Some October Blues Births:
- October 1st.,1933-- Robert "Willie" Egan
- October 14th.,1962-- Durwood Christopher Thomas, better known as Chris Thomas King
- October 30th.,1952-- Arlen Roth
Answer to the September 2018 Blues Question: the bluesman we were looking for was/is Hudson Shower, sometimes incorrectly shown as Showers, born September 6, 1919, in Anguilla, Mississippi. He is best known as "Little Hudson". His father, Elijah, was a guitarist; his mother, Ida, was a pianist and guitarist, but as I stated in the original Question, they weren't the ones who taught him how to play the guitar. That was done by an uncle, when Hudson was around 12 years old. The family had moved to Louise, Mississippi, in 1928, and he was raised there up to 1939, when he moved to Chicago and worked outside the music field up to about 1945. At that time he started sitting in with/ backing bluesmen such as Big Bill Broonzy, Willie Mabon, Big Maceo (Major Merriweather), Lazy Bill Lucas, and Tampa Red (Hudson Whittaker), prior to forming his own group to work in the local clubs. He did this from 1946 to 1950. The various people who worked in his group during this period included Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, a name you should know. His group was considered by many as a "training ground" for bluesmen who were just getting started. Little Hudson formed his first recording group in 1950, The Red Devil Trio, with Henry Gray on piano, and a drummer known only as "Al". Al was shortly replaced with/by James Bannister. Next, Gray was replaced by Lazy Bill Lucas. This second group is the one with which he did all his recordings. All his regular recordings were done January 31, 1953, on the J.O.B. label. The first record was, sides A & b respectively, titled "Rough Treatment" and "I'm Looking for a Woman". The second one was two different versions of side A -- "Things Going So Tough With Me", the first being "take 1", the second listed as "take 4", with the B side for both being "Don't Hang Around". His sixth track recorded was "Shake It Baby". The true blues tracks are "Rough Treatment" and "Don't Hang Around", with the others being kind of a blend of Rock & Roll and Rhythm & Blues. He and the group did record one additional song, in 1958, "No Money Down" (not the same as Chuck Berry's song), as a radio commercial, shown in some listings as being for a record store (had to be one expensive record store !!), while others list it as being for a furniture store. The only place you can find that recording is on a long out of print l.p., and expect to pay a collectors price. Anyhow, Little Hudson played up until about 1964, in small, local clubs. After that he worked outside the music field. He passed away March 22, 2009, in Chicago.
Blues Song(s) and Artist(s) for October 2018: Well, we're roughly a month into the "school year", so I thought this one, however oddly, to be appropriate: the song is "Schooldays on My Mind", and the artist is Floyd Jones.
Blues Question For October 2018: You're familiar with Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller/ Alex Ford, previously) and the many songs he recorded (some "borrowed" from Sonny Boy I (John Lee Williamson} and that he did a lot of travelling with many different other bluesmen and bands, even the Yardbirds and the Animals. In his earlier days he worked the streets for tips, played on the "King Biscuit Flour Hour", with Robert Lockwood Jr., another bluesman you should also know. One that he toured with, playing club dates, was Nelson Carson, aka Nelson Carter. Carson, born September 18, 1917, in New Boston, Texas. He moved to Houston in 1934, after learning guitar, where he performed at local dances until 1942, when he joined the U.S. Army. When discharged in 1945, he settled in Ashdown, Arkansas, working local gigs. There he joined Jay Franks' Rockets of Rhythm, touring/playing all over the South and on cruise ships, out of Houston. He recorded on the "Sittin' In With" label, of Houston, in 1950. Then it was back to Ashdown, again working local gigs in clubs, and touring with Jay Franks group, up into the 1970's. I can find no info on him after that time; sorry for that! This is just a little trivia note about Sonny Boy's associated performers.
Some October Blues Passings:
- October 1st.,2003-- John Brim
- October 17th.,1962-- Henry "Rubber Legs" Williams
- October 29th.,1971-- Howard Duane Allman
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