Some August Blues Births:
- August 7th.,1937-- Morris "Magic Slim" Holt
- August 12th.,1920-- Percy Mayfield, aka The Poet of The Blues (the man who wrote "Hit The Road, Jack" for Ray Charles)
- August 31st.,1907-- Nelson "Dirty Red"/ "Red Devil" / "Red Nelson" Willborn
Answer To The July 2016 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for is/was Alexander "Alec" T. Seward (sometimes shown as Alec Stewart) aka "Blues Boy", "Blues King", "Georgia Slim", or/and "Guitar Slim". The others who used the "Guitar Slim" name were Eddie Jones, Guitar Slim Jr. (born as Rodney Glynn Armstrong and really is Eddie Jones's son), James Stephenson and Norman Green. Jones was/is probably the best-known of all, for his song "The Things That I Used To Do", which is still being covered by today's artists. Alec was born March 16, 1902, in Charles City, Virginia. Shortly after that the family moved to Newport News. There, from 1920 to 1923, he played at local parties and dances. After that time he moved to New York City, where he worked outside the music field, but did play at/for the occasional party. He did that from 1923 through the '30's. At different times during the '40's, he worked with Louis "Fat Boy" Hayes, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Leadbelly. In the '40's he only recorded with Hayes, under the names of "The Blues Boys", "The Backporch Boys", and with Hayes, featuring Alec as "Blues King". You can also find recordings of them listed as "Jelly Belly and Guitar Slim". He did a couple of recording sessions with Sonny Terry in the '50's, but he worked mostly outside music. In 1965 he recorded with Larry Johnson, featuring Johnson on harmonica, and in '66 with Sonny and Brownie. About that session, Sonny Terry was quoted as saying "There wasn't none better than him at singing". Alec passed away in New York City on May 11, 1972. He is buried in Hackensack, New Jersey.
Blues Question For August 2016: This bluesman is another of the "unsung bluesmen". He was born in Alabama and later moved to Detroit. He had mastered playing his first instrument by age 6. Most of his recording was done in Detroit, but he also recorded in Chicago and London, England. Some of his recordings can be found on DVD's of various festivals. He is shown, in error, as having written only one song of his own. Any idea of who this "forgotten" bluesman is ??
Blues Trivia For August 2016: Most all of the true blues songs are lamenting "that woman", "this man", "that train", or breaking-down cars or taxes, and/or all of the other everyday problems of life. Been that way since the beginning---still is that way, though the topics have changed. Consider "Telephone Blues", with versions credited to Bessie Smith, Sonny Terry, and Big John Wrencher, just to name a few. Now, it's "Cell Phone Blues" or "Cell Phone Man", recorded by artists such as Willie Buck, Nnenna Freelon, Michael Coghill, Cleveland Fats, and Bill Lupkin. Another is the ever-present type of blues song-- the Risque Blues, sometimes referred to as double-entendre type of songs, the meaning of which is to be interpreted by the listener. The ones I'm going to list are about the ladies, but ladies--please take no offense at them, as the female singers do the same thing about the men. Some of them are: "Big Fat Mama" by Big Joe Williams, "Big Fat Mama Blues" by Tommy Johnson, "Big Fine Girl" by Jimmy Witherspoon, "Big Butt Woman" by Blind Joe Hill, "Big Leg Blues" by Mississippi John Hurt, "Big Leg Mama" by James "Kokomo" Arnold, "Big Leg Woman" by Johnny "Geechie" Temple (a favorite of our departed friend and avid blues fan-- Fred Jones!), "Big Time Girl" by Peter Chatman, aka "Memphis Slim", and "Big Time Woman" by Roosevelt Sykes, aka "The Honeydripper". The trivia part is that one of this group of songs, "Big Hip Mamma", was done by Alec Seward, on whom I did the July Blues Question. I picked this group of songs to show the bluesmen's fondness for the ladies (and vice-versa)!
Some August Blues Passings:
As always-- Good Blues To 'Ya !!
- August 6th.,1973-- Lizzie Douglass, aka Kid Douglass, Minnie Lawlers, but best-known as "Memphis Minnie" (remember hearing the song "What's The Matter With The Mill"?)
- August 13th., 2009-- Lester Polfuss, best-known as Les Paul
- August 31st.,2009-- Jesse Fortune
As always-- Good Blues To 'Ya !!
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