Some August Blues Births:
- August 2nd., 1914 or 1915 or 1917 -- Walter "Big Walter" Price
- August 13th., 1942 -- Frank Junior "Son" Seals
- August 31st., 1902 -- Liza May "Mae" Alix
Answer To The July 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Robert Williams "Fud" Shaw, born August 9, 1908 (some sources show 1907), in Stafford, Texas, to father Jesse and mother Hettie Shaw. His parents owned a 200 acre farm, raising cattle and hogs as a business. They had a Steinway Grand Piano, and had Robert's sisters take lessons on it. Robert was not permitted to play it, as his father was opposed to that because he wanted the young man to help with the farming work, which Robert did. He said, in a later interview, that he'd crawl under the house to listen to his sister's lessons. He'd play the piano when the rest of the family was away. He'd sneak out and go to any type of music venue in the area, so he could learn more. He said that the first song he learned to play was "Aggravatin' Papa Don't You Try To Two- Time Me". As soon as he could afford to pay for lessons, he found a piano teacher. He finally decided that he wanted to be a musician full- time, much to his father's disapproval. Robert learned the basics of his style of playing in the Fourth Ward, in Houston, which was the center of Black entertainment in the city. That style was called "barrelhouse piano", named after the barrelhouses where the music was played.. the construction of them was with large timbers and thick board walls where kegs of beer and alcohol were kept, though they had to be readily accessable for quick product movement, as refrigeration and pastuerization were somewhat rare at that time period, not to mention Prohibition. That meant that the center had to be kept open, so at the rear of the bare center aisle, in a corner was a slightly elevated platform with a piano on it. The back of the barrelhouse was used as a "bawdy house". Two of the best dance halls in the Fourth Ward were the "El Dorado" and the "Emancipation Park Dance Pavilion". In the '20's Fud was part of the itinerant band called "the Santa Fe Group', because the musicians would hop aboard the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe freight trains to do their tours. Robert played as far north as Chicago, but stayed mostly in Texas and that general area. He appeared as a soloist in Sugarland, Richmond, and in Kingsville during the cotton harvest, then on to Houston, Dallas, and Kilgore. In '32 he headed off to Kansas City, Kansas, to perform at the Black Orange Cafe. In '33 he had a radio show, before he returned to Fort Worth, then on to Austin in '35. That's where he would from then on, call home. While he was living there Robert was playing piano -- and running numbers. Shaw had met Martha Landrum in '36, and on December 22, 1939, they were married. Robert had been married before to a woman known only as "Blanche" (there are no records of her other than that), with whom he had 2 children -- a daughter named Verna Mae, and a son named William. He and Martha had no children. On the numbers running, a little "nudge" from a judge, plus his marriage to Martha, he straightened up, and switched to a more legitimate pursuit. That's when he opened Shaw's Food Market, along with a barbecue place, at 1000 West Lyons Street, in Clarksville, working "side by side" in partnership with Martha (9/28/1913 -9/16/1997). The locals called it "the "Stop 'n' Swat". That store was the hub of the black community, but it was also a favorite spot of/ for politicians and the college crowd. In the'50's he moved to a building at 1917 Manor Road, in Austin (now home of "The Salty Sow" restaurant). In the back building where Robert actually lived,he had on old upright piano and he'd go back there to play. That building, now a part of the Salty Sow, is called The Trough, and it's a smaller eatery with small tables, not the fancy style of the front restaurant. Fud did perform at private parties from the mid '30's up into the '70's. In 1960, a Houston- based music historian named Mack McCormick took a job as a census taker because he was so fascinated with the piano traditions in the Fourth Ward. Most of the greats had already passed on, but he heard about Fud Shaw who lived in Austin. Mack easily tracked Shaw down, as everyone knew him from the store.In '62, Robert was named the best Black businessman of the year. In '63, Mack recorded three sessions with/ of Robert, 1 on March 8, 1 on June 10, and 1 on August 9. Using those, Mack put together an L.P., on his own Almanac label, album # 10, with 10 tracks, and an 8 page booklet, titled "Robert Shaw: Texas Barrelhouse Piano". This was on Mack McCormack's "Book and Recording Company" (it's the only record and "book" that the company ever made). It was later re -released on Arhoolie Records L.P. # F1010, with the track order changed, then later on, on an Arhoolie c.d., # 377. In April of '66, Robert performed with Janis Joplin at a blues concert on the University of Texas campus. Due to his "rediscovery" and the recognition he was now getting, Robert travelled to Montreal, Canada, several cities in Germany, and Montreaux, Switzerland. Rod Kennedy, co- founder with his then- wife Nancylee Davis of the Kerrville Folk Festival in '72, booked Shaw for 14 straight years. Shaw said that his main influencers were All Night Jack (couldn't find any info for him), Black Boy Shine (Harold Holiday), Rob Cooper, and "Moanin' " Bernice Edwards. Shaw retired from the grocery business in '74, allowing him to concentrate on his musical career. Sadly, Robert passed on May 16, 1985, in Austin, of a heart attack.
Blues Question For August 2024: This bluesman , like the last 2 in June and July Blogs, also played piano, but he's best known for his guitar work, and he also played harmonica. He recorded a fair amount, but never charted. Because of that, he quit the music business for a period. He did return to it, but never got the recognition he should have. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song (s) And Artist (s) For August 2024: The song is "Someday, After Awhile (You'll Be Sorry), and the artist is Freddie King on vocal and lead guitar, with Fred Jordan on second (rhythm) guitar, Bill Willis on bass, Sonny Thompson on piano, Clifford Scott and Gene Redd on alto and tenor saxes, and Phillip Paul on drums. I was first looking at using the flip side as the song -- it was/ is titled "Driving Sideways", just thinking about how people seem to drive now. It's an instrumental, but it just didn't capture Freddie's real ability. That was Briarcliff BFI # 45- 1428, Federal # 45- 12518. The side I actually used is Sonic BFI # 45- F807, Federal # 45- 12518. It was written by Sonny Thompson and Freddie. Enjoy !!
Blues Trivia For August 2024: When I looked at the length of what I had planned on using, and it turned out to be longer than the above Answer about Robert Fud Shaw, I scrapped it, but may use the info at a later date. So, this Trivia is going to be off the cuff, but in reference to Shaw's piece, a lot shorter than the originally intended info. In the "Answer" section of the blog, I listed the people Shaw cited as his main influences in/ to his style of play. One of those was Rob Cooper, who was part of the "Santa Fe Group", which was the name given to an itinerant band made up of piano players who hopped on the freight trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. It ran through the Fourth Ward in Houston, and went on, going through to the hill country of the Piney Woods, which gave them access to the bars, night clubs, juke joints and dance halls that were all along that railway. Some other players in the group were Conish "Pinetop" Burks, Andy Boy (Anthony Boyd), Black Boy Shine (Harold Holiday), Black Ivory King (David Alexander), and Buster Pickens (Edwin Goodwin Pickens). Those were the ones I could identify, as there were others. "Moanin" Bernice Edwards played and sang the same style as the "Group" but didn't travel with them, but she did record some duets with Black Boy Shine, and, she too, came out of the Fourth Ward. As you can see, Shaw, with his natural ability, learned from and also taught some while traveling with this group. Here's the resulting trivia from all of this: Robert Fud Shaw got his entrepreneurial gene from his father who, besides raising cattle and hogs, also owned, just as his son, a market and barbecue joint. After Robert retired from the grocery business, that building housed several businesses, including the Red House Pizzaria, El Gringo, J Mueller's BBQ, and then it became today's Salty Sow.
Some August Blues Passings:
- August 4th., 2014 -- William Dennis Duranaka, aka "Lynwood Slim"
- August 11th., 1991 -- Nathan "Nat" Riddle
- August 26th., 1972 -- Rev. Houston H. Harrington
RSS Feed