First off, I have to apologize for what you are hearing if you listened to the recording of "Wild Cherry" that comes up if you click on what is shown in the Blog. You need to know that the one that comes up is the later, remastered version, which is what comes up when you type in "wild cherry leroy washington", and it's the first one shown, and it's a horrible version, plus, you'll think I'm nuts for listing it. So, here's how to hear the original release (at least it is on google): enter WILD CHERRY - LEROY WASHINGTON - YouTube, and hit enter. The one that pops up first is the one you've already heard, so scroll down until you see the one with a small orange square off to the right (that's a picture of the center of the record's label). Move your cursor arrow to the left and click enter on the title that I listed above, and it should give you the original release, along with a video collage about Leroy. Make sure to watch it to the end and you'll see a picture of his gravestone that I described in the February Blog.
Some March Blues Births:
- March 3rd.,1893 -- William "Bill" Moore
- March 12th.,1913 -- William Du Bois "Do Boy" Diamond
- March 30th.,1945 -- Eric Patrick Clapton
Answer To The February 2025 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Clarence Clifford "C.C." Richardson, aka "Peg", born on a plantation farm near Sumter, South Carolina on December 18, 1918, and was raised on that farm. His mother was Elsie Richardson, and his grandmother was Janie Richardson. There is no mention of his father anywhere. He lost part of a foot and leg while a youngster, roving around the railyard that was Sumters "claim to fame" at that time. He worked in his uncles quartet in the Brown Chapel Church as a youth. He left home to tour with Silas Green in New Orleans minstrel tent shows as a singer and dancer, throughout the South, through the '30's. He travelled and performed with Blakes Carnival through the early '40's, throughout the South. He also worked with the Benny Carter Band, the Jay McShann Band, and the Nat Cole Group, working clubs and dances all over the U.S., from the '40's into the '50's. He worked at the Hammer Club in Charleston, West Virginia, from '49 through '51. He settled in Charleston and worked mostly outside the music field. This info on him I've listed so far has come from several sources, and now comes the interview by a member of Weenie Campbell (I'll give you some info on that group in the Trivia section). I'm not putting this in as it was written. What I have done is taken the basics of it and put it in a little more organized than the actual interview. I've done this in an effort to give you more info in a somewhat clearer order. Please remember that this interview was done over 50 years ago. "For my sins in '72, I got involved with a short- lived U.K. blues magazine. Digging through a box of items that had been sent to the editor, I found an envelope with a picture and letter from C.C. Richardson, along with a news clipping from the Charleston Gazette, dated January 20,1973, which reads: City blues artist C.C. Richardson getting attention from around the globe, by Ray Brack. That prompted this Weenie Campbell writer to go to Charleston to meet this C.C.. He was living at 410 C Morris Street. The bed in his bungalow was heeped with two piles of letters. One stack contained requests for his two blues singles, from all over the world. The other pile was thank you's from satisfied customers. C.C. was "beaming" because, he said "that ain't bad for a one- legged country bluesman, passed 50 years old, working at the post office, and "moonlighting" his music around the world, pretty much by himself". Almost a celebrity now, among college- age blues freaks (remember that this intervirw was done over 50 years ago), C.C. has scored a couple breaks, and has an international audience. He's big in Helsinki, Osaka, Beaunont, London, and Boston. While listening to a tape of a radio show he had done recently for Hugh McPhearson, C.C. said "if only I had two or three gigs around here, I could quit my job at the post office". In time, playing with the encouragement of local blues freaks like Terry Lowry, he's been getting more shows to do, festivals, and other gigs. Word is getting around about him, and when at new shows he meets a new preson/ possible connection, he writes down all of their information in a notebook. First thing he knows, a man named Bass from Oakland, California (a note from me: I don't at the moment, remember his first name , but I did stock several of his collections of obscure blues players), has sent his records and a biographical sketch of C.C. to the largest real blues collectors magazine, Blues Unlimited, published in England. Wasn't long before he was in magazine articles from various overseas countries, including Finland. One letter even arrived from Poland, in Polish, possibly from a MiroslawZajak, he thinks the person wants an album from spotting a close looking word, and that worries him because he doesn't have any. One letter from Wheeling sticks out: "I will tell some of my blues buddies in New York, Chicago, and Massachusetts about your records. I'm sure you'll be getting orders from some of them". C.C. did get orders, but not enough to quit the post office job. Got a letter from Marcel M. Voss, a Dutchman, member of "Blues Friends World Wide", saying "I have sent your records to a friend of mine in France, he's a disc jockey with the French radio, and he'll see to it that your records will get some airplay in his program, which specializes in blues and jazz. Another Hollander, Hans Vergeer, sent an order, with a comment: "I have read a little article on you and the blues you made". Over in England (Sandhurst,Kent) a John Stedman read about , or maybe, heard him on the radio, and sent for C.C.'s two singles. He later wrote back that "perhaps one day you might have a chance to come to Europe. I'm sure you'd be very successful if you did. Another footnote from Joe: John Stedman Promotions was started to gather, re-master, and clean up recordings, using the best actual records available to him, all or any that had become public domain. What is now available from JSP Records are single c.d.'s, 2,3,4,5, and 6 c.d. sets. I stocked about 40 to 50 of those in our store. A Londoner, Bill Pearson wrote, saying "I liked the recordings you sent, particularly "C.C.'s Blues". That's a down home sounding cut. There's some nice piano tinkling on two sides on your own Richardson label. Your original home of South Carolina is quite famous among blues collectors for its many blues styles. Blues fans in other countries know the roots of the blues far better than American blues "fans". As I keep saying, you have to look at the roots to understand how it got to where it is today. That's it for the interview bit, now a couple other items on C.C. He worked / performed in/ at the John Henry Memorials in Beckley, Huntington, Cliff Top, and Princeton, West Virginia. He did make some other, later recordings before he passed away, but I've not found a reliable list of them. He passed away in Kanawha City, WV on January 30, 1984, I believe of cancer.
Blues Question For March 2025: This bluesman, by some, is considered to be the father of Rock & Roll because of his style of playing the piano. He was born in Tennessee, but raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He recorded on many different labels in California, Ohio, Tennessee, and Louisiana. He recorded under a couple of different names -- not sure why. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For March 2025: The song is "When Can I Change My Clothes?", and the artist is Booker T. "Bukka" Washington White, best known as Bukka White. It was recorded with Bukka on vocals and guitar, with Washboard Sam (Robert Brown) on washboard. It was recorded on March 7/8, 1940, in Chicago, on the Vocalion label, #WC-2979 being the A side. The B side was "High Fever Blues, # WC-2987, withthe actual record # being 05489. There's even an interesting story about the two day recording session when those were done, but that's for another time.
Blues Trivia For March 2025: C.C.'s Sumter, South Carolina, was originally incorporated in 1845 as Sumterville, named after a Confederate general. The name was changed in 1855 to Sumter. It was an important supply and repair center for all train lines in the Confederacy, and it was comprised of plantation settlements. After the war and up into the early years of the 20th. century, it grew even more, with its shipping of cotton, timber, and tobacco. That's the railyard where C.C. was wandering around and lost his leg, as a boy. Now, Weenie Campbell: this is a collaboration of like minded blues FANaticS, who, over the years, have gathered information on barely known bluesmen, under one name, Weenie Campbell. Don't know how they picked it, but the system works, for any true blues fan who is looking to learn history. I don't use it real often, but I've run into blues people who are listed nowhere, not even with these guys.
Some March Blues Passings:
- March 5th.,1968 -- Sydney "Syd" Nathan
- March 14th.,2011 -- "Big" Jack Johnson, aka "The Oilman"
- March 21st.,2008 -- Dillard Crume
RSS Feed