Elga Speed Edmonds (June 22, 1909 – August 26, 1966), sometimes mistakenly credited as Elgin Evans in early record discographies, was an American drummer. He was the drummer in

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musician

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 b ...

' band during its most successful period, and played with other leading blues musicians in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

, and played washboard in local blues bands before moving in the 1930s to Chicago, where he performed in clubs. Muddy Waters had used various drummers including

Baby Face Leroy "Baby Face" Leroy Foster (February 1, 1923 – May 26, 1958) was an American blues singer, drummer and guitarist, active in Chicago from the mid-1940s until the late 1950s. He was a significant figure in the development of the postwar electric ...

in his bands, but in 1950 established a permanent band with Edmonds as drummer. Edmonds made early recordings with

Jimmy Rogers Jimmy Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and recorded several pop ...

, Leroy Foster,

Floyd Jones Floyd Jones (July 21, 1917 – December 19, 1989) was an African-American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II, and a number of h ...

and others, and beginning on July 11, 1951, appeared on most of Muddy Waters' recordings until being replaced by

Frances Clay Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the ...

c. 1957. He was fired by Muddy Waters in the late 1950s, and died in 1966 aged 57. His final recording session was made in December of 1966, backing guitarist/mandolinist

Johnny "Man" Young Johnny "Man" Young (January 1, 1917 – April 18, 1974) was an American blues singer, mandolin player and guitarist, significant as one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after the Second World ...

References

1909 births 1966 deaths People from Urbana, Illinois Musicians from Illinois American blues drummers {{US-drummer-stub