Some February Blues Births:
- February 3rd.,1901--John Henry Hopkins
- February 17th.,1949-- Doyle Bramhall
- February 29th.,1944-- John "Johnny" Dawson Winter
Answer to the January 2016 Blues Question: the bluesman we were looking for is/was Arbee Stidham, born February 9th., 1917, in DeVall's Bluff, Arkansas. His father, Luddie, worked with the Jimmy Lunceford Band. His uncle, Ernest Stidham, was the leader of the Memphis Jug Band. Arbee went to Perry City Training School (a gradeschool) and then on to Dunbar High School in Little Rock. He formed his own band, the Southern Syncopators, at the age of 12, then, at 13, he and the band went on to back Bessie Smith for 2 years (1930-31). At that time he was playing alto sax in the band and they performed in the Little Rock and Memphis, Tennessee areas, from the 1930's into the 40's. In the mid 40's he moved to Chicago, where he recorded on the Victor label. In 1947 he recorded the song "My Heart Belongs To You", which made it to the #1 spot on the R & B charts in 1948. It was to be his only real hit. In trying to achieve that success again, he recorded on the Victor (again), Sittin-In-With, Checker, ABCO, States, Bluesville-Prestige, Folkways, and Mainstream labels, but never made it. In the early 1950's he was injured in a car accident and was no longer able to play the sax. In about 1954 he took up the guitar to keep playing music. As luck would have it, he fell under the tutelage of Big Bill Broonzy and became a good guitarist himself. He recorded with the Lefty Bates and Ernie Wilkins Bands. He also performed and recorded all over the U.S.A. and abroad, both in clubs and at festivals. He often performed and recorded with Memphis Slim (Peter Chatman)(organ or piano) and William "Jazz" Gillum (harmonica). In the late 1960's he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he did some recording in 1973. In that same year he had the lead role in the film short "The Bluesman". That footage looks like it may have been shot in Cleveland. He sometimes lectured on the blues at Cleveland State University through the mid 70's. Both in Chicago (to which he later returned) and Cleveland, he frequently worked outside the music field. He stated that his main influences were DeFord Bailey and John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson (I), both harmonica players. He passed away on April 26th.,1988, in Cook County, Illinois. If you want to get a true feeling about the blues, check out the video collage on Arbee Stidham Pawn Shop youtube, that displays during the song. You'll see early downtown shots, not the main streets, but not far from them. Included are some of the blues- famous Maxwell Street. Also, pay attention to the words in the song: they tell a story born in the blues. By the way, the sax you'll hear in the song is none other than King Curtis. Check out Curtis' instrumental "Heavenly Blues"!
Whatever you do, DO NOT MISS WATCHING AND LISTENING TO PAWN SHOP!!
Whatever you do, DO NOT MISS WATCHING AND LISTENING TO PAWN SHOP!!
Blues Question for February 2016: this bluesman, though born, raised, and worked on a farm, was interested in music as a youth. I'm not sure who influenced his piano, as some have said that it was Leroy Carr. Others believe he spent time with and performed with Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins. At any rate, he is shown to have recorded 19 songs under his own name, which I believe is incorrect. He is, however, best known for his accompaniment of an extremely well-known "frontman". There are at least five other musicians with the same last name, though only two are related to him. Any idea who this bluesman is ??
Some Blues Trivia for February 2016: one of the piano players I listed in the above question is Leroy Carr, born March 27th., 1905, died April 29th.,1935 (30 years old), was/is a considerable influence to a large number of bluesmen over the years. He partnered up with Francis "Scrapper" Blackwell in 1927. In 1928 the duo recorded a song that became an "instant best-seller" (claimed to be over a million copies), "How Long, How Long Blues". The duo recorded it several more times, using similar but varied titles. The line in different versions of the song, "How long that evening train been gone", is a metaphor for a lover who has left. If you've listened to the blues for more than a week then you've probably heard some version of that song, as it has been recorded by over 150 different artists and/or bands over the years. The song was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1988, in the category of "Classics of Blues Recordings--singles or album tracks. In 2012 the song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award that honors "recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance". There are three bits of trivia about this song: first, it inspired the later compositions "Come on in My Kitchen", by Robert Johnson and "Sitting on Top of the World", by the Mississippi Sheiks; second, the song is based on a 1925 recording by Ida Cox with "Papa" Charlie Jackson--"How Long Daddy", and third, Muddy Waters stated that it was the first song he learned to play, by listening to the Leroy Carr record.
Some February Blues Passings:
- February 4th.,1951-- Cecil Gant, aka Gunter Lee Carr
- February 17th.,1984-- Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon
- February 26th.,1967--Walter G "Fats" Pichon
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