David Lonzo Thompson (May 21, 1969 – February 14, 2010)
was an American
electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known by his
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Lil' Dave Thompson.
He is best known for his tracks "She Didn't Say Goodbye" and "I Got the Blues".
Life and career
David Lonzo Thompson was born in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
, United States.
His father, Sam Thompson, had played the blues with
Asie Payton
Asie Reed Payton (April 12, 1937 – May 19, 1997) was an American blues musician, who lived most of his life in Holly Ridge, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta. Born in Washington County, Mississippi, he sang and played the guitar, but made h ...
,
Paul "Wine" Jones
Paul "Wine" Jones (July 1, 1946 – October 9, 2005) was an American contemporary blues guitarist and singer.
Music writer Paul Du Noyer noted that Jones, R. L. Burnside, Big Jack Johnson, Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes and James "Super Chika ...
, and
James "Son" Thomas
James "Son Ford" Thomas (October 14, 1926 – June 26, 1993) was an American Delta blues musician, gravedigger and sculptor from Leland, Mississippi.
Biography
Thomas was born in Eden, Mississippi on October 14, 1926. While working in the fie ...
amongst others.
With his encouragement, Thompson learned to play blues guitar by the age of nine, and he formed his first group, the Delta Blues Band, in
Leland, Mississippi in his early teens.
He teamed up with
Booba Barnes
Roosevelt Melvin "Booba" Barnes (September 25, 1936 – April 2, 1996) was an American Delta blues guitar player and vocalist. One commentator noted that Barnes, R. L. Burnside, Big Jack Johnson, Paul "Wine" Jones and James "Super Chikan" ...
in 1984, and played the Mississippi
juke joint circuit.
He first recorded on ''I Got the Dog in Me'' (1994), a
Fat Possum Records release, providing guitar backing for David Malone, one of
Junior Kimbrough's sons. Thompson's own debut record was ''Little Dave and Big Love'' (1995). It was also released by Fat Possum.
''Little Dave and Big Love'' was
produced
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
by
Robert Palmer, and nominated for two
W. C. Handy Awards in 1996 for 'Best New Blues Artist' and 'Contemporary Blues Album'.
In 2002, Thompson released ''C'mon Down to the Delta'' on
JSP Records. In 2006, ''Got to Get Over You'' appeared, issued by Electro-Fi Records, whilst ''Deep in the Night'' followed in 2008.
Regarding the latter, ''
Down Beat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' magazine stated it was "Incendiary and feral, with a church choir hustle and a Mississippi hill country stomp". Constant touring gave Thompson a growing loyal audience.
In 2012, ''C'mon Down to the Delta'' was re-released.
Death
On February 14, 2010, and following the last
gig
Gig or GIG may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992)
* ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993)
* ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy
* GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...
of their tour at Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ in
Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
Sullivan's Island is a town and island in Charleston County, South Carolina, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, with a population of 1,791 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The town ...
,
his entourage were driving back to
Greenville, Mississippi,
when his band's touring
Ford van overturned on
Interstate 20
Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...
in
Aiken County, South Carolina.
Thompson was thrown from the passenger seat and pronounced
dead on arrival.
He was aged 40.
Thompson was buried in
Indianola, Mississippi
Indianola is a U.S. city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta. The population was 10,683 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sunflower County.
History
In 1891, Minnie M. Cox was appointed postmaster of Indianola, b ...
.
Discography
See also
*
List of electric blues musicians
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Lil Dave
1969 births
2010 deaths
American blues singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American male singers
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Electric blues musicians
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Songwriters from Mississippi
Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi
Road incident deaths in South Carolina
Fat Possum Records artists
Guitarists from Mississippi
People from Leland, Mississippi
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
JSP Records artists
African-American songwriters
African-American guitarists
21st-century African-American people
American male songwriters