Carl Weathersby (born Carlton Weathersby; 24 February 1953, in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

) is an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. He has worked with

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

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, ...

, among others. He is now a solo

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

. He was nominated for the W. C. Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist in 1997.

Biography

Weathersby spent his early years in

Meadville, Mississippi Meadville is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Mississippi, United States, in the southwest part of the state. The population was 449 at the 2010 census, down from 519 at the 2000 census. It is situated north of the Homochitto Riv ...

, a place he still considers home, although when he was aged eight, his family moved to

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing ac ...

Pre-musician years (1953–1979)

As a teenager, Weathersby began to learn to play the guitar. One day, after practicing " Cross Cut Saw" many times through, he decided to show his father. After he finished playing it, his father's friend, a man Weathersby knew as Albert, the diesel mechanic, said, "Man, that ain't the way that song goes, that ain't the way I played it." The mechanic turned out to be

, who then showed Weathersby how to play it. Despite Weathersby's mistake, King was impressed and eventually hired Weathersby to play rhythm guitar with him on tour. However, his career as musician started many years later. Before then, Weathersby worked many jobs, ranging from steel mill worker to prison guard to police officer. He also served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

from 1971 to 1977, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Collaborative years (1979–1995)

After the Vietnam War, Weathersby began playing rhythm guitar with Albert King on short road trips from 1979 to 1981, but the experience solidified Weathersby's identity as a blues musician. He then started filling in for the guitarist Carlos Johnson, of the Sons of Blues, who Weathersby described as "a pretty shaky guy, you know. He could show up just as easy as he couldn't show up..." Eventually the band hired Weathersby as their full-time guitarist, a position he held for the next fifteen years.

Solo years (1995–present)

His position as guitarist for the Sons of Blues earned him a name among the blues

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

of Chicago, it also left him feeling discontented. Because of his growing popularity, Evidence Records released Weathersby's first album, ''Don't Lay Your Blues on Me'', in 1996, and his subsequent albums, up to ''Best of Carl Weathersby''. His only

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''In the House'', was recorded at the Lucerne Blues Festival in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, when he was joined by the

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

player and past bandmate Billy Branch. ''In The House'' was released under the

CrossCut Crosscut may refer to: * Crosscut.com, an online newspaper in Seattle * Crosscut Peak, a mountain peak in Antarctica * Crosscut Point, a rocky point in the South Sandwich Islands * CrossCut Records, a German record company * A type of saw cut, mo ...

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 ...

. Weathersby has since self produced the album, '' Hold On''. He performed as the headline artist twice a week at the Kingston Mines in

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

Discography

Solo albums

* 1996: ''Don't Lay Your Blues on Me'' (

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

) * 1997: ''Looking Out My Window'' (Evidence) * 1998: '' Restless Feeling'' (Evidence) * 2000: '' Come to Papa'' (Evidence) * 2003: ''Best of Carl Weathersby'' (Evidence) * 2004: ''In the House: Live at Lucerne Vol. 5'' (

) * 2005: ''Hold On'', Louisiana (Red Hot) * 2009: ''I'm Still Standing Here'' (Magnolia)

As sideman/guest

* 1985:

& the Sons of Blues, ''Romancing the Blue Stone'' ( Black & Blue) * 1985:

Buster Benton Arley "Buster" Benton (July 19, 1932 – January 20, 1996) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He played guitar in Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars and is best known for his solo rendition of Dixon's song "Spider in My Stew." Benton was ...

, ''Blues at the Top'' (Evidence) * 1989: Robert Covington, ''Blues in the Night'' (Evidence) * 1992: Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues, ''Mississippi Flashback'' (GBW) * 1994:

Hubert Sumlin Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...

& Billy Branch, ''Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 22'' (Wolf) * 1994:

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s bef ...

, '' Deep Down'' (

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

) * 1994:

George Gruntz George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, ...

, ''Beyond Another Wall: Live in China'' (TCB) * 1995: Billy Branch, ''The Blues Keep Following Me Around'' (Verve) * 1996:

Jayne Cortez Jayne Cortez (May 10, 1934 – December 28, 2012) was an African-American poet, activist, small press publisher and spoken-word performance artist whose voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic and dynamic innovations in lyricism and ...

& the Firespitters, ''Taking the Blues Back Home'' (Verve) * 1996: Billy Branch, ''Satisfy Me'' (Verve) * 1999:

Mississippi Heat Mississippi Heat is an American blues band based in Chicago, led by harmonica player Pierre Lacocque. Formed in 1991, the band has toured in the United States, Canada, and Europe, with occasional performances in South America and North Africa. M ...

, ''Handyman'' (Van Der Linden) * 2001: Rico McFarland, ''Tired of Being Alone'' (Evidence) * 2002: Buster Benton, ''Blues Reference: Blues and Trouble'' (Black & Blue) * 2002: Mississippi Heat, ''Footprints on the Ceiling'' (CrossCut) * 2003: The Sons of Blues, ''Blues Reference: As the Years Go Passing By'' (Black & Blue) * 2004:

Trudy Lynn Trudy Lynn (born August 9, 1947) is an American electric blues and soul blues singer and songwriter, whose recorded work has been released on twelve studio albums, one live album, and four compilation albums. The Allmusic journalist, Alex Hende ...

, ''Blues Power: Trudy's Blues'' (Isabel) * 2004: Charles Wilson, ''If Heartaches Were Nickels'' (Delmark) * 2004: Nora Jean Bruso, ''Going Back to Mississippi'' (Severn) * 2004: Sam Cockrell & the Groove, ''I'm in the Business'' (Boom Boom) * 2005: Mississippi Heat, ''Glad You're Mine'' (CrossCut) * 2005: Biscuit Miller, ''Come Together'' * 2005:

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include "Baby, I Love ...

, ''Think of Me'' (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

) * 2008: Mississippi Heat, "Hattiesburg Blues" (Delmark) * 2005:

Bernard Allison Bernard Allison (born November 26, 1965) is an American blues guitarist, based out of Paris, France. Biography Bernard Allison was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His father, Luther Allison, was a Chicago blues musician. Allison moved ...

Larry McCray Larry McCray (born April 5, 1960), is an American blues guitarist and singing, singer from Magnolia, Arkansas. Early life McCray, the second youngest of nine siblings, grew up living on a farm.

, Carl Weathersby,

Lucky Peterson Judge Kenneth Peterson (December 13, 1964 – May 17, 2020), known professionally as Lucky Peterson, was an American musician who played contemporary blues, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. He played guitar and keyboards Keyboard ma ...

, ''Triple Fret'' JSP * 2010:

John Primer John Primer (born March 5, 1945, Camden, Mississippi, United States) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and guitarist who played behind Junior Wells in the house band at Theresa's Lounge and as a member of the bands of Willi ...

, Carl Weathersby, ''Let's Live It Up!'' (Delmark)

References

External links

Carl Weathersby, official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weathersby, Carl 1953 births Living people American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Electric blues musicians Blues musicians from Mississippi Singers from Chicago Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi Guitarists from Chicago Guitarists from Mississippi People from Meadville, Mississippi 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians