Aaron Corthen, better known as A.C. Reed (May 9, 1926 – February 24, 2004) was an American blues

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

, closely associated with the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

scene from the 1940s into the 2000s.

Biography

Reed was born in Wardell, Missouri, and grew up in southern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. He took his stage name from his friend

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

. He moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, playing with

Earl Hooker Earl Zebedee Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and ...

and

Willie Mabon Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

in the 1940s. He toured with Dennis "Long Man" Binder in 1956, and worked extensively as a sideman for

Mel London Mel London (April 9, 1932 – May 16, 1975) was an American songwriter, record producer, and record label owner. He was active in the Chicago blues and R&B scenes in the 1950s and 1960s. London is best known for his compositions for Chicago ...

's blues

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s Chief/Profile/Age in the 1960s, with Lillian Offitt and Ricky Allen, among others. He had a regionally popular

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1961, "This Little Voice" (Age 29101), and cut several more singles over the course of the decade with

Age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Cool, and Nike Records. He became a member of

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

in 1967, playing with him on his tour of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in 1969 and, with

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

, opening for the Rolling Stones in 1970. He remained with Guy until 1977. He then played with

Son Seals Frank "Son" Seals (August 13, 1942 – December 20, 2004) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. In 2009, Seals was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Career Seals was born in Osceola, Arkansas, where his father, Jim "Son" Se ...

and

Albert Collins Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...

in the late 1970s and 1980s. He began

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

material for

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

in the 1980s. His 1987 album, '' I'm in the Wrong Business!'', includes cameo appearances by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bonnie Raitt. Reed toured extensively in the 1980s and 1990s with his band, the Spark Plugs, featuring guitarist Jerry "Hot Rod" DeMink, playing small venues throughout the United States. He and the Sparkplugs performed in Chicago before he died of cancer in 2004.

Discography

* ''Take These Blues and Shove 'Em'' (

Rooster Blues Rooster Blues is an American independent record label founded in 1980. The label is dedicated to blues music from the Mississippi Delta. Rooster Blues was co-founded by Jim O'Neal in Chicago, and initially released 14 albums by South Side blues m ...

, 1982) * ''I Got Money'' (Blue Phoenix, 1986) (with

Maurice John Vaughn Maurice John Vaughn (born May 10, 1952) is an American blues musician from Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is a guitarist, saxophonist, keyboardist and singer. Biography Vaughn began playing professionally in 1968 as a saxophonist in Chicag ...

) * '' I'm in the Wrong Business!'' (

, 1987) * ''Junk Food'' (

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a record ...

, 1998) With

Magic Sam Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

*''

Rockin' Wild in Chicago ''Rockin' Wild in Chicago'' is a live album by the American blues musician Magic Sam, compiling tracks recorded in Chicago between 1963 and 1968, that was released by the Delmark label in 2021.

'' (Delmark, 1964

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With

*''

Ice Pickin' ''Ice Pickin is a studio album by Albert Collins, released in 1978. It was Collins's breakthrough album. ''Ice Pickin was nominated for a 1979 Grammy Award. Production The album was recorded at Curtom Studios, in Chicago. ''The Guardian'' wrote o ...

'' (Alligator, 1979) *''

Frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the ha ...

'' (Alligator, 1980) *'' Don't Lose Your Cool'' (Alligator, 1983) * Live in Japan ( Alligator,1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, A.C. 1926 births 2004 deaths People from Pemiscot County, Missouri American blues saxophonists Musicians from Missouri Soul-blues musicians Deaths from cancer in Illinois 20th-century American musicians Black & Blue Records artists Delmark Records artists Alligator Records artists USA Records artists

Biography

Discography

See also

References