Fird Eaglin Jr. (January 21, 1936 or 1937 – February 18, 2009), known as Snooks Eaglin, was an American guitarist and singer based in New Orleans. In his early years he was sometimes credited under other names, including Blind Snooks Eaglin, "Lil" Snook, Ford Eaglin, Blind Guitar Ferd. His vocal style was reminiscent of that of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

; in the 1950s, when he was in his late teens, he sometimes billed himself as "Little Ray Charles". He played a wide range of styles of music within the same concert, album, or even song:

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 ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. In his early years, he also played acoustic blues. His ability to play a wide range of songs and make them his own earned him the nickname "The Human Jukebox." Eaglin claimed in interviews that his musical repertoire included some 2,500 songs. At live shows, he usually did not prepare set lists and was unpredictable, even to his bandmates. He played songs that came to him on stage, and he also took requests from the audience.

Early life

Eaglin lost his sight not long after his first birthday, having been stricken with

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

, and spent several years in the hospital with other ailments. Around the age of five he received a guitar from his father and taught himself to play by listening to and playing along with the radio. A mischievous youngster, he was given the nickname "Snooks" after a radio character named

Baby Snooks ''The Baby Snooks Show'' was an American radio program starring comedian and ''Ziegfeld Follies'' alumna Fanny Brice as a mischievous young girl who was 40 years younger than the actress who played her when she first went on the air. The series b ...

Career

Early years

In 1947, at the age of 11, Eaglin entered a talent contest organized by the radio station WNOE and won it with his performance of "

Twelfth Street Rag "Twelfth Street Rag" is a ragtime musical composition published by Euday L. Bowman in 1914. Background A friend of Euday Bowman known as "Raggedy Ed" declared his intention to open a pawn shop on 12th Street in Kansas City while the two were ...

.""Snooks Eaglin Interview". ''Blues & Soul Records Magazine'', no. 8, March 31, 1996. Three years later, he dropped out of a school for the blind to become a professional musician. In 1952, he joined the Flamingoes, a local seven-piece band started by

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

. The Flamingoes did not have a bass player, and according to Eaglin, he played both the guitar and the bass parts simultaneously on his guitar. He stayed with the Flamingoes for several years, until the group disbanded in the mid-1950s. As a solo artist, his recording and touring were inconsistent, and for a man with a career of about 50 years, his discography is rather slim. His first recording was in 1953, playing guitar at a recording session for

James "Sugar Boy" Crawford James "Sugar Boy" Crawford, Jr. (October 12, 1934 – September 15, 2012) was an American R&B musician based in New Orleans. He was the author of "Jock-A-Mo" (1954), which was later rerecorded as "Iko Iko" by the Dixie Cups, and became a ...

. The first recordings under his own name were made by Harry Oster, a folklorist from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, who found Eaglin playing in the streets of New Orleans and recorded him in seven sessions between 1958 and 1960. For these recordings, Eaglin played in a folk blues style, accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar, without a band. These recordings were later released by several labels, including Folkways, Folk-Lyric, and Prestige/Bluesville."Snooks Eaglin Story & Discography". ''Blues & Soul Records Magazine'', no. 6, September 20, 1995.

1960s and 1970s

From 1960 to 1963, Eaglin recorded for

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

. He played electric guitar in sessions for Imperial, with backup from a band including

James Booker James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards. Musician Dr. J ...

on piano and

Smokey Johnson Joseph "Smokey" Johnson Jr. (November 14, 1936 – October 6, 2015) was an American drummer. He was one of the musicians, session players, and songwriters who served as the backbone for New Orleans' output of jazz, funk, blues, soul, and R ...

on drums. He recorded 26 tracks for Imperial (available on ''The Complete Imperial Recordings''), many of which were songs written by

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally ...

. Unlike the Harry Oster recordings, these works on Imperial are New Orleans R&B in the style for which he is widely known today. After Imperial, in 1964, he recorded alone at his home with a guitar for the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation; these recordings were released on the album ''I Blueskvarter 1964: Vol. 3''. For the remainder of the 1960s, he apparently made no recordings. His next recorded work was for the Swedish label Sonet in 1971. Another album, ''Down Yonder'', with Ellis Marsalis on piano, was released in 1978. Apart from his own work, Eaglin took part in recording sessions with Professor Longhair in 1971 and 1972 (released on the album ''Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge''). He also played guitar on the first album by the

Wild Magnolias The Wild Magnolias are a Mardi Gras Indian tribe who also record and play as a funk musical act from New Orleans, Louisiana. History Origins A group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local " Indian masking" traditions a ...

, recorded in 1973.

Black Top and later years

Eaglin joined Nauman and Hammond Scott of

Black Top Records Black Top Records was an American, New Orleans, Louisiana-based independent record label, founded in 1981 by brothers Nauman S. Scott, III and Hammond Scott. The label specialized in blues and R&B music. The first release was "Talk To You By Han ...

in the 1980s and obtained a recording contract with the label. Eaglin's years with Black Top were the most consistent years of his recording career. Between 1987 and 1999, he recorded four studio albums and a live album and appeared as a guest on a number of recordings by other Black Top artists, including

Henry Butler Henry Butler (September 21, 1948 – July 2, 2018) was an American jazz and blues pianist. He learned piano, drums, and saxophone in school. He received a college degree and graduate degree and taught at the New Orleans Center for Creative ...

Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

, and

Tommy Ridgley Thomas Herman Ridgley (October 30, 1925 – August 11, 1999)Tony Rounce, Tommy Ridgley 'In The Same Old Way': The Complete Ric, Ron and Sho-Biz recordings, Ace records UK (2015). was an American R&B singer, pianist, songwriter and bandleader in ...

. After Black Top Records closed, Eaglin released the album ''The Way It Is'' for Money Pit Records, produced by the Scott brothers of Black Top. In 1997, Eaglin's version of " St. James Infirmary" was featured in a UK television advertisement for

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...

. Eaglin appears in performance footage in the 2005 documentary film '' Make It Funky!'', which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

. In the film, he performs " Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" with guest George Porter Jr. and the house band.

Death

Eaglin died of a heart attack at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans on February 18, 2009. He had been diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

in 2008 and had been hospitalized for treatment. He was scheduled to make a comeback appearance at the

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

in the spring of 2009. In honor of his contributions to New Orleans music, he was depicted in an artist's rendering on the cover of the "Jazz Fest Bible" edition of '' Offbeat'' magazine, for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2009. For many years, Eaglin lived in St. Rose, a suburb of New Orleans, with his wife, Dorothea. Though he did not play many live shows, he regularly performed at Rock 'n' Bowl in New Orleans and at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Discography

Original albums

*1958, ''New Orleans Street Singer'', recordings made by Harry Oster, of

, March 1958 *1959, ''New Orleans Street Singer'' (Smithsonian Folkways 2476) *1960, ''Message from New Orleans'' (Heritage 1002) *1971, ''The Legacy of the Blues Vol. 2'' (Sonet) *1978, ''Down Yonder—Snooks Eaglin Today!'' (Sonet 752) *1987, '' Baby, You Can Get Your Gun!'' (Black Top) *1989, ''Out of Nowhere'' (Black Top 1049) *1992, '' Teasin' You'' (Black Top 1072) *1995, '' Soul's Edge'' (Black Top 1112) *1996, ''Soul Train from Nawlins: Live at the Park Tower Blues Festival '95'' (

P-Vine P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name c ...

) *1997, ''Live in Japan'' (Black Top 1137), U.S. release of ''Soul Train from Nawlins'' *2002, ''The Way It Is'' (Money Pit)

Compilation albums

*1959, ''New Orleans Washboard Blues'' (Folk-Lyric 107) *1964, ''Portraits in Blues Vol. 1'' (Storyville 146) *1964, ''Blues from New Orleans Vol. 2'' (Storyville 140) *1971, ''The Legacy of the Blues Vol. 2'' (Sonet 625) *1983, ''New Orleans 1960–1961'' (Sundown 709-04) *1996, ''Heavy Juice, The Blues Collection Vol. 75'' (Orbis BLU 075) *2003, ''The Best of ...'' (Grammercy 182) *2004, ''The Blues of Snooks Eaglin & Boogie Bill Webb'' (Storyville 8054) *2010, ''ABC of the Blues Vol. 10'' (IntenseMedia 233168)

Harry Oster recordings

*1961, ''That's All Right'' (Prestige/Bluesville 569) *1991, ''Country Boy Down in New Orleans'' (Arhoolie 348) *1994, ''New Orleans Street Singer'' (Storyville 8023)

Imperial recordings

*1995, ''The Complete Imperial Recordings'' (Capitol 545)

Singles

*1960 "Yours Truly" / "Nobody Knows" (Imperial 5671) *1962 "Going to the River" / "I'm Slippin' In" (Imperial 5802) *1962 "Nothing Sweet as You" / "Don't Slam the Door" (Imperial 5823) *1963 "Country Boy" / "Alberta" (Storyville 45056)

Filmography

*199? ''Snooks Eaglin & George Porter Jr at Lone Star Roadhouse 1998'' VHS (details not known, songs appear on YouTube and elsewhere) *2005 ''The Blues of Snooks Eaglin'' (Storyville 16041, DVD) – recorded live, October 23, 1985, Storyville Jazz Hall, New Orleans. Also released as ''Jazz Icons: Snooks Eaglin''. *2005 '' Make It Funky!'' (

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

11952, DVD) – appears in performance footage with George Porter Jr.

References

External links

* *
Illustrated Snooks Eaglin discography

''New Orleans Street Singer'' Album Details
at

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaglin, Snooks 1937 births 2009 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Black Top Records artists Imperial Records artists Arhoolie Records artists Jazz musicians from New Orleans Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Blues musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American guitarists Singers from Louisiana People from St. Rose, Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians