Some May Blues Births:
- May 1st.,1930 -- Marion Walter Jacobs, aka Little Walter, Little Walter J
- May 11th.,1895 -- William Grant Stil
- May 25th.,1912 -- James Crutchfield
Answer To The April 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is John Leon T. Gross (couldn't find where/ when the T came along), born in New Orleans on September 14, 1912 (some sources indicate 1916). Just as a point of info, there was another Leon Gross, also a musician. He was a jazz band leader and sax player in Harlem, during the '30's and '40's, but there's not much of his music that was done specifically on records. He and his band can be seen in many films made by or in the black film industry, such as "Swing", "God's Step Children", and "Harlem After Midnight". Back to our Leon -- He was interested in music at a young age, and he learned piano as a child. Though he worked outside the music field, he was good enough by his early teens, to play at local house parties and fraternity houses. I believe that the listings that show him performing at "frat houses", were , most likely, more correctly known as brothels back then. Those "frat" gigs is where he got the Archie-boy nickname, which he later changed to "Archibald", which is how he was known going forward. That's the name he used in recording and live shows. This was through the '20's and '30's. In the '40's he was in the U.S.Army, serving in Bombay, India, during WW II. After he was discharged he returned to New Orleans, where he performed in bars and clubs. He signed with Imperial Records, for whom he recorded 13 songs, between '50 and '52. On his first recording, which he did at Cosimo Matassa's J & M Studio, he recorded his own version of the true story of the shooting of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis in 1895. Yes, that song had been recorded by many others, such as Duke Ellington, Ma Rainey, and Mississippi John Hurt. It was released on the Imperial label, Parts 1 and 2, A & B sides, # 5068, a 10" shellac, 78 RPM item. On the actual label the song's title is shown as "Stack - A'Lee, with Leon's name shown as L.T. Gross Sr. Players on that recording were: Leon on piano and vocals, Dave Bartholomew on trumpet (he's also the director of the session), Joe Harris on alto sax, and Clarence Hall on tenor sax. Looking at the session info in another source also shows other musicians Ernest McClean on guitar, Peter "Chuck" Badie on bass, and Thomas Moore on drums on that recording, recorded March 23,1950. Shortly after its release, in the early summer, it became the # 10 hit on the Billboard R & B Chart, and got national recognition, which none of the earlier versions had achieved. Leon had a long residency at the Poodle Patio Club, but played many other clubs and bars. He played a gig at Nero's Club, Chicago, in '68. He worked with "Smilin Joe'" at The Court of Two Sisters, in New Orleans. He passed away January 8,1973, in New Orleans, of a heart atteck, supposedly caused by many years of alcoholism. He was a strong influence to "Fats" Antoine Domino, Huey "Piano" Smith, Dr. John (Mac Rebennac), and many others.
Blues Question For May 2024: This blueswoman lived in one area her whole life, outside the music field, though she did sing her entire life. She did recordings (field recordings) in that area. She is known as a gifted singer in the country blues, the Piedmont blues, and folk songs types of music. Listening to her songs is a lesson of the good and the bad things that happen in lives. Not much info for you, but would you like to take a guess as to who she was ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For May 2024: The song is " Something You Ate ", and the artist is Earl Hooker. This was originally recorded/ released on the Cuca label, # KS - 3400, in April of 1967, in Sauk City, Wisconsin, titled " The Genius of Earl Hooker " Also later made available from P-Vine label, out of Japan, # PVCP 8159, in 1998. The only other info I have suggests that he was backed by Jimmy "Fast Fingers" Dawkins on rhythm guitar.
Blues Trivia For May 2024: Some time ago, in a Blog, I covered "Big John" Wrencher, and in another one, Wade Walton. In the story on Wade, I said he was professionaly, a barber. His shop was named "Big Six", and was the center of the blues music info and people in the area. From this point, it's all trivia. The shop started out at 304 Fourth Street. It moved to 317 Issaquena Avenue in 1989, which, incidentally, earlier, was the site of W.C.Handy's house. Wade was active in the NAACP during that time and had his shop bombed because of it. Don't know which address that happened at, but no injuries reported, that I could find. Wade's shop was a gathering place and barber shop of/ for bluesmen, like Howlin" Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy II, and many others. It's also where Big John Wrencher had a heart attack and died. Wade was good with the harmonica, guitar, and razor strop (he'd strike a rhythm on that with the back edge of his razor), and some of those in-shop sessions were recorded. Also, Big John Wrencher was born in Sunflower, Mississippi. Other notables born there are Matthew Tyler "Matt Guitar" Murphy and Jerry Butler. Erroneously, "Little" Milton Campbell is shown born there also, but he was born in Sunflower COUNTY, in the town of Inverness.
Some May Blues Passings:
- May 3rd.,2010 -- Joseph Roy Carrier
- May 20th.,1985 -- Johnny Fuller;
- May 24th.,2008 -- James Harrell "Jimmy" Mc Griff
RSS Feed