Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in 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 ...

style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s before embarking on a solo career. Besides his own albums, he recorded as an accompanist or duo artist 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 ...

Robert Nighthawk Robert Lee McCollum (November 30, 1909 – November 5, 1967) was an American blues musician who played and recorded under the pseudonyms Robert Lee McCoy and Robert Nighthawk. He was the father of the blues musician Sam Carr. Nighthawk was i ...

Lowell Fulson Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most imp ...

Eddie Taylor Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. Biography Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing ...

Louisiana Red Iverson Minter (March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012), known as Louisiana Red, was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. He was best known for his song "Sweet Blood Call". Biography Born ...

and

Jimmy Dawkins James Henry “Jimmy” Dawkins (October 24, 1936 – April 10, 2013) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is generally considered to have been a practitioner of the "West Side sound" of Chicago blues. Caree ...

and was a frequent partner with his son, the guitarist Lurrie Bell. ''Blues Revue'' called Bell "one of Chicago's finest harpists.". The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' said Bell was "a terrific talent in the tradition of Sonny Boy Williamson and

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning hi ...

.".

Career

Early life

Bell was born Carey Bell Harrington in

Macon, Mississippi Macon is a city in Noxubee County, Mississippi along the Noxubee River. The population was 2,768 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Noxubee County. History In 1817, Jackson's Military Road was built at the urging of Andrew Jackson to ...

. As a child, he was intrigued by the music of Louis Jordan and wanted a saxophone to be like his hero Jordan. His family could not afford one, so he had to settle for a harmonica, colloquially known as a "Mississippi saxophone". Soon Bell was attracted by the blues harmonica greats—

DeFord Bailey DeFord Bailey (December 14, 1899 – July 2, 1982) was an American country music and blues star from the 1920s until 1941. He was one of the first performers to be introduced on Nashville radio station WSM's Grand Ole Opry, the first African-A ...

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter 'Shakey' Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

, Marion "

" Jacobs,

Sonny Boy Williamson I John Lee Curtis "Sonny Boy" Williamson (March 30, 1914 – June 1, 1948) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He is often regarded as the pioneer of the blues harp as a solo instrument. He played on hundreds of re ...

and

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp st ...

—and taught himself to play. By the time he was eight, he was proficient on the instrument. When he was thirteen, he joined the blues band of his godfather, the pianist Lovie Lee.

Chicago

In September 1956, Lee persuaded Bell to go with him to Chicago. Not long after arriving, Bell went to the Club Zanzibar, where Little Walter was appearing. Bell met Walter and later learned some harp playing from him and from

, his main Chicago teacher. To help further his chances of employment as a musician, he learned how to play the electric bass from

Hound Dog Taylor Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor (April 12, 1915 – December 17, 1975) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer. Life and career Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1915, though some sources say 1917. He first played the piano and ...

. Having learned from some of the greatest blues harp players of the genre, Bell arrived in Chicago at an unfortunate time. The demand for harp players was decreasing there, as the electric guitar became the prominent blues instrument. To pay the bills, he joined several bands as a bassist. In the late 1960s, he performed regularly on the West Side of Chicago with the guitarists

and Royal Johnson, playing harmonica and bass. In 1969, Bell toured Europe with the

American Folk Blues Festival The American Folk Blues Festival was a music festival that toured Europe as an annual event for several years beginning in 1962. It introduced audiences in Europe, including the UK, to leading blues performers of the day such as Muddy Waters, Howl ...

and played at the Royal Albert Hall in London, appearing on a live recording of the event.

Debut through 1980s

In 1969,

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 ...

in Chicago released Bell's debut album, '' Carey Bell's Blues Harp''. He played with

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

in late 1970 and 1971 and later with Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All-Stars. In 1972, Bell teamed up with Big Walter in the studio and recorded '' Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell'' 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 ...

. A year later Bell released a solo project, '' Last Night'', for BluesWay. He continued to play with Dixon and with his own groups. In 1978, he was featured on the Grammy-nominated album ''Living Chicago Blues'', released by Alligator. Also in the 1970s, he contributed to two recordings by the Bob Riedy Blues Band. During the 1980s Bell continued to record for various labels and to tour. In 1990, he teamed up with fellow harpists

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 ...

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

and

Billy Branch Billy Branch (born William Earl Branch, October 3, 1951) is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues. Branch is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner, a ...

to record ''Harp Attack!'', one of Alligator's best-selling albums.

Alligator years

Despite years in the business and work with Alligator, Bell's first full-length solo album for the label, ''Deep Down'', was not released until 1995. He released a second album, ''Good Luck Man'', for the label in 1997. ''Second Nature'' followed in 2004 (recorded in Finland a few years earlier), in which he was accompanied by his son, the guitarist Lurrie Bell (who also played guitar, along with Carl Weathersby, on ''Deep Down''). In 1998, Bell was awarded the Blues Music Award for Traditional Male Artist of the Year.

Final work

In 2007, Delmark Records released a live set by Bell, accompanied by a band that included his son Lurrie, the guitarist Scott Cable, Kenny Smith,

Bob Stroger Bob Stroger (born December 27, 1930) is an American electric blues bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has worked with many blues musicians, including Eddie King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Eddy Clearwater, Sunnyland Slim, Lo ...

, and Joe Thomas.

Death

Bell died of heart failure on May 6, 2007, in Chicago.

Discography

*'' Carey Bell's Blues Harp'' (Delmark, 1969) *'' Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell'' (Alligator, 1973) with

*'' Last Night'' (BluesWay, 1973) *'' Heartaches and Pain'' (Delmark, 1977

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

*''Goin' on Main Street'' (Evidence), 1982 *''Son of a Gun'' (Rooster Blues), 1984 *''Straight Shoot'' (Blues South West), 1986 *''Harpslinger'' (JSP), 1988 *''Dynasty!'' (JSP), 1990 *''Mellow Down Easy'' (Blind Pig), 1991 *''Breakdown Blues Live!'', with "The Cat" (CMA), 1992 *''Harpmaster'' (JSP), 1994 *''Carey Bell & Spike Ravenswood'' (Saar), 1995 *'' Deep Down'' (Alligator), 1995 *'' Good Luck Man'' (Alligator), 1997 *''Brought Up the Hard Way'' (JSP CD 802), 1999 *''Second Nature'' (Alligator), 2004 *''Gettin' Up: Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, Rosa's and Lurrie's Home'', with Lurrie Bell (Delmark), 2007

With Louisiana Red

*''Reality Blues'' (L+R), 1980 *''Boy from Black Bayou'' (L+R), 1983 *''My Life'' (L+R), 1984 *''Brothers in Blues'' (CMA Records), 1993 *''Live at 55'' (Enja), 1994 *''The Blues Masters Bad Case of the Blues'' (Mojo Tone), 2004

Collaborations with other artists

*'' I Feel Good!'' with John Lee Hooker (Carson, 1970) *'' I Wanna Dance All Night'' with John Lee Hooker (America, 1970) *'' 2 Bugs and a Roach'' with

(Arhoolie, 1969) *''Lake Michigan Ain't No River'', with Bob Riedy Blues Band, 1972–1973 *'' "Unk" in Funk'' with

(Chess, 1974) *''Just Off Halsted'', with Bob Riedy Blues Band (

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird d ...

FF 006), 1974 *''Blues After Sunrise'', with Heinz Sauer and

Bob Degen Bob Degen Jr (born January 24, 1944 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American jazz pianist. Much of his work has been in the trio format. Life and Career Degen was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1944. Both of his parents wer ...

(L+R 40017), 1980 *''Harp Attack!'', with

and

(Alligator), 1990 *''Delta Bluesman'', with Honeyboy Edwards (

Earwig Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forcep-like pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folde ...

4922), 1991 *''Good Candy'', with Lovie Lee (Earwig 4928), 1994 *''You Can't Take My Blues'', with Doug MacLeod ( Sledgehammer Blues 2-AQM-1041), 1996 *''Blues Blues Blues'', with the Jimmy Rogers All Stars (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

), 1998 *''Superharps II'', with

Lazy Lester Leslie Johnson (June 20, 1933 – August 22, 2018), better known as Lazy Lester, was an American blues musician who sang and played the harmonica and guitar. In a career spanning the 1950s to 2018, he pioneered swamp blues, and also played h ...

Raful Neal Raful Neal (June 6, 1936 – September 1, 2004)Biography '' AllMusic'' was an American Louisiana blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter from the United States. Neal was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, and reared by his aunt ...

and

Snooky Pryor James Edward "Snooky" Pryor (September 15, 1919 or 1921 – October 18, 2006) was an American Chicago blues harmonica player. He claimed to have pioneered the now-common method of playing amplified harmonica by cupping a small microphone in his ...

(Telarc), 2001 *''Family Album'', with Wentus Blues Band (Bluelight), 2004

References

External links

"Harmonica Great Dies at 70" at NPR.orgChicago Blues Harmonica Legend Carey Bell 1936 – 2007 (Alligator press release)Carey Bell memorial website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Carey 1936 births 2007 deaths Chicago blues musicians Harmonica blues musicians Electric blues musicians American blues harmonica players Blues musicians from Mississippi 20th-century American musicians People from Macon, Mississippi Delmark Records artists Earwig Music artists Blind Pig Records artists Alligator Records artists