Died On This Date (March 8, 2012) Bugs Henderson / Texas Blues Great

Buddy “Bugs” Henderson
1943 – March 8, 2012

Bugs Henderson was a Dallas, Texas area blues great who, for the better part of the past 50 years has been playing the kind of electric blues that keeps the crowds on their collective feet.  Henderson was just a teenager working in a local record store when he would sneak out of his house to check out the latest bands performing in nearby roadhouses.  By 1966 he was playing in a band, Mouse and the Traps, who scored a regional hit with “Public Execution.”  By the early ’70s, Henderson was an in-demand studio player while establishing himself as a local draw on the stage.  Over the years, he either opened for, or shared the stage with the likes of the Allman Brothers, Leon Russell, Freddie King, Ted Nugent, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King.   Bugs Henderson died from complications of liver cancer on March 8, 2012.  He was 69.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.

 

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Bugs Henderson

Died On This Date (January 5, 2009) Sam “Bluzman” Taylor / Blues Great

Sam “Bluzman” Taylor
October 25, 1924 – January 5, 2009

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Sam “Bluzman” Taylor was a blues musician, singer and oft-covered songwriter who came to prominence during the 1960s.  As a guitarist or bandleader, Taylor worked with the likes of Maxine Brown, Big Joe Turner, Otis Redding. and Sam and Dave.  Over the years, his songs have been recorded by Freddie King, Son Seals, Jay and the Americans, the Isley Brothers, and BT Express who scored a huge hit with his “Do it ’til Your Satisfied.”  That song was later embraced by the hip hop community, appearing in songs by Epmd, Beanie Sigel, Ma$e, and DMX.  Sam Taylor was 74 when he died of heart disease on January 5, 2009.


Died On This Date (July 3, 1997) Johnny Copeland / Texas Blues Guitarist

Johnny Copeland
March 27, 1937 – July 3, 1997

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With Stevie Ray Vaughan

Johnny Copeland was a Texas Blues singer and guitarist who released his first of many albums in 1956.  In his early days, Copeland was very popular along the live circuit, performing with the likes of Big Mama Thornton, Sonny Boy Williamson and Freddie King, but unfortunately that didn’t translate in record sales for him.  In the early ’80s however, Copeland moved to New York City and signed with respected blues label, Rounder Records who went on to release a series of critical and commercial successes for him.  Copeland, along with Robert Cray and Albert Collins won the Best Traditional Blues Album in 1987 for their Showdown!.  Johnny Copeland died on July 3, 1997 of complications from an earlier heart transplant.  His daughter, Shemekia Copeland has carried on the family name as a popular blues performer.

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Showdown! (Remastered) - Albert Collins, Robert Cray & Johnny Copeland



Died On This Date (December 28, 1976) Freddie King / Texas Blues Great

Freddie King
September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976

Freddie King was a Texas blues guitarist who directly inspired no less than Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton.  He, B.B. King, and Albert King were known as the “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar.”  Over a career that spanned almost 30 years, King released over a dozen albums that included such classic blues recordings as “Hide Away,” “Have You Ever Loved a Woman,” and “I Love the Woman.” Rolling Stone magazine listed King at #25 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.  In 1973, Grand Funk Railroad honored King by namechecking him in their classic song, “We’re an American Band,” an homage to life on the road for a rock ‘n roll band.  The lyric, “Up all night with Freddie King / I got to tell you poker’s his thing / Booze and ladies keep me right / as long as we can make it to the show tonight.”  Freddie King was just 42 when he died of heart failure on December 28, 1976.

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Ultimate Collection: Freddie King - Freddie King