Died On This Date (April 23, 2011) Dutch Tilders / Dutch Australian Blues Musician

Matthew “Dutch” Tilders
August 29, 1941 – April 23, 2011

Dutch Tilders was a blues musician born in the Netherlands but who moved to Australia with his family while still in his teens.   Tilders was playing the harmonica by the time he landed his first gig at the age of 15, but soon switched to the guitar.  He went on to release several albums while performing with the likes of Taj Mahal, John Mayall, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry.  Back home in Australia, he was dubbed the “Godfather of Blues,” and even the great B.B. King  once proclaimed that regardless of his European birth, Tilders was a genuine bluesman.  He continued to tour as recently as late 2010 despite the fact that he was diagnosed with lung cancer in May of that same year.  Dutch Childers officially retired in February of 2011 and passed away from the cancer on April 23, 2011.  He was 69.



Died On This Date (August 14, 1958) Big Bill Broonzy / Blues Icon

Big Bill Broonzy
June 26, 1898 – August 14, 1958

Big Bill Broonzy was a popular blues singer and guitarist whose career ran from the early ’20s until his death in the late ’50s.  First playing country blues to black audiences in and around his hometown in Arkansas, Broonzy moved to Chicago in the early ’20s and began playing a more polished urban blues, eventually attracting a white audience.  As a composer, he was very prolific, with over 300 songs or adaptations to his name.  He stayed very busy recording and touring through the ’30s and ’40s, but by the ’50s, his career ran stale and he considered retiring from music.  But with the birth of the folk revival, Broonzy’s traditional songs were back in fashion and he found success touring with the likes of Pete Seeger, Lead BellySonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.  He died of throat cancer at the age of 60.

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The Young Big Bill Broonzy - Big Bill Broonzy

Died On This Date (April 30, 1983) Muddy Waters / Blues Icon

Muddy Waters (Born McKinley Morganfield)
April 4, 1914 – April 30, 1983

Although he was born in Mississippi, Muddy Waters is considered the Father of Chicago Blues.  By electrifying the delta blues of his youth, Waters almost singlehandedly influenced the British blues explosion of the ’60s.  Acts like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Cream might not have been born if it weren’t for Muddy Waters. By the early 1950s, Waters, along with his sidemen, Little Walter and Howlin’ Wolf were the biggest draw in Chicago, and in 1958, he set out to conquer the UK, who until that point had only known the acoustic blues of the likes of  Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.  In doing so, Waters sparked a musical revolution.  Waters died in his sleep of natural causes on April 30, 1983.

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Muddy Waters: The Definitive Collection - Muddy Waters

Died On This Date (March 11, 1986) Sonny Terry / Blues Legend

Sonny Terry (Born Saunders Terrell)
October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986

sonny-terrySonny Terry was a blind blues singer and harmonica player from North Carolina.  He was one of the most popular of the Piedmont blues scene.  During his early days, he performed and recorded with guitarist, Blind Boy Fuller.  And when Fuller passed away, he joined up with Brownie McGhee, and together they played well into the 1970s.  The pair was celebrated during the folk revival of the ’60s, a time when they were popular festival draws at the Newport Folk Festival and such.  Sonny Terry died of natural causes on March 11, 1986.

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Backwater Blues (Live at Sugar Hill) - Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry

Died On This Date (February 16, 1996) Brownie McGhee / Blues Legend

Walter “Brownie” McGhee
November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996

Brownie McGhee was a blues singer and guitarist who came to prominence during the post WWII years.  McGhee first learned to play on a “guitar” fashioned together out of an old tin box and a piece of wood by his uncle.  While still a child, he sang in a local gospel group.  By the late ’30s, McGhee was earning his living as a traveling musician, often working with Blind Boy Fuller, who taught him the ropes.  Within a few years, McGhee was making his first recordings for the legendary Okeh Records.  Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, McGhee mostly recorded and performed as a due with harmonica great, Sonny Terry.  They made several significant recordings together and were featured performers at the storied Newport Folk Festival and other high profile venues.  In 1979, they performed in the Steve Martin film The Jerk.  Brownie McGhee was 80 when he died of stomach cancer on February 16, 1996.

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The Folkways Years, 1945-1959 - Brownie McGhee