Wesley Shellie Wilson (October 1, 1893 – October 10, 1958), often credited as Kid Wilson, was an American blues and

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 m ...

singer and songwriter. His stagecraft and performances with his wife and musical partner, Coot Grant, were popular with

African 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 ens ...

audiences in the 1910s, 1920s and early 1930s. His stage names included Kid Wilson, Jenkins, Socks, and Sox (or Socks) Wilson. His musical excursions included participation in the duo of Pigmeat Pete and Catjuice Charlie. His recordings include the songs "Blue Monday on Sugar Hill" and "Rasslin' till the Wagon Comes".

Biography

Wilson was born and raised in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. He played the piano and organ, and his wife and musical partner, Coot Grant, played the guitar and sang and danced. The duo was variously billed as Grant and Wilson, Kid and Coot, and Hunter and Jenkins, as they appeared and later record with Fletcher Henderson,

Mezz Mezzrow Milton Mesirow (November 9, 1899 – August 5, 1972), better known as Mezz Mezzrow, was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist from Chicago, Illinois. He is remembered for organizing and financing recording sessions with Tommy Ladnier ...

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic tempe ...

, and Louis Armstrong. Their variety was such that they performed separately and together in vaudeville, musical comedies, revues and traveling shows. They also appeared in the film ''

The Emperor Jones ''The Emperor Jones'' is a 1920 tragic play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill that tells the tale of Brutus Jones, a resourceful, self-assured African American and a former Pullman porter, who kills another black man in a dice game, is jailed, ...

'' (1933), starring

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...

. Wilson and Grant wrote more than 400 songs during their career, including " Gimme a Pigfoot" (1933) and "Take Me for a Buggy Ride" (both of which were recorded by

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock a ...

) and "Find Me at the Greasy Spoon (If You Miss Me Here)" (1925) and "Prince of Wails" for Fletcher Henderson. Their own renditions included such diverse titles as "Come on Coot, Do That Thing" (1925), "Dem Socks Dat My Pappy Wore", and the unreleased "Throat Cutting Blues". Grant and Wilson's act, once seen as a rival of

Butterbeans and Susie Butterbeans and Susie were an American comedy duo comprising Jodie Edwards (July 19, 1893 – October 28, 1967) and Susie Edwards (née Hawthorne; December 1894 – December 5, 1963). They married in 1917, and performed together until the ...

, began to lose favor with the public by the middle of the 1930s, but they recorded again in 1938. Their only child, Bobby Wilson, was born in 1941. By 1946, after

had founded his King Jazz record label, he engaged them as songwriters. This association led to their final recording session, in 1946, backed by a quintet including Bechet and Mezzrow. Wilson retired in ill health shortly thereafter, but Grant continued performing into the 1950s. In January 1953, one commentator noted that the couple had moved from New York City to Los Angeles and were in considerable financial hardship. Wilson died of a stroke at the age of 65 in October 1958 in

Cape May Court House, New Jersey Cape May Court House is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.

Selected songs composed by Wilson

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Wesley 1893 births 1958 deaths American blues singers American jazz singers Songwriters from Florida Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida Vaudeville performers Writers from Jacksonville, Florida 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male jazz musicians American male songwriters