Houston Boines (December 30, 1918 – November 8, 1970) was an American

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 ...

singer and

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. Boines, accompanied by guitarist

Charley Booker Charley Booker (September 3, 1925 – September 20, 1989) was an American blues singer and guitarist from the Mississippi Delta, who recorded in the early 1950s for Modern Records. Early life and career Booker was born in 1925 on a plantation be ...

, was recruited by talent scout

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1 ...

to record for

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee ...

in 1952. He also recorded for

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

in 1953.

Biography

Boines was born in

Hazlehurst, Mississippi Hazlehurst is a city in and the county seat of Copiah County, Mississippi, United States, located about south of the state capital Jackson along Interstate 55. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan S ...

, on December 30, 1918. He was still living in Hazelhurst when he enlisted in the

United States 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, cla ...

in January 1941, before the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After his service, he played with guitarists

Houston Stackhouse Houston Stackhouse (September 28, 1910 – September 23, 1980) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. He is best known for his association with Robert Nighthawk. He was not especially noted as a guitarist or singer, but Nighthawk ...

, and

Eddie Cusic Eddie Cusic (January 4, 1926 – August 11, 2015) was an American Mississippi blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His small body of recorded works includes some erroneously credited to "Eddie Quesie" and "Eddie Cusie". Cusic had musical con ...

. In 1952, musician and talent scout

brought Boines to record for the Biharis Brothers at Modern. Boines signed to their subsidiary Blues & Rhythm Records. Turner accompanied Boines on piano during the session in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. Hi ...

, in January 1952. He also backed Charley Booker on a few tracks during that session. Boines' record ''Going Home'' / ''Relation Blues'' was released on Blues & Rhythm. The single "Superintendent Blues" / "Monkey Motion" was released on Modern's subsidiary RPM Records in August 1952. Boines met guitarist

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 ...

Leland, Mississippi Leland is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. It is located within the Mississippi Delta, on the banks of Deer Creek. The population was 4,481 at the 2010 census. It was once a railway town and had long been a center of cott ...

. Milton brought Boines to record for

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. During a session in December 1953, backed by Milton on guitar and Ike Turner on piano, Boines recorded two tracks, including "Carry My Business On." They remained unissued until the latter appeared on the compilation ''Sun: The Roots Of Rock: Volume 2: Sam's Blues'' in 1976. Boines broadcast on the radio program ''

King Biscuit Time :''"King Biscuit Time" is also the name under which ex-Beta Band frontman Steve Mason releases his solo work.'' ''King Biscuit Time'' is the longest-running daily American radio broadcast in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from ...

'' on KFFA in

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...

. Houston Stackhouse, recalled that Boines was still playing in local clubs later in life, ''but he just faded on out. He'd drink so much." Death records in Mississippi reveal that a man named therein as Huston Boines died on November 8, 1970, in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

; it is presumed to be Houston Boines. Stackhouse also confirmed that Boines died around that time.

Discography

Singles

* 1952: "Superintendent Blues" / "Monkey Motion" (RPM 364) * 1952: "Going Home" / "Relation Blues" (Blues & Rhythm 7001)

Album appearances

* 1976: Howlin' Wolf, Little Milton, Houston Boines – ''Sun: The Roots Of Rock: Volume 2: Sam's Blues'' (

Charly ''Charly'' (marketed and stylized as ''CHAЯLY'') is a 1968 American drama film directed and produced by Ralph Nelson and written by Stirling Silliphant. It is based on ''Flowers for Algernon'', a science-fiction short story (1958) and subseque ...

) * 2003: ''The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Volume 2: Mississippi & Arkansas 1952'' (

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

) * 2010: Ike Turner – ''That Kat Sure Could Play! The Singles 1951 to 1957'' (Secret Records Limited)

References

External links

Houston Boines Credits
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boines, Houston 1918 births 1970 deaths People from Hazlehurst, Mississippi Delta blues musicians Blues musicians from Mississippi American blues harmonica players American rhythm and blues singers American blues singers Modern Records artists RPM Records (United States) artists Sun Records artists United States Army soldiers