Blind Arvella Gray (January 28, 1906 - September 7, 1980)
was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or A ...

blues
Blues is a music genre
A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in ...

,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Folk ...

and
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel#REDIRECT The gospel
In Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism, monotheistic religion based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, life and Te ...
singer and guitarist.
Gray was born James Dixon, in
Somerville, Texas.
He spent the latter part of his life performing and
busking
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

folk, blues and gospel music at
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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's
Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee (1988). ''Str ...
flea market
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market
Market may refer to:
*Market (economics)
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an island shared by Finland and Sweden
Art, enter ...

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 as a collection on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual Phonograph rec ...

, ''The Singing Drifter'' (1973),
was reissued on the Conjuroo
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and ad ...
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
On a reel-to-reel tape recorder (Sony TC-630), the recorder is data storage equipment and the magnetic tape is a data storage medium.
Data
Data (; ) ...
, released by Birch Records.
Gray died in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, in September 1980, at the age of 74.
References
External links
Illustrated Blind Arvella Gray discography
1906 births
1980 deaths
African-American musicians
American blues singers
American male singers
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Songwriters from Texas
American street performers
20th-century American singers
{{CatAutoTOC
20th-century American musicians, Singers
20th-century singers, American
American singers by century ...
Blind musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Texas
20th-century male singers
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