Eddy Clearwater

Edward Harrington (January 10, 1935 – June 1, 2018), better known by his stage name Eddy Clearwater, was an American blues musician who specialized in Chicago blues. ''Blues Revue'' said he plays "joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning soul fervor and powerful guitar. One of the blues' finest songwriters."

Early life

Edward Harrington was born in Macon, Mississippi, on January 10, 1935. He was raised by his part-Cherokee grandmother in Mississippi. His family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1948.
He was a cousin of the blues harmonica player Carey Bell.

He began playing guitar at age 13, teaching himself left-handed and upside down. He began performing with gospel groups, including the Five Blind Boys of Alabama.

He moved to Chicago in 1950, playing predominantly gospel, and later developed his blues artistry after working with Magic Sam, Otis Rush, and others.

Career

Clearwater is best known for his activity in the Chicago blues scene since the 1950s. He performed in the US (especially around the Chicago area, where he resides) and internationally, having played at blues festivals in France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Turkey and the Netherlands. His sound has been described as "hard-driving Windy City blues, soul-tinged balladry, acoustic country blues and gospel uplift….good natured fretboard fireworks."

When he left the South for Chicago in 1950, he worked as a dishwasher while living with an uncle, through whom he met many of Chicago's blues masters, including Otis Rush (who also was a left-handed playing the guitar upside down) and Magic Sam. Inspired by the music of Chuck Berry, he began performing some of Berry's songs and writing in a style influenced by him. Clearwater regularly performed songs by Rush, Magic Sam, and Berry, as well as original compositions. In 1953, then known as Guitar Eddy, he began working regularly in bars on Chicago's South and West Sides. His first single, the Berry-styled "Hill Billy Blues", was recorded in 1958 for his uncle's Atomic H label, under the moniker Clear Waters, a name given to him by his booking agent, drummer Armand "Jump" Jackson, as a play on the name of the famous Muddy Waters.

He recorded a few more singles, which had some local radio airplay. Eventually the name Clear Waters evolved into Eddy Clearwater. He worked steadily throughout the 1960s and 1970s and was among the first blues musicians to find success with Chicago's North Side college audiences. He was a regular Saturday act on the north stage of the blues club Kingston Mines, while bluesman Linsey Alexander played on the south stage. He toured Europe twice during the 1970s and appeared on BBC
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