Blind Arvella Gray (January 28, 1906 - September 7, 1980)
was an American
blues,
folk
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and
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
singer and guitarist.
Gray was born James Dixon, in
Somerville, Texas
Somerville ( ) is a city in Burleson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,312 at the 2020 census. Somerville is named for Albert Somerville the first president of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway.
Geography
Somerville is lo ...
.
He spent the latter part of his life performing and
busking folk, blues and gospel music at
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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's
Maxwell Street flea market and at rapid-transit depots.
In the 1960s, he recorded two singles for his own Gray label, including "Freedom Rider" backed with "Freedom Bus."
Gray's only
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
, ''The Singing Drifter'' (1973),
was reissued on the Conjuroo
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 ...
in 2005. The reissue was
produced by Cary Baker, who wrote the liner notes for the original
vinyl LP
The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...
, released by Birch Records.
Gray died in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, Illinois, in September 1980, at the age of 74.
References
External links
Illustrated Blind Arvella Gray discography
1906 births
1980 deaths
American blues singers
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Songwriters from Texas
American street performers
Blind musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Texas
African-American male songwriters
African-American guitarists
20th-century African-American male singers
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