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Some April, May and June Births:
- April 4, 1915 Muddy Waters
- April 15, 1936 Frank Otis Frost,
- April 22, 1924 Allen “Little George” “Harmonica” Smith
- April 22, 1921 Lucille Jones
- May 5, 1901 “Blind” Willie Samuel McTell
- May 12, 1927 Barbra Dane
- May 12, 1909 “Papa Charlie” McCoy
- June 3, 1897 Lizzie “Memphis Minnie” Douglass
- June 17, 1893 Leola B. “Coot” Grant
- June 28, 1915 David “Honeyboy” Edwards
Blues Question:
Detroit is commonly referred to as the “Motor City” because of all the auto plants that were at one time there. It has also been the home of some memorable blues men. The one we are looking for here played sandlot baseball, performed in gospel groups and for a while worked as a photographer. He plays guitar and harmonica. He has recorded for at least 5 labels. Can anyone answer this one? Hint: He was born in Alabama and moved to Detroit when he was 22.
Detroit is commonly referred to as the “Motor City” because of all the auto plants that were at one time there. It has also been the home of some memorable blues men. The one we are looking for here played sandlot baseball, performed in gospel groups and for a while worked as a photographer. He plays guitar and harmonica. He has recorded for at least 5 labels. Can anyone answer this one? Hint: He was born in Alabama and moved to Detroit when he was 22.
Blues Trivia:
One name not often heard in the normal conversation of the blues fan is Otis Hicks. Anyone that is familiar with swamp blues will probably recognize him “Lightnin’ Slim”. He was born on March 13, 1913 in St. Louis, Mo., one of four children.
He learned guitar first from his father and then from his brother, Layfield Hicks. As his skills improved, he sat in with some local bands in St. Francisville, La., where he had moved to in about 1926. He then moved to Baton Rouge, La., in the mid forties. He recorded on the “Feature” label in the mid fifties, after gaining some experience playing with “Big Poppa’s Band, and then with “School Boy Cleve”. He then recorded on the old “Ace” and “Excello” labels, as did the two he played with, Slim Harpo and Jeffery Tyson. Here is where the trivia comes in: since our question refers to Detroit, we’ll now say that in the mid sixties Lightnin’ Slim moved to Detroit. He toured the U.S. and Europe through 1972 with Slim Harpo also of “Excello” fame and some of the shows that were featuring the “rediscovered” artists of the blues. Lightnin’ Slim passed away in 1973, still a resident of Detroit, at the Henry Ford Hospital. He is buried in Pontiac Mi.
Yes, there have been some great blues people from “Motown” – and one more little bit of trivia, he was married to Slim Harpo’s sister.
One name not often heard in the normal conversation of the blues fan is Otis Hicks. Anyone that is familiar with swamp blues will probably recognize him “Lightnin’ Slim”. He was born on March 13, 1913 in St. Louis, Mo., one of four children.
He learned guitar first from his father and then from his brother, Layfield Hicks. As his skills improved, he sat in with some local bands in St. Francisville, La., where he had moved to in about 1926. He then moved to Baton Rouge, La., in the mid forties. He recorded on the “Feature” label in the mid fifties, after gaining some experience playing with “Big Poppa’s Band, and then with “School Boy Cleve”. He then recorded on the old “Ace” and “Excello” labels, as did the two he played with, Slim Harpo and Jeffery Tyson. Here is where the trivia comes in: since our question refers to Detroit, we’ll now say that in the mid sixties Lightnin’ Slim moved to Detroit. He toured the U.S. and Europe through 1972 with Slim Harpo also of “Excello” fame and some of the shows that were featuring the “rediscovered” artists of the blues. Lightnin’ Slim passed away in 1973, still a resident of Detroit, at the Henry Ford Hospital. He is buried in Pontiac Mi.
Yes, there have been some great blues people from “Motown” – and one more little bit of trivia, he was married to Slim Harpo’s sister.
Some April, May and June Deaths:
- April 8, 1987 – James “Yank” Rachell
- April 18, 1974 – John Oliver “Johnny” Young
- April 28, 1934 – Charley “The Masked Marvel” Patton
- May 7, 1991 – Arthur Lee ‘Kansas City Red” Stevenson
- May 20, 1985 – Johnny Fuller
- May 25, 1981 – Roy James “Good Rockin” Brown
- June 2, 1997 – Adelphus “Doc” Cheatum
- June 12, 1983 – Joseph Benjamin “J.B.” Hutto
- June 26, 1993 – James “Son” Thomas
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