Due to computer problems this is a "Best of" from March 2015
March Blues Births:
- March 1,1928-- Laurence Willie Mitchell (best-known for his association/ managing of HI Records in Memphis)
- March 14, 1914-- Robert Pete Williams
- March 27, 1915-- Robert Lockwood Jr ( that’s the way he preferred to have his name written, rather than the way some do--Robert Jr. Lockwood). He was/is and will continue to be one of the main reasons for starting our store and we will always remember him as a good man and a good friend.
March 2015 Blues Question: This blueswoman’s father was a drummer in the W.C. Handy Band. Early in her career she worked as a singer, dancer or both. A little later on she learned guitar from one of the greats of the time. From that time she taught herself to also play banjo, ukulele and mandolin. She, at this time, is known to have only recorded on two labels, though that may not be correct, judging by the people and/or bands with whom she performed. Any idea who this woman is/was??
The Answer to The February 2015 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for is/was “Boogie” Bill Webb. He performed with Tommy Johnson, Ishmon Bracey, Bubba Brown and Chuck Berry while he lived in the Jackson, Mississippi area While first living in New Orleans, he worked with the Fats Domino Band. After moving to Chicago he worked local house parties and, at various clubs, sat in with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed and others. When he moved back to New Orleans, he recorded with Roosevelt Holts, in Bogalusa, on the Arhooli label. It’s unclear, but rumor has it that he was arrested for selling his records on the streets of New Orleans. Supposedly he was only jailed for a short period. He passed away August 23rd.,1990, in New Orleans.
March 2015 Blues Trivia: If anyone is a fan of Bonnie Raitt, you should know that one of her main influences of her career was a lady by the name of Sippie Wallace. She was born Beulah Thomas, one of the thirteen children of George Washington Thomas Sr. and Fanny Bradley. Beulah got the nickname of Sippie because of sipping her food and would be best- known by that name for the rest of her life. She got the Wallace part of her name when, in 1917, she married Matt Wallace, a gambler. Born November 1st, 1898, in Plum Bayou, Arkansas. Shortly after that, the family moved to Houston, Texas, where her father was to become the deacon of the Shiloh Baptist Church. Sippie sang and played the organ in that church up to about age 12 At that age she moved to New Orleans to stay with her older brother, Goerge w. Thomas Jr., for a short time. She then moved back to Houston, where she stayed until 1923, when she then moved to Chicago. She stayed there until late in 1929, when she moved to Detroit, Michigan, which would be home for the rest of her life. Though living in Detroit, she did a considerable amount of recording in Chicago. Some of the people with whom she recorded with were Eddie Haywood, Clarence Williams, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong and Albert Ammons. While home in Detroit she also did some recording, but worked mostly outside the music field. She worked as a singer/ organist at the Leland Baptist Church from 1929 up into the 1970’s. Also while living in Detroit she served as director of National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, Inc., Chicago, forward from the mid-1930s. She met then toured and performed with Bonnie Raitt from the mid-1970’s into the 1980’s. Sadly, she passed away on November 1st.,1986, her 88th. birthday, in Detroit after suffering a massive stroke while performing at a concert/ festival in Germany. There are several parts of the trivia related to her. Two of her brothers, George Jr. and Hersal were composers and performers. Her niece, Hociel Thomas, daughter of George w. Jr. was also a singer/ pianist. The main part of the trivia is that her younger brother, Hersal, wrote, then, for his first recording a song called “Suitcase Blues” at the age of 15. That song, by the way, has been recorded by many other since including Sippie. He was performing in Detroit, Michigan at the age of 19, in a place called “Penny’s Pleasure Inn”, where he died of food poisoning. The circumstances of that poisoning were never resolved.
Some March Blues passings:
- March 1, 1970 – Lucille Hegamin, aka Fanny Baker
- March 16, 1975 – Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker
- March 30, 1981 – Edith Wilson, aka “Aunt Jemima” of Quaker Oats fame
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