Lazy Bill Lucas (May 29, 1918 – December 11, 1982) 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 ...

musician who was part of the birth of the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

scene in the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. He then took his talents to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, becoming an important part of that city's blues history until his death.

Early career

Born William Lucas to sharecroppers in

Wynne Wynne is a surname of Welsh origin. This is a list of notable people with the surname, sorted by profession: Art, literature, and music * Bill Wynne (1922–2021), American photographer and writer * David Wynne (composer) (1900–83), Wels ...

, Arkansas, United States, Lucas's family was always looking for better living conditions and worked their way north to Southern

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, then to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in 1940 and Chicago the year after. As a youngster, he sang on the streets of

Advance, Missouri Advance is a city located at the intersection of State Highway 25 and State Highway 91/Route C in northern Stoddard County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,347 at the 2010 census. Advance was founded ''circa'' 1882. The town is pron ...

, where the mostly white audience preferred

hillbilly Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas west ...

songs, but in St. Louis in 1940, he teamed up with blues singer

Big Joe Williams Joseph Lee "Big Joe" Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the s ...

and started singing for a black audience. Until 1946, Lucas played guitar on the streets, often at the side of

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp st ...

. Later that year, he formed a trio with

Willie Mabon Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

and Earl Dranes, joined the Musicians Union, and enjoyed a two-week gig at the Tuxedo Lounge. For several years, he played in various blues combos and played in various clubs, bars and street settings. During this time, he played with

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 ...

, Jo Jo Williams,

Homesick James Homesick James (April 30, 1910December 13, 2006 was an American blues musician known for his mastery of the slide guitar. He worked with his cousin, Elmore James, and with Sonny Boy Williamson II. Early years Homesick James was born in Somervil ...

, Little Hudson,

Snooky Pryor James Edward "Snooky" Pryor (September 15, 1919 or 1921 – October 18, 2006) was an American Chicago blues harmonica player. He claimed to have pioneered the now-common method of playing amplified harmonica by cupping a small microphone in his ...

, and

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

. In 1950, Lucas switched from guitar to piano and worked as a

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo ...

for various blues bands, and appeared on records by

Little Willy Foster Willy Foster (April 20, 1922 – November 25, 1987), known as Little Willy Foster (or Little Willie Foster), was an American Chicago blues harmonicist, singer, and songwriter. Biography Foster was born in Dublin, Mississippi, to Major Foster an ...

and

. In 1954, while leading the trio Lazy Bill and His Blue Rhythms, he secured a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

Chance Records Chance Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1950 by Art Sheridan. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel. Among the acts who recorded for Chance were The Flamingos, The Moonglows, Homesick James, J. B. Hutto, Brother John S ...

, who gave him one recording session. The company released one 78 rpm

phonograph record 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 nea ...

– "She Got Me Walkin'" b/w "I Had a Dream". In 1955 he headed an ensemble billed as Blues Rockers, who issued a single via

Excello Records Excello Records was an American blues independent record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label. History It recorded such artists as Lonnie Brooks, Lightnin' Slim, ...

. The recording took place in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, with Lucas on vocals and piano, P.T. Hayes playing the harmonica, Earl Dranes on guitar and Jo Jo Williams supplying guitar, bass and drums.

Later career

As the 1950s progressed, work became harder to find, and during the 1960s, Lucas tried to get into the

folk-blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in ...

scene but could not secure any contracts. From 1964 and well into the 1970s, Lucas straddled two careers: playing in various groups led by

George "Mojo" Buford George Carter Buford, Jr. (November 10, 1929 – October 11, 2011), known as Mojo Buford, was an American blues harmonica player best known for his work in Muddy Waters's band. Biography Buford relocated from Hernando, Mississippi, to Memp ...

and playing solo or leading his own small groups, often with guitarists David Hartley and later with guitarist Jeff Titon. In 1970, with Titon and drummer Mitchell Gevova he played in a revue, ''Dat Feelin, scripted by Black activist Milton Williams, at Minneapolis'

Guthrie Theatre The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

, to show the range and history of

Afro-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

music. The same year Lucas appeared at the Wisconsin Delta Blues Festival, and the

Ann Arbor Blues Festival Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that started in 1972 from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which itself began in 1969. Although the festival has had a tumultuous history and suspended operations in 200 ...

, with Jeff Titon and John Schrag. In France, record producer Michel Engelhard released two LPs, ''Lazy Bill Lucas'' (1969, vocals and solo piano) and ''Lazy Bill and His Friends'' (1970), in which he was featured with musicians

(harmonica) and Jo Jo Williams (guitar). In 1973, Titon and Papa John Kolstad helped record and produce Lucas's material for Philo Records. In 1979, Lucas, who had played live on the radio in the 1960s, started hosting his own regular radio show, ''The Lazy Bill Lucas Show'' on

KFAI KFAI (90.3 FM Minneapolis) is a community radio station in Minnesota. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music, and also airs programming catering to many of the diverse ethnic groups of the region. KFAI has frequently been honored by lo ...

in Minneapolis. Lucas died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

in Minneapolis in December 1982, at the age of 64.

Discography

Singles

*Lazy Bill and His Blue Rhythms: "She Got Me Walkin" b/w " I Had A Dream" :

1148 (1954) *Blues Rockers: "Calling All Cows" b/w " Johnny Mae" :

2062 (1955)

Albums

*''Lazy Bill'' ''Lucas'': Wild Records 12MO1 (1969) *''Lazy Bill and His Friends'': Lazy Records 12MO2 (1970) *''Lazy Bill Lucas'': Philo Records 1007 (1974) *''Have Mercy'': Cold Wind Records (1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Bill 1918 births 1982 deaths Chicago blues musicians African-American pianists American blues pianists American male pianists American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Blues musicians from Arkansas People from Wynne, Arkansas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American pianists Singers from Arkansas Guitarists from Arkansas Guitarists from Illinois African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers