first recorded his song "Mother Earth".[7]
Slim made just one session for King, but the company bought his Hy-Tone sides in 1948 and acquired his Miracle masters after it failed in 1950. He was never a Chess artist, but Leonard Chess bought most of the Premium masters after the failure.
After a year with Mercury Records, Slim signed with United Records in Chicago;[8] the A&R man, Lew Simpkins, knew him from Miracle and Premium. The timing was propitious, because he had just added Matt "Guitar" Murphy to his group. He remained with United through the end of 1954, when the company began to cut back on blues recording.[9]
Slim's next steady relationship with a record company had to wait until 1958, when he was picked up by Vee-Jay. In 1959 his band, still featuring Matt "Guitar" Murphy, cut LP Memphis Slim at the Gate of the Horn, which featured a lineup of his best known songs, including "Mother Earth," "Gotta Find My Baby," "Rockin' the Blues," "Steppin' Out", and "Slim's Blues."[10]
Slim first appeared outside the United States in 1960, touring with Willie Dixon, with whom he returned to Europe in 1962 as a featured artist in the first of the series of American Folk Festival concerts organized by Dixon that brought many notable blues artists to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. The duo released several albums together on Folkways Records, including, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon at the Village Gate with Pete Seeger, in 1962. That same year, he moved permanently to Paris and his engaging personality and well-honed presentation of playing, singing, and storytelling about the blues secured his position as one of the most prominent blues artists for nearly three decades. He appeared on television in numerous European countries, acted in several French films and wrote the score for À nous deux France (1970), and performed regularly in Paris, throughout Europe, and on return visits to the United States. In the last years of his life, he teamed up with respected jazz drummer George Collier. The two toured Europe together and became friends. After Collier died in August 1987, Slim rarely appeared in public, although he reunited with Matt "Guitar" Murphy for a gig at Antoine's in Austin in 1987.
Two years before his death, Slim was named a Commander in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France. In addition, the U.S. Senate honored Slim with the title of Ambassador-at-Large of Good Will.[11]
Memphis Slim grave
Memphis Slim died on February 24, 1988, of renal failure in Paris, France, at the age of 72. He is buried at Galilee Memorial Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee.[12]
In 1989, he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Biography
Memphis Slim's birth name was John Len Chatman, and he was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. His father, Peter Chatman sang, played piano and guitar, and operated juke joints,[1] and it is now commonly believed that he took the name to honor his father when he first recorded for Okeh Records in 1940. Although he started performing under the name Memphis Slim later that same year, he continued to publish songs under the name Peter Chatman.
He spent most of the 1930s performing in honky-tonks, dance halls, and gambling joints in West Memphis, Arkansas, and southeast Missouri. He settled in Chicago in 1939, and began teaming with Big Bill Broonzy in clubs soon afterward. In 1940 and 1941 he recorded two songs for Bluebird Records that became part of his repertoire for decades, "Beer Drinking Woman," and "Grinder Man Blues." These were released under the name "Memphis Slim," given to him by Bluebird's producer, Lester Melrose.[2] Slim became a regular session musician for Bluebird, and his piano talents supported established stars such as John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Washboard Sam, and Jazz Gillum. Many of Slim's recordings and performances until the mid-1940s were with guitarist and singer Broonzy, who had recruited Slim to be his piano player after Joshua Altheimer's death in 1940.
After World War II, Slim began leading bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump-blues, generally included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. With the decline of blues recording by the majors, Slim worked with the emerging independent labels. Starting in late 1945, he recorded with trios for the small Chicago-based label Hy-Tone.[3] With a lineup of alto saxophone, tenor sax, piano, and string bass (Willie Dixon played the instrument on the first session), he signed with the Miracle label in the fall of 1946. One of the numbers recorded at the first session was the ebullient boogie "Rockin' the House," from which his band would take its name. Slim and the House Rockers recorded mainly for Miracle through 1949, enjoying commercial success. Among the songs they recorded were "Messin' Around" (which reached number one on the R&B charts in 1948 and "Harlem Bound."[4] In 1947, the day after producing a concert by Slim, Broonzy, and Williamson at New York City's Town Hall, folklorist Alan Lomax brought the three musicians to the Decca studios and recorded with Slim's on vocal and piano. Lomax presented sections of this recording on BBC radio in the early 1950s as a documentary titled The Art of the Negro, and later released an expanded version as the LP Blues in the Mississippi Night. In 1949, Slim expanded his combo to a quintet by adding a drummer; the group was now spending most of its time on tour, leading to off-contract recording sessions for King in Cincinnati and Peacock in Houston.
One of Slim's 1947 recordings for Miracle, released in 1949, was originally titled "Nobody Loves Me". It has become famous as "Every Day I Have the Blues." The tune was recorded in 1950 by Lowell Fulson, and subsequently by a raft of artists including B. B. King, Elmore James, T-Bone Walker, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Carlos Santana, John Mayer and Lou Rawls.[5] Joe Williams recorded it in 1952 for Checker; his remake from 1956 (included in Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings) was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1992.[6]
Early in 1950, Miracle succumbed to financial troubles, but its owners regrouped to form the Premium label, and Slim remained on board until the successor company faltered in the summer of 1951. His February 1951 session for Premium saw two changes in the House Rockers' lineup: Slim started using two tenor saxophones instead of the alto and tenor combination, and he made a trial of adding guitarist Ike Perkins. His last session for Premium kept the two-tenor lineup but dispensed with the guitar. During his time with Premium, Slim first recorded his song "Mother Earth".[7]
Slim made just one session for King, but the company bought his Hy-Tone sides in 1948 and acquired his Miracle masters after it failed in 1950. He was never a Chess artist, but Leonard Chess bought most of the Premium masters after the failure.
After a year with Mercury Records, Slim signed with United Records in Chicago;[8] the A&R man, Lew Simpkins, knew him from Miracle and Premium. The timing was propitious, because he had just added Matt "Guitar" Murphy to his group. He remained with United through the end of 1954, when the company began to cut back on blues recording.[9]
Slim's next steady relationship with a record company had to wait until 1958, when he was picked up by Vee-Jay. In 1959 his band, still featuring Matt "Guitar" Murphy, cut LP Memphis Slim at the Gate of the Horn, which featured a lineup of his best known songs, including "Mother Earth," "Gotta Find My Baby," "Rockin' the Blues," "Steppin' Out", and "Slim's Blues."[10]
Slim first appeared outside the United States in 1960, touring with Willie Dixon, with whom he returned to Europe in 1962 as a featured artist in the first of the series of American Folk Festival concerts organized by Dixon that brought many notable blues artists to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. The duo released several albums together on Folkways Records, including, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon at the Village Gate with Pete Seeger, in 1962. That same year, he moved permanently to Paris and his engaging personality and well-honed presentation of playing, singing, and storytelling about the blues secured his position as one of the most prominent blues artists for nearly three decades. He appeared on television in numerous European countries, acted in several French films and wrote the score for À nous deux France (1970), and performed regularly in Paris, throughout Europe, and on return visits to the United States. In the last years of his life, he teamed up with respected jazz drummer George Collier. The two toured Europe together and became friends. After Collier died in August 1987, Slim rarely appeared in public, although he reunited with Matt "Guitar" Murphy for a gig at Antoine's in Austin in 1987.
Two years before his death, Slim was named a Commander in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France. In addition, the U.S. Senate honored Slim with the title of Ambassador-at-Large of Good Will.[11]
Memphis Slim grave
Memphis Slim died on February 24, 1988, of renal failure in Paris, France, at the age of 72. He is buried at Galilee Memorial Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee.[12]
In 1989, he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
memphis slim & sonny boy williamson blues legende live in europe
Memphis Slim & Kansas Field - Rocking The House
Noah Lewis *03.09.1890 or 1895
Noah Lewis (* 3. September 1895 in Henning, Tennessee; † 7. Februar 1961) war einer der zentralen Musiker der amerikanischen Jugband-Szene der 1920er und 1930er. Er war ein Virtuose auf der Mundharmonika, und ihm werden etliche bekannte Songs zugeschrieben, zum Beispiel Viola Lee Blues (später von Grateful Dead aufgenommen) und Going To Germany.
In Memphis (Tennessee) schloss sich Lewis Cannon’s Jug Stompers an, die Ende der 1920er einige erfolgreiche Aufnahmen machten, darunter Walk Right In, das 1963 von den Rooftop Singers neu interpretiert wurde. Gus Cannon erzählte später in einem Interview: „Noah war immer voller Kokain; ich vermute, dass er deswegen so laut spielen konnte. Und er war richtig gut.“
Ab 1929 machte Lewis Aufnahmen unter eigenem Namen und mit eigener Band. Später spielte er unter anderem mit Yank Rachell und John Estes. Mit der Depression kam das Ende der Jugband-Ära, und auch Lewis geriet in Vergessenheit. Noah Lewis lebte zuletzt in ärmlichsten Verhältnissen. Er starb 1961 an den Folgen schwerer Erfrierungen.
In Memphis (Tennessee) schloss sich Lewis Cannon’s Jug Stompers an, die Ende der 1920er einige erfolgreiche Aufnahmen machten, darunter Walk Right In, das 1963 von den Rooftop Singers neu interpretiert wurde. Gus Cannon erzählte später in einem Interview: „Noah war immer voller Kokain; ich vermute, dass er deswegen so laut spielen konnte. Und er war richtig gut.“
Ab 1929 machte Lewis Aufnahmen unter eigenem Namen und mit eigener Band. Später spielte er unter anderem mit Yank Rachell und John Estes. Mit der Depression kam das Ende der Jugband-Ära, und auch Lewis geriet in Vergessenheit. Noah Lewis lebte zuletzt in ärmlichsten Verhältnissen. Er starb 1961 an den Folgen schwerer Erfrierungen.
Noah Lewis (September 3, 1890 or 1895 – February 7, 1961)[1][2] was an American jug band and country blues[3] musician, generally known for playing the harmonica.
Life and career
Lewis was born in Henning, Tennessee, United States, his birth year being variously cited as 1890 or 1895.[1][2] Lewis learned to play harmonica as a child and moved to Memphis, Tennessee in his early teens. By the time he first met Gus Cannon in Memphis in 1907, he was already a respected original stylist on the instrument, noted for his liquid tone and breath control, which allowed him to generate enormous volume from the instrument. By then he was also noted for his ability to play two harmonicas at once – one through his mouth and one through his nose, a trick he probably taught to Big Walter Horton, who recorded briefly as a teenager with the Memphis Jug Band some 20 years later. Lewis developed his unusual levels of breath control and volume from playing in local string and brass marching bands on the streets of Memphis. At the 1907 meeting Lewis introduced Cannon to the 13-year-old guitarist and singer, Ashley Thompson, with whom Lewis had been playing in the streets of Ripley and Memphis for some time and the three of them worked together over the next 20 years whenever Cannon was in Memphis, and not away working medicine and tent shows. When Will Shade's Memphis Jugband recorded and became popular in the late-1920s, Cannon added a coal-oil can on a rack round his neck and renamed the trio (Cannon, Lewis and Thompson) Cannon's Jug Stompers, and it was this line-up that recorded for the first time on Victor Records in Memphis on 30 January 1928.[1] The songs from that session included "Minglewood Blues", "Springdale Blues", "Big Railroad Blues" and "Madison Street Rag". By the time of the band's next recording on September 5, 1928, Cannon had replaced Ashley Thompson with Elijah Avery on banjo and guitar. However, by time of the band's third recording session, four days later, Avery had in turn been replaced with an old friend of Cannon's from the medicine and tent show circuit, the six string banjo player and guitarist, Hosea Woods, with the band's line-up remaining unchanged from then on.
With the Jug Stompers, on "Viola Lee Blues", Lewis sang lead vocal and played a melancholy harmonica solo.[4]
Lewis recorded four solo tracks, and another four sides as the Noah Lewis Jug Band in 1930, the latter incorporating Sleepy John Estes (guitar) and Yank Rachell (mandolin).[2]
Death
He died in poverty of gangrene brought on by frostbite in Ripley, Tennessee, in 1961.[1] Lewis is buried in a cemetery near Nutbush, Tennessee.[5] After his death, several of his songs become part of the repertoire of the Grateful Dead, including "New, New Minglewood Blues", "Viola Lee Blues", and "Big Railroad Blues".
Life and career
Lewis was born in Henning, Tennessee, United States, his birth year being variously cited as 1890 or 1895.[1][2] Lewis learned to play harmonica as a child and moved to Memphis, Tennessee in his early teens. By the time he first met Gus Cannon in Memphis in 1907, he was already a respected original stylist on the instrument, noted for his liquid tone and breath control, which allowed him to generate enormous volume from the instrument. By then he was also noted for his ability to play two harmonicas at once – one through his mouth and one through his nose, a trick he probably taught to Big Walter Horton, who recorded briefly as a teenager with the Memphis Jug Band some 20 years later. Lewis developed his unusual levels of breath control and volume from playing in local string and brass marching bands on the streets of Memphis. At the 1907 meeting Lewis introduced Cannon to the 13-year-old guitarist and singer, Ashley Thompson, with whom Lewis had been playing in the streets of Ripley and Memphis for some time and the three of them worked together over the next 20 years whenever Cannon was in Memphis, and not away working medicine and tent shows. When Will Shade's Memphis Jugband recorded and became popular in the late-1920s, Cannon added a coal-oil can on a rack round his neck and renamed the trio (Cannon, Lewis and Thompson) Cannon's Jug Stompers, and it was this line-up that recorded for the first time on Victor Records in Memphis on 30 January 1928.[1] The songs from that session included "Minglewood Blues", "Springdale Blues", "Big Railroad Blues" and "Madison Street Rag". By the time of the band's next recording on September 5, 1928, Cannon had replaced Ashley Thompson with Elijah Avery on banjo and guitar. However, by time of the band's third recording session, four days later, Avery had in turn been replaced with an old friend of Cannon's from the medicine and tent show circuit, the six string banjo player and guitarist, Hosea Woods, with the band's line-up remaining unchanged from then on.
With the Jug Stompers, on "Viola Lee Blues", Lewis sang lead vocal and played a melancholy harmonica solo.[4]
Lewis recorded four solo tracks, and another four sides as the Noah Lewis Jug Band in 1930, the latter incorporating Sleepy John Estes (guitar) and Yank Rachell (mandolin).[2]
Death
He died in poverty of gangrene brought on by frostbite in Ripley, Tennessee, in 1961.[1] Lewis is buried in a cemetery near Nutbush, Tennessee.[5] After his death, several of his songs become part of the repertoire of the Grateful Dead, including "New, New Minglewood Blues", "Viola Lee Blues", and "Big Railroad Blues".
Charley Booker *03.09.1925
Charley Booker (September 3, 1925 – September 20, 1989) was a blues singer and guitarist from the Mississippi Delta, who recorded in the early 1950s for Modern Records.
Charley Booker was born in 1925 on a plantation between the Mississippi communities of Moorhead and Sunflower, the son of Lucius Booker.[1] There is some doubt about his date of birth: while the 1925 birth date was given by Booker in interviews, social security records give the earlier date of September 3, 1919.[2]
He learned to play guitar from his uncle, who had played with Charley Patton, and Booker stated that as a child he had himself seen Patton perform near Indianola.[3] He worked occasionally as a musician from the late 1930s.[1] By the early 1940s Booker had moved to Leland, and in 1947 he moved to Greenville,[3] where he worked with pianist Willie Love,[1] and also met or worked with musicians such as Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Little Milton, Ike Turner and Houston Boines. By 1951 he had his own radio show (possibly on the WDVM station), and in 1952 he was approached by Ike Turner to record for Modern Records.[3]
Recordings
The recording session was set up by Joe Bihari of Modern Records at the Club Casablanca on Nelson Street, Greenville[2] on January 23, 1952. Booker was backed by Houston Boines on harmonica, Turner on piano and Jesse "Cleanhead" Love on drums, with the same band also backing several songs by Boines.[4] Despite the piano being "horribly out of tune", and problems with local law enforcement,[5] the session resulted in two singles released under Booker's name, one on Modern Records and the other on the associated Blues & Rhythm label,[4] as well as releases by Boines. The Blues & Rhythm release, pairing "No Ridin' Blues" with "Rabbit Blues", sold strongly locally[3] but Booker did not record again for Modern, and a session later the same year for Sam Phillips was unreleased at the time.[4]
Later life and death
Early the following year he moved to South Bend, Indiana and ceased music as a full-time occupation.[3] Although he continued to play locally, his only further recording was a live guest appearance with Joe Willie Wilkins at a 1973 blues festival at Notre Dame in South Bend.[2] He died on September 30, 1989.
Charley Booker was born in 1925 on a plantation between the Mississippi communities of Moorhead and Sunflower, the son of Lucius Booker.[1] There is some doubt about his date of birth: while the 1925 birth date was given by Booker in interviews, social security records give the earlier date of September 3, 1919.[2]
He learned to play guitar from his uncle, who had played with Charley Patton, and Booker stated that as a child he had himself seen Patton perform near Indianola.[3] He worked occasionally as a musician from the late 1930s.[1] By the early 1940s Booker had moved to Leland, and in 1947 he moved to Greenville,[3] where he worked with pianist Willie Love,[1] and also met or worked with musicians such as Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Little Milton, Ike Turner and Houston Boines. By 1951 he had his own radio show (possibly on the WDVM station), and in 1952 he was approached by Ike Turner to record for Modern Records.[3]
Recordings
The recording session was set up by Joe Bihari of Modern Records at the Club Casablanca on Nelson Street, Greenville[2] on January 23, 1952. Booker was backed by Houston Boines on harmonica, Turner on piano and Jesse "Cleanhead" Love on drums, with the same band also backing several songs by Boines.[4] Despite the piano being "horribly out of tune", and problems with local law enforcement,[5] the session resulted in two singles released under Booker's name, one on Modern Records and the other on the associated Blues & Rhythm label,[4] as well as releases by Boines. The Blues & Rhythm release, pairing "No Ridin' Blues" with "Rabbit Blues", sold strongly locally[3] but Booker did not record again for Modern, and a session later the same year for Sam Phillips was unreleased at the time.[4]
Later life and death
Early the following year he moved to South Bend, Indiana and ceased music as a full-time occupation.[3] Although he continued to play locally, his only further recording was a live guest appearance with Joe Willie Wilkins at a 1973 blues festival at Notre Dame in South Bend.[2] He died on September 30, 1989.
Charley Booker No Ridin' Blues (1952)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttV31MDlFFM
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13913461
Billy Bizor *03.09.1913
Billy Bizor (* 3. September 1913 in Centerville, Texas; † 4. April 1969 in Houston, Texas) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Sänger und -Bluesharp-Spieler. Er gilt als Vertreter des Texas Blues und war musikalisch wie verwandtschaftlich eng mit dem Blues-Sänger Lightnin' Hopkins verbunden.
Leben und Musik
Billy Bizor wurde ebenso wie sein Cousin Lightnin' Hopkins in Centerville geboren. Im Gegensatz zu diesem war er jedoch kein professioneller Musiker. Seine frühesten Aufnahmen stammen aus den frühen sechziger Jahren, bei denen er als Begleitmusiker für seinen Cousin fungierte. Diese Aufnahmen wurden bei Prestige Records für den damals blühenden Folk-Markt produziert. Die sporadische Zusammenarbeit mit Hopkins bescherte Bizor nur bescheidenen Erfolg: So trat er zusammen mit Hopkins in dem Film des Dokumentarfilmers Les Blank The Blues According To Lightning Hopkins auf und nahm im gleichen Zeitraum 1968/69 seine einzigen Solo-Aufnahmen für den in Houston, Texas ansässigen Schallplatten-Produzenten Roy Ames auf. Noch ehe diese Aufnahmen unter dem Titel „Blowing my Blues away“ veröffentlicht wurden, verstarb Bizor an den Folgen von Wassersucht. Bei diesen Sessions wurde Billy Bizor u.a. von Lightnin' Hopkins, Donald Dunn und Clarence Holliman begleitet.
Leben und Musik
Billy Bizor wurde ebenso wie sein Cousin Lightnin' Hopkins in Centerville geboren. Im Gegensatz zu diesem war er jedoch kein professioneller Musiker. Seine frühesten Aufnahmen stammen aus den frühen sechziger Jahren, bei denen er als Begleitmusiker für seinen Cousin fungierte. Diese Aufnahmen wurden bei Prestige Records für den damals blühenden Folk-Markt produziert. Die sporadische Zusammenarbeit mit Hopkins bescherte Bizor nur bescheidenen Erfolg: So trat er zusammen mit Hopkins in dem Film des Dokumentarfilmers Les Blank The Blues According To Lightning Hopkins auf und nahm im gleichen Zeitraum 1968/69 seine einzigen Solo-Aufnahmen für den in Houston, Texas ansässigen Schallplatten-Produzenten Roy Ames auf. Noch ehe diese Aufnahmen unter dem Titel „Blowing my Blues away“ veröffentlicht wurden, verstarb Bizor an den Folgen von Wassersucht. Bei diesen Sessions wurde Billy Bizor u.a. von Lightnin' Hopkins, Donald Dunn und Clarence Holliman begleitet.
The blues revival of the 1960s allowed the spotlight to finally fall on performers like Billy Bizor, an otherwise obscure harpist best known in conjunction with his recordings in support of his cousin, the renowned Lightnin' Hopkins. Born in Centerville, Texas in 1917, Bizor (also, variously, Bizer and Biser) dwelled in almost total obscurity prior to the 1960s, developing a spare, haunted sound largely unaffected by the passage of time, making him a prime candidate for rediscovery by purists. Among his first recordings were a series of unheralded early-1960s dates backing Hopkins; between 1968 and 1969, Bizor cut his only solo session in Houston with producer Roy Ames, revealing him to be an intense, emotionally charged singer. Eventually issued as Blowing My Blues Away, the end result went unreleased for several years; tragically, Bizor himself never saw the recordings come to light -- he died April 4, 1969.
Billy Bizor -Tell Me Where You Stayed Last Night
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen