Some October Blues Births:
- October 1st.,1893--"Kid" Wesley "Sox"/"Socks" Wilson, aka Jenkins/Pigmeat Pete
- October 13th.,1903-- Julia Lee
- October 27th.,1909-- Henry Townsend, aka Henry Thomas/ Too Tight Henry
Answer To The September 2016 Blues Question: the bluesman we were looking for is/ was William "Bill"/"Lazy Bill" Lucas, born August 29th.,1918, in Wayne, Arkansas. He was supposedly born partially blind. By 1924 the family had moved to Advance, Missouri, where he worked on a farm. By 1930 he had taught himself to play guitar, and from 1930 to 1932, he worked the streets, playing for tips. In 1932 he taught himself to play piano. In 1936 or '37 he moved to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he worked as a "hillbilly" guitarist. He then went to Commerce, Missouri, where he performed from late 1937 through 1939. In 1940 he moved to St. Louis, where he worked the streets with "Big Joe" Williams, though Bill sometimes worked alone. In early 1941 he moved to Chicago, where he worked the Maxwell Street area with John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson (I), with whom he would tour during the 1940's. Some of the people he worked with while in Chicago were Willie Mabon, Little Walter (Jacobs), Earl Dranes, "Homesick" James (Williamson, who sometimes performed/ recorded as "Jick and His Trio"), Snooky Prior, "Little Hudson" (Shower), Little Willie Foster, and JoJo Williams. In around 1964 Bill moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he would reside until his passing. While living there he sometimes performed with George "Mojo" Buford. Also while living there; he worked the "college circuit" and festivals in the northeast. Bill recorded on the Chance, Parrot, J.O.B., Cobra, Blue Lake, Excello, Wild, Lazy, Atomic, Colt, Atomic-H, and LaSalle labels. He passed away in his sleep, at home, of natural causes, on December 12th.,1982.
Blues Question For October 2016: This bluesman performed and recorded under three different names. It has been said that he recorded two more songs, under a 4th name. One of his songs, the first he had written and recorded, has been covered by over one hundred different artists and/ or bands. Not surprisingly, its' writing has been credited to two other bluesmen, incorrectly. He eventually quit performing music and became a Baptist preacher. Any idea who this bluesman is/ was ??
Blues Trivia For October 2016: Over the years there have been many record labels associated with recording the blues, especially in the beginning. At that time , they were called "Race Records". Some of those labels you're probably familiar with, such as Victor, OKeh, Black Swan, Excello, Decca, Mercury, Paramount, King, and many others. This is one of the "lesser-known" , Cobra, and its' subsidiary, Artistic. of Chicago, founded by Eli Toscani, in 1956. That label gave the start to the careers of Otis Rush, "Magic Sam" (Maghett), Buddy Guy, "Shakey Jake" (Harris), and others. It started the "new generation" of blues artists and brought a new sound to the blues, which, eventually, would be called "The West Side Sound". The first song recorded at Cobra was "I Can't Quit You, Baby" (which has since been covered by many artists), by Otis Rush, in 1956. In 1957 Magic Sam recorded his signature tune-- "All Your Love". In 1958 Buddy Guy & His Band recorded "Sit and Cry (the Blues)", backed with "Try to Quit You Baby", on the Artistic subsidiary label. Some of the others who recorded on the Cobra/ Artistic label(s) were Walter "Shakey" Horton, Sunnyland Slim (Albert Laundrew), Lee Jackson, Little Willie Foster, Harold Burrage, Guitar Shorty (David Kearney), Betty Everett, Shakey Jake Harris, and Ike Turner. There are several bits of trivia with this label and its' owner. ABCO records was started in April of 1956, by Eli Toscano (who owned a TV repair shop), Ted Daniels (producer, songwriter, singer), and Joe Brown (owner of A.B. Record Distributing and , later, the founder/ owner of J.O.B. Records). The label lasted only four months, supposedly ending because of differences between Toscano and Brown. In July Cobra Records was started, with Ted and a new financial "partner", Howard Bedno. The trivia parts are that early in 1957, Eli hired Willie Dixon away from Chess Records, to be the talent scout, arranger, songwriter, producer, and bassist. The other part is that Cobra Records folded in 1959, when its' owner, Eli, was found in the Chicago River, wearing cement shoes, possibly because of unpaid gambling debts. Shakey Jake Harris (who got his nickname from his ability with the dice), who was a professional gambler for 15 years before starting his recording career, was quoted as earlier saying that "Eli was a crap-shootin' fool". After that Willie Dixon returned to Chess Records, and you should already know that it was the most productive time for both Willie and the Chess label.
Some October Blues Passings:
- October 4th.,1970-- Janis Lyn Joplin
- October 21st.,1931-- Robert "Bob" Hicks, aka Barbecue Bob
- October 30th.,2009-- Norton Buffalo
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