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Arnett Nelson
Arnett Nelson (March 8, 1892 – March 14, 1959), sometimes credited as King Mutt, was an American jazz and blues musician who played clarinet or alto saxophone on many recordings made in Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s. Early life He was born in Ellisville, Mississippi, and grew up in nearby Laurel. Career Nelson served in World War I, and then played professionally in a band led by John Collins, the father of Lee Collins. Lee Collins described Nelson as a musician with a "weird style", who "liked to do tricks with his clarinet. He would take it all apart and play it." His first known recordings were in Chicago in 1923, as a member of Jimmy Wade's Moulin Rouge Orchestra. While with Wade, Nelson wrote "Buddy's Habit" with Charley Straight. The tune was recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band with a notable solo by Louis Armstrong, and later by many other musicians [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellisville, Mississippi
Ellisville is a town in and the first county seat of Jones County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 4,448 at the time of the 2010 census, up from 3,465 at the 2000 census. The Jones County Courthouse is located here, as is much of the county government. The state legislature authorized a second county seat at Laurel, to the northeast, which developed as the center of lumber and textile mills, with a much larger population. Ellisville is part of the Laurel micropolitan statistical area. History The town is named for Powhatan Ellis, a former U.S. senator for Mississippi who identified as a descendant of Pocahontas and her father, Chief Powhatan in Virginia. Ellisville was designated as the county seat, and it became the major commercial and population center of Jones County through the early decades of development in the nineteenth century. During the Civil War, Ellisville and Jones County were a center of pro-Union resistance. The county had mostly yeomen farmers a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perry Bradford
Perry Bradford (February 14, 1893, Montgomery, Alabama – April 20, 1970, New York City) was an American composer, songwriter, and vaudeville performer. His most notable songs included "Crazy Blues," "That Thing Called Love," and "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down." He was nicknamed "Mule" because of his stubbornness, and he is credited with finally persuading Okeh Records to work with Mamie Smith leading to her historic blues recording in 1920. Biography Bradford grew up in Atlanta, where his family moved when he was six, and in 1906 started working in minstrel shows. He played in Chicago as a solo pianist as early as 1909 and visited New York City the following year. Through extensive experience with traveling minstrel shows and theatre companies, Bradford obtained exposure to African-American folksongs. Bradford broke down walls of racial prejudice that had kept African-American singers from recording. Prior to Bradford's influence, African-American artists recorded in a styl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washboard Sam
Robert Clifford Brown (July 15, 1910 – November 6, 1966), known professionally as Washboard Sam, was an American blues musician and singer. Biography Brown's date and place of birth are uncertain; many sources state that he was born in 1910 in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, but the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest that he was born in 1903 or 1904, in Jackson, Tennessee, on the basis of Social Security information. When applying for his musicians union card, he gave his birthdate as July 15, 1914. He was reputedly the half-brother of Big Bill Broonzy. He moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1920s, performing as a street musician with Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon. He moved to Chicago in 1932, performing regularly with Broonzy and other musicians, including Memphis Slim and Tampa Red, in many recording sessions for Lester Melrose of Bluebird Records. In 1935, he began recording in his own right for both Bluebird and Vocalion Records, becoming one of the most popula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bumble Bee Slim
Admirl Amos Easton (May 7, 1905 – June 8, 1968), better known by the stage name Bumble Bee Slim, was an American Piedmont blues singer and guitarist. Biography Easton was born in Brunswick, Georgia, United States. Several original sources confirm that he spelled his first name "Admirl". Around 1920 he joined the Ringling Brothers circus. He then returned to Georgia and was briefly married before heading north on a freight train to Indianapolis, where he settled in 1928. There he met and was influenced by the pianist Leroy Carr and the guitarist Scrapper Blackwell. By 1931 he had moved to Chicago, where he made his first recordings, as Bumble Bee Slim, for Paramount Records. The following year his song "B&O Blues" was a hit for Vocalion Records, inspiring several other railroad blues and eventually becoming a popular folk song. In the next five years, he recorded over 150 songs for Decca Records, Bluebird Records and Vocalion, often accompanied by other musicians, inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tampa Red
Hudson Whittaker (born Hudson Woodbridge; January 8, 1903March 19, 1981), known as Tampa Red, was a Chicago blues musician. His distinctive single-string slide guitar style, songwriting and bottleneck technique influenced other Chicago blues guitarists such as Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, Elmore James and Mose Allison.Barlow, William (1989). ''"Looking Up at Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture''. Temple University Press. pp. 304–305. . In a career spanning over 30 years, he also recorded pop, R&B and hokum songs. His best-known recordings include "Anna Lou Blues", "Black Angel Blues", "Crying Won't Help You", "It Hurts Me Too", and " Love Her with a Feeling". Biography Early life Tampa Red was born Hudson Woodbridge in Smithville, Georgia. The date of his birth is uncertain, with Tampa himself giving years varying from 1900 to 1908. The birth date given on his death certificate is January 8, 1904. His parents, John and Elizabeth Woodbridge, died when he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lil Johnson (blues Singer)
Lil Johnson ( fl. 1920s–1930s, born 1900, date of death and places of birth and death unknown) was an American singer who recorded dirty blues and hokum songs in the 1920s and 1930s. Career Her origins and early life are not known. She first recorded in Chicago in 1929, accompanied by the pianists Montana Taylor and Charles Avery on five songs, including "Rock That Thing". She did not return to the recording studio until 1935, when her more risqué songs included " Get 'Em from the Peanut Man (Hot Nuts)", " Anybody Want to Buy My Cabbage?", and "Press My Button (Ring My Bell)" (''"Come on baby, let's have some fun / Just put your hot dog in my bun"''). She also recorded a version of "Keep A-Knockin'", which later became a hit for Little Richard. From her second session onwards, she formed a partnership with the ragtime-influenced pianist Black Bob, who provided ebullient support for her increasingly suggestive lyrics. In 1936 and 1937, she recorded over 40 songs, mostly for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Session Musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a tour. Session musicians are usually not permanent or official members of a musical ensemble or band. They work behind the scenes and rarely achieve individual fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders. However, top session musicians are well known within the music industry, and some have become publicly recognized, such as the Wrecking Crew, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and The Funk Brothers who worked with Motown Records. Many session musicians specialize in playing common rhythm section instruments such as guitar, piano, bass, or drums. Others are specialists, and play brass, woodwinds, and strings. Many session musicians play multiple instruments, which lets them play in a wider range of musical situations, genres an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Bob (musician)
Black Bob ( fl. 1930s) was the pseudonym used by an American blues piano player, based in Chicago, who recorded widely in the 1930s accompanying other performers. His real name is unknown, but suggestions have included Bob Hudson, Bob Robinson, Bob Alexander, and Bob Schanault (or Chenault). Almost nothing is known of his life beyond his recordings. According to Chicago pianist Charlie West, he became known as Black Jack in Cincinnati, Ohio, before moving around 1927 to Chicago where he adopted the name Black Bob. Reportedly, Big Bill Broonzy thought that his real name was Robert Alexander, though Memphis Slim gave his name as Bob Hudson. It was once erroneously suggested that Black Bob was a pseudonym for Bob Call. Reviewing the evidence, researcher Bob Eagle raised the possibility that he may have been the Bob Schanault (possibly misspelled) who recorded with Memphis Minnie in 1936. Black Bob was the pianist on many Chicago blues recordings of the mid and late 1930s, notably ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casey Bill Weldon
William "Casey Bill" Weldon (February 2, 1901 or December 10, 1909 – September 28, 1972) was an American country blues musician. Some details of Weldon's life are unconfirmed. According to some sources, he was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and later lived and worked in Chicago. He reportedly made his way to Chicago via Kansas City, which gave rise to his nickname, a version of K.C. He was one of the early musicians who recorded playing slide guitar. He played upbeat, hokum and country blues tunes. Playing a National steel guitar flat on his lap Hawaiian style, he was known as the "Hawaiian Guitar Wizard". According to some sources, Weldon was married to the singer and guitarist Memphis Minnie in the 1920s, but this is now believed to be a misidentification. Only recently it has been widely accepted that he is not the musician, Will Weldon, who recorded between 1927 and 1928 as a member of the Memphis Jug Band. Weldon cut over 60 sides for Bluebird and Vocalion. He was als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steel Guitar
A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar in that it is played without using frets; conceptually, it is somewhat akin to playing a guitar with one finger (the bar). Known for its portamento capabilities, gliding smoothly over every pitch between notes, the instrument can produce a sinuous crying sound and deep vibrato emulating the human singing voice. Typically, the strings are plucked (not strummed) by the fingers of the dominant hand, while the steel tone bar is pressed lightly against the strings and moved by the opposite hand. The idea of creating music with a slide of some type has been traced back to early African instruments, but the modern steel guitar was conceived and popularized in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiians began playing a conventional guitar i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s and 1940s, he navigated a change in style to a more urban blues sound popular with working-class black audiences. In the 1950s, a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century. Broonzy copyrighted more than 300 songs, including adaptations of traditional folk songs and original blues songs. As a blues composer, he was unique in writing songs that reflected his rural-to-urban experiences.Barlow, William (1989). ''"Looking Up at Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture''. Temple University Press. pp. 301–303. . Life and ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon
Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon, born Frank Devera Jackson (March 3, 1896 or 1897 – May 15, 1953),Legal name and birth/death dates from headstone application as a military veteran, reproduced in Brian BergerFrankie Jaxon Hilobrow, 2013-02-03. Accessed 2013-02-10. Other sources state that he was born in 1895 and that he died in 1944; Allmusic gives a date of 1970. was an African American vaudeville singer, stage designer and comedian, popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Life and career He was born in Montgomery, Alabama, orphaned, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. His nickname of "Half Pint" referred to his 5'2" height. He started in show business around 1910 as a singer in Kansas City, before travelling extensively with medicine shows in Texas, and then touring the eastern seaboard. His feminine voice and outrageous manner, often as a female impersonator, established him as a crowd favorite. By 1917 he had begun working regularly in Atlantic City, New Jersey and in Chicago, often wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
