Fw: [Bluesville] Today In Blues - Dec 14


--- On Sun, 12/14/08, hiway_61revisited <hiway_61revisited@...>
wrote:

From: hiway_61revisited <hiway_61revisited@...>
Subject: [Bluesville] Today In Blues - Dec 14
To: Bluesville@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, December 14, 2008, 5:23 AM

Today In Blues - Dec 14

© 2004 L.W. "Junior" Jackson

On this 14th day of December in 1899 harmonica player Deford Bailey
was born in Bellwood, TN.
Bailey was the first (and only, until Charlie Pride many years
later) Black member of The Grand Ol` Opry. Bailey`s early recordings
were the first decent recordings of harmonica and were a huge
influence on many young Southern boys to play the harmonica,
leading to a host of Blues harmonica players emerging in the late 20s
and early 30s. Bailey appeared on 49 of the first 52 shows on The
Grand Ol` Opry, and his "Train Sound" was featured in the shows
introduction. Baily was finally enshrined in The Country Music Hall
of Fame in 2005 after years of being snubbed, despite his
contributions.
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Motown vocalist Ronnie McNair was born today in 1949 in Camden, AL.
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Lester Melrose, producer and owner of Bluebird Records, was born on
this day in 1891 in Olney, IL.
Melrose gave rise to modern Chicago Blues in the 30s. His Bluebird
label, formed to supply juke boxes in Black clubs throughout the
country recorded nearly all of the best Chicago Blues artists, as
well as artists from St. Louis ad the South in the pre war era. John
Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, one of the most popular Blues artists of
that era, along with Big Bill Broonzy, Tampa Red, Henry Townsend,
Walter Davis, Big Joe Williams, Jazz Gillum, and many more were in
Bluebird`s stable. After the war, it seemed Melrose couldn`t catch on
to the electric rumblings coming from Chicago clubs, and he lost his
grip on Chicago blues, overpowered by The Chess brothers. He faded
from the business by the early 50s.
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Jazz pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. was born in Whiteville, TN on this
day in 1931.
Newborn was known as a Be-Bop stylist but began his career in R&B
and played with BB King in the early 50s.
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Jimmy Williams, guitarist for The Bluzblasters, was born today in 1962
in South Carolina.
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Jazz and Blues alto saxaphonist Leo Wright was born on this day in
1933 in Wichata, KS.
Wright played with Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmie Smith, Kenny Burrell
and Dizzy Gilespie, among others.
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Gospel Vocalist Josephine Birdsong died on this day in 1981 in L.A. CA
at age 59.
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New Orleans vocalist Curley Moore, who sang with Jump Blues pianist
Huey Smith, died on this day in 1985 in New Orleans at age 51.
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Blues, R&B and Jazz vocalist Dinah Washington (Ruth Jones) died on
this day in 1963 in Detroit at age 39.
Washington was one of the most versatile and gifted vocalists in
American popular music history. She started out playing piano and
directing her church choir, but didn`t believe in mixing the secular
with the spiritual, and unfortunately never recorded in the Gospel
genre. She covered a lot of other ground, however. She began her
secular career with Lionell Hampton from 1943 to `46, and dominated
the R&B charts in the 40s and 50s. She crossed over easily from Jazz
to Blues to Pop, and was an incalculable influence on most female R&B
singers that followed her. Virtually all her recordings are in print
on CD, including a massive reissue series of her Mercury and Emarcy
recordings.
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On this day in 1963, Sam Cooke's "Little Red Rooster" peaked at #11 on
the pop singles chart.
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