October Blues Births:
October 2014 Blues Question: This bluesman was a “harp” player from his teens forward. Because of his hairstyle and general looks and mannerisms was often mistaken for Little Richard. His wild style on the harp and sometimes in his vocals was also comparable to Little Richard. Anyone recognize the bluesman described here?
Answer to September’s Blues Question: The man we were looking for was a Texas- born guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, very poetic in his lyrics-- “Blind” Lemon Jefferson. There has been so much spoken and written about this bluesman that it is difficult to see the line between fact and myth. Being born blind, as was he, has been shown to cause the remaining senses to develop to a far greater degree than those who are sighted. It has been said that Blind Lemon could tell the difference between the denominations of paper money because of his sense of touch which probably also was shown in his ability with the guitar. It has also been said that because of this heightened sense that he would beat his wife if or when she would “cheat him” out of some of his money from a performance. If the gigs he usually played weren’t available he would occasionally perform as a wrestler. Some of his songs covered and/or made famous by other artists are “Bad Luck Blues”, “Bed Springs Blues”, “Matchbox Blues”, “See That My Grave is Kept Clean”, and “That Black Snake Moan”. Reportedly he suffered a heart attack on the street in Chicago and died of exposure. While what I have written here may or may not be correct due to conflicting reports and stories, even more questions arise about his death. I have also seen reports that say he was walking home from a New Year’s Eve gig and, because of the Chicago weather and snow, became disoriented and thereby, lost, which caused the heart attack. From that, he supposedly froze to death and was found the following day. He died on December 31st. 1929? Some say that the Jefferson in Jefferson Airplane came from him.
- ·October 1st, 1936-- George “Wild Child” Butler
- October 12th, 1951-- William James “Dead Eye” Norris
- ·October 28th, 1932-- L. V. Banks.
October 2014 Blues Question: This bluesman was a “harp” player from his teens forward. Because of his hairstyle and general looks and mannerisms was often mistaken for Little Richard. His wild style on the harp and sometimes in his vocals was also comparable to Little Richard. Anyone recognize the bluesman described here?
Answer to September’s Blues Question: The man we were looking for was a Texas- born guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, very poetic in his lyrics-- “Blind” Lemon Jefferson. There has been so much spoken and written about this bluesman that it is difficult to see the line between fact and myth. Being born blind, as was he, has been shown to cause the remaining senses to develop to a far greater degree than those who are sighted. It has been said that Blind Lemon could tell the difference between the denominations of paper money because of his sense of touch which probably also was shown in his ability with the guitar. It has also been said that because of this heightened sense that he would beat his wife if or when she would “cheat him” out of some of his money from a performance. If the gigs he usually played weren’t available he would occasionally perform as a wrestler. Some of his songs covered and/or made famous by other artists are “Bad Luck Blues”, “Bed Springs Blues”, “Matchbox Blues”, “See That My Grave is Kept Clean”, and “That Black Snake Moan”. Reportedly he suffered a heart attack on the street in Chicago and died of exposure. While what I have written here may or may not be correct due to conflicting reports and stories, even more questions arise about his death. I have also seen reports that say he was walking home from a New Year’s Eve gig and, because of the Chicago weather and snow, became disoriented and thereby, lost, which caused the heart attack. From that, he supposedly froze to death and was found the following day. He died on December 31st. 1929? Some say that the Jefferson in Jefferson Airplane came from him.
October Blues Trivia: Peter Joe “Doc/Doctor” Clayton, aka Peter Cleighton, shown to have been born in Georgia (he later claimed to have been born in Africa, as both of his parents were from there) and then moving to St. Louis, Missouri. He recorded on the Bluebird, OKeh, and Victor labels from 1935 to 1946. His family, that is his wife and 4 children, are shown to have died in an accident. As it turns out, that accident was a house fire in which all perished. He and his wife were married in 1933. The fire occurred in 1937. After that catastrophic event in his life he became an alcoholic and with that started wearing his trademark large hat and oversized glasses. Decca records had shown some interest in him but nothing ever came out of it. His initial Bluebird recordings in 1935 of six songs were good, but only two were released at that time. All his recorded work for Bluebird and OKeh was later released as a collection on Document. He did play piano and ukulele, but only recorded vocals. The trivia part is that his song “Moonshine Woman Blues” was the only one that ever charted-- but that was only when it was covered by B B King, re-titled as “The Woman I Love”. Also, his song “Cheating and Lying Blues”, was covered by many artists, including Louis Armstrong and Robert Nighthawk.
Some October Blues Passings:
October 3rd 1969-- Nehemiah “Skip” James
October 14th 2009-- Johnny Jones
October 31st 1977-- Eva Taylor, also known as Irene Gibbons, Catherine Henderson, or Irene Williams
A Note of Thanks; to the Northeast Ohio Blues Association (NEOBA) people who attended and worked to promote the Blues Picnic for this year!! We all hope to make this an annual event!! Also, a thanks to a Texas blues fan, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, J J Vicars, for stopping in. It was informative and enjoyable to talk with him. We also had a young man, I believe his name was Will Beeman, and his bass player and band mate (here I’m in trouble--I forgot his name--sorry!!) who I think will go far in music. Knowledgeable about the blues and some of its artists and of the music itself. With the enthusiasm and ability he displayed when he was here, he has a sound base for the future! Please don’t forget us here as some others have. We are here to keep this great music alive!!!
October 3rd 1969-- Nehemiah “Skip” James
October 14th 2009-- Johnny Jones
October 31st 1977-- Eva Taylor, also known as Irene Gibbons, Catherine Henderson, or Irene Williams
A Note of Thanks; to the Northeast Ohio Blues Association (NEOBA) people who attended and worked to promote the Blues Picnic for this year!! We all hope to make this an annual event!! Also, a thanks to a Texas blues fan, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, J J Vicars, for stopping in. It was informative and enjoyable to talk with him. We also had a young man, I believe his name was Will Beeman, and his bass player and band mate (here I’m in trouble--I forgot his name--sorry!!) who I think will go far in music. Knowledgeable about the blues and some of its artists and of the music itself. With the enthusiasm and ability he displayed when he was here, he has a sound base for the future! Please don’t forget us here as some others have. We are here to keep this great music alive!!!
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