Bull City Red (born George Washington, February 19, 1917 – October 1958)
was an American
Piedmont blues guitarist,
singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
, and predominantly
washboard player, most closely associated with
Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller (born Fulton Allen, July 10, 1904February 13, 1941) was an American blues guitarist and singer. Fuller was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists, rural African Americans, along with Blind Blake, Josh Whi ...
and the
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis (born Gary D. Davis, April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infan ...
. Little is known of his life outside of his recording career.
Biography
Washington was born in
Indiantown, South Carolina
Indiantown is an unincorporated community in rural Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. Prior to the arrival of Europeans to North America, it was the site of a historic Native American village.
The Native American tribes record ...
,
though some sources state
Durham, North Carolina. His primary
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
, "Bull City Red", came from the "Bull City" nickname for Durham, where he grew up. A partial
albino
Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino.
Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
, he was sometimes alternatively billed as Oh Red, also the name of a popular song written by
Joe McCoy
Wilbur "Kansas Joe" McCoy (May 11, 1905 – January 28, 1950) was an American Delta blues singer, musician and songwriter.
Career
McCoy performed under various stage names but is best known as Kansas Joe McCoy. Born in Raymond, Mississippi, h ...
and first recorded in 1936 by the
Harlem Hamfats. Red and Fuller recorded their own version of the song, titled "New Oh Red!", in 1937. Although he was just good enough as a guitarist to imitate Fuller, with whom he frequently played, he was a talented washboard player and also sang.
Red was a street musician in Durham before becoming the sole sighted member of a band managed by the talent scout
J. B. Long, which included at various times Fuller,
Sonny Terry and Davis.
In 1935, then a trio featuring Red, Davis, and Fuller, the band went to New York to enter the recording studio for the first time,
[ in a session for the American Record Corporation (ARC).] As his collaborators were blind, Red signaled them by touch when the recording process was ready to end.[ Accompanying Fuller along with Terry, Red recorded many songs for ARC's Perfect label between 1935 and Fuller's death during surgery in 1941.]
Red also recorded songs based on gospel music with Fuller, Terry, and Sonny Jones, under the name of Brother George and His Sanctified Singers. He recorded "I Saw the Light" with guitar backing by Davis.[ On Fuller's latterday compilation album, ''Get Your Yas Yas Out'', Red played the washboard on "Jitterbug Rag".] Between 1935 and 1939, he struck out on his own as well, recording solo with his own vocals, guitar and washboard. His tracks included "Black Woman and Poison Blues" and "I Won't Be Dogged Around".
In 1941, Red became involved with another band. In late 1940, he had introduced Brownie McGhee
Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.
Life and career
McGhee was ...
and his collaborator Jordan Webb to his manager, John Baxter Long, and also to Fuller and Terry. After Fuller's death, the group came together along with another washboard player, Robert Young, to record.
Red died in 1958, at an unknown location.
See also
*List of East Coast blues musicians
Blues musicians are musical artists who are primarily recognized as writing, performing, and recording blues music. They come from different eras and include styles such as ragtime-vaudeville, Delta blues, Delta and country blues, and urban style ...
References
External links
*Biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
at Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
Discography and biography of Bull City Red and others
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bull City Red
1917 births
1958 deaths
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
American blues singers
East Coast blues musicians
Washboard players
Musicians from Durham, North Carolina
Guitarists from North Carolina
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American singers
20th-century American male singers