Some June Blues Births:
- June 1st.,1945-- James William "Jim" McCarty
- June 14th.,1941-- Sylvia Lee Burton, aka "Blues Queen Sylvia"
- June 29th.,1948-- William Knight "Bill" Kirchen, aka "The Titan of the Telecaster" (his most well-known tune-- Hot Rod Lincoln)
Answer to the May Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for is/was Goree Chester Carter or Christer Carter (not sure of his exact birth name), born December 31, 1930, in Houston, Texas. He started playing blues music at the age of twelve, learned on a cousins' guitar. There were no guitarists living in his area from whom to learn, so he taught himself by listening to records, then "picking", string by string, then learning to form those notes into chords. By his early teen years he had started a band. In 1949 he had a "jump blues" band known as Goree Carter and His Hepcats, with which he signed a contract with Freedom Records, a local label, owned by Sol Kahal. That band featured him on electric guitar, two saxes, a trumpet, bass, and drums. Their recording, the first release by that label, was titled "Sweet Ole Woman Blues". Because Gorees' playing showed a strong influence by Aaron "T-Bone" Walker, he came to be called "Little T-Bone" at some of his live shows. He was sometimes also known as Rocky Thompson and/or Gory Carter. He recorded blues in the electric, jump, and Texas styles. He is best-known for the song "Rock Awhile", which he recorded in 1949, at the age of 18. That song is now recognized by many as the first Rock & Roll song, as it pre-dated "Rocket 88" by two years, and its' intro sounds a lot like the intros' on some of Chuck Berrys' recordings. To hear an example of Carters' blues style, listen to "Christmas Time", recorded in late 1948 and released in 1949. And now here's one of the problems with believing what you see/read on the internet: if you look that song up under Goree Carter, you'll find it, but also look it up under T-Bone Walker Jr., who is actually T-Bone Walkers' nephew, R.S. Rankin, you'll find that it is Goree, who was known as Little T-Bone, where-as Rankin was known as T-Bone Walker Jr. Rankins' first recordings were at a sit-in session with his uncle, the real T-Bone, for Atlantic Records in 1957. If you want to hear Jr.s' style, check out R.S. Rankin-- "Midnight Bells Are Ringing", done in 1962, on the Downey Records label. Again, never take for granted that what you read/hear on the "web" as being the "gospel truth" (or even correct). When Goree was 19, he was drafted into the Army, did his basic training, and was sent to Korea, where he was a "frontline" soldier in that conflict. When he returned to the U.S. and was discharged, his musical career began to falter. He recorded for several labels on his return, some of which were Coral, Imperial, and Modern. He wrote many songs during this period, but the labels wouldn't let him record them for the reason I stated before-- he was "too far ahead" of himself, so he stated that he "tore them up and threw them away". Before he was drafted and on his return from Korea, and then quitting the music business, he continued to work at a local business in Houston-- the Comet Rice Mill. He did sit in once in, 1970, with B.B.King. His last recordings were done in 1954. He passed away on December 29, 1990, in Houston, two days shy of his 60th. birthday.
Blues Question for June 2018: This bluesman is another "unknown", though you've probably heard him on others' recordings. He's the second cousin of one of the greats, with who he would sometimes work. He recorded on at least four different labels. Any ideas on who this bluesman is ??
Blues Song(s) and Artist(s) for June 2018: The topic of this song gets a lot of us started. The song is "Coffee Blues", and the artist is Lightnin' Hopkins. In our house (and I'm sure in others as well), nothing happens in the morning 'til I've had my coffee. Enjoy a cup, made of the "bean of life", along with a plate of the blues !!
Blues Trivia for June 2018: While researching some Lonnie Johnson recordings for Jim Reitz of NEOBA, I ran across a name that most won't recognize-- Elmer Snowden, who did a session with Lonnie. Every blues fan is familiar with the name William Christopher "W.C" Handy, who is recognized for his impact on Memphis blues, though he was born in Alabama. Elmer was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 9,1900. Early in his musical career he played all the reed instruments, later shifted to jazz/blues banjo and/or guitar. By the time he was 22 or 23, he had started a band called the Washingtonians. The bands' personnel changed often, as players moved on to other bands or went out on their own. He eventually moved the band to New York, but couldn't get a booking, so he called a former bandmember of his who had moved to New York earlier, to get his help finding a booking. He got a booking and, at one point, had five bands playing the area, under his name, much as Handy had done. He got into several disputes with the musicians' union and decided to move on, turning the band over to the bandmember who had gotten him the booking in the first place. That man was Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington. If you go back and look at Snowdens' bandmember list, you'll find that he had the "who's who" of the jump blues/jazz musicians of all time working for him. After he turned the band over to Ellington, he worked almost full-time as a session player, though still having problems with the union. He finally had enough and moved to Philadelphia and taught music. He was working as a parking lot attendant when a Philly disc jockey, Chris Albertson, ran across him. Chris got Elmer together with Lonnie Johnson for a recording session in 1960, for/on the Prestige/ Bluesville label. One song from that session, "Blues for Chris", was probably a nod to Chris for getting them together. It's an acoustic blues, featuring Lonnie and Elmer on guitars, and Wendell Marshall on stand-up bass. After that session got him some recognition, Elmers' career was, once again, on track. In 1963 he moved to California, to teach at the University of California, Berkely. He later moved back to Philadelphia, where he passed away on May 14, 1973.
Some June Blues Passings:
- June 1st.,1948-- John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson I
- June 19th.,1955-- James Douglas Suggs
- June 27th.,2016-- Bonny "Mack" Rice, aka Sir Mack Rice
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