Elijah Douglas Quattlebaum (January 22, 1929 – March 1, 1996), better known as Doug Quattlebaum, was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He recorded one single for

Gotham Records Gotham Records was an American record label formed by Sam Goode (Goody) and Ivin Ballen in New York City in 1946. In January 1948 Ballen acquired the interest of Goode and became the sole owner. He then moved the company to Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

in 1953, but was offered another opportunity following his employment as an ice cream salesman.

Life and career

Quattlebaum was born in Florence, South Carolina, as the only child of his mother's first marriage. He spent the first thirteen years of his life there and was initially inspired by the music of

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 ...

. He fashioned crudely constructed homemade guitars from wire and cigar boxes. His mother remarried (to a brother of Arthur Crudup's) in the early 1940s, when Quattlebaum was aged fourteen, and the family moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. His stepfather purchased Quattlebaum's first real guitar and showed him how to play one chord; as a teenager Quattlebaum alone mastered the basics of playing the instrument. He toured playing guitar accompaniment for several

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 ...

groups, and reckoned he first recorded with the Bells of Joy in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Quattlebaum recorded solo in 1953, as a blues singer and guitarist, for the Philadelphia-based

. He cut three tracks for the label, "Don't Be Funny, Baby", "Lizzie Lou", and "Foolin' Me". The first two were released as a

78-rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

single by Gotham the same year; "Foolin' Me" was not released until many years later. The recording was not a success, and Quattlebaum fell into obscurity, but by 1961 he was back, playing accompaniment for the Ward Singers. In June the same year, he was "rediscovered" playing popular and blues songs through the

public address system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

of his

Mister Softee Mister Softee, Inc. (doing business as Mister Softee) is an American ice cream truck franchisor, best known in the northeastern United States. The company is based in Runnemede, New Jersey. Business history Mister Softee was founded in 1956 b ...

ice cream van An ice cream van (British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near ...

. The blues historian Pete Welding, who became known for discovering talent in unusual places, heard his performances and arranged for him to record an album for Testament Records. For reasons unknown it was not released, but Welding recorded him again the following year for the album ''Softee Man Blues'' (financed by Moe of the Pep Boys), released by

Bluesville Records Bluesville Records was an American record label subsidiary of Prestige Records, launched in 1959, with the primary purpose of documenting the work of the older classic bluesmen passed over by the changing audience. Such bluesmen as Roosevelt Sykes, ...

in 1963. The front cover of the album displayed a photograph of Quattlebaum in his ice cream uniform. The album was well received by critics, who noted his powerful voice and his Blind Boy Fuller–inspired guitar playing. Quattlebaum wrote a number of his own compositions, but the collection contained his versions of songs previously recorded by others, including "So Sweet" (Fuller), "Mama Don't Allow Me to Stay Out All Night Long" (Crudup), " Trouble in Mind" (

Richard M. Jones Richard M. Jones, born Richard Marigny Jones (sometimes written Richard Mariney Jones), (June 13, 1892 – December 8, 1945) was an American jazz pianist, composer, band leader, and record producer. Numerous songs bear his name as author, includi ...

), "Whiskey Headed Woman" (

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list ...

), "You Is One Black Rat" ( Little Son Joe and

Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being "Wh ...

), "Big Leg Woman" (

Johnny Temple John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was a Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Redlegs/Reds (1952–59; 1964); Cleveland Indians (1960–61), Baltimore Orioles (1962) and Houston Colt .45s (1962–63). Tem ...

), "Black Night Is Falling" ( Roy Brown), and "Baby, Take a Chance with Me" (

Jazz Gillum William McKinley "Jazz" Gillum (September 11, 1902 or 1904 – March 29, 1966) was an American blues harmonica player. Biography Gillum was born in Indianola, Mississippi. He ran away from home at age seven and for the next few years lived in ...

). This led to Quattlebaum making a number of appearances on the

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 Fo ...

circuit, during the so-called blues revival period. He soon returned to Philadelphia, although he recorded a single for the obscure Na-Cat Records around 1970. It is believed Quattlebaum entered the ministry shortly thereafter. Quattlebaum died in March 1996, aged 67, in Philadelphia. His "lost" album, ''If You've Ever Been Mistreated'', was finally issued the following year.

Discography

Singles

Albums

References

External links