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Blues Musician Singer

Died On This Date (May 5, 2010) Willie Pooch / Popular Ohio Blues Singer

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Willie Pooch (Born William Joseph)
1937 – May 5, 2010

Willie Pooch was a popular Columbus, Ohio area blues singer who began his career in gospel groups while still just a child in and around Tupelo, Mississippi.  During his teens, he and his family moved to Chicago where Pooch fell under the tutelage of Luther Allison who schooled him in the art of the blues guitar.  Over the next several years, Pooch played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Elmore James and Hound Dog Taylor.  After spending many years touring the mid west, Pooch settled in Columbus during the early ’60s.  By then he was fronting his own band who became a local blues staple for the better part of the next four decades.  On May 5, 2010, Willie Pooch died from complications of diabetes.  He was 72 years old.

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Blues Musician Singer Songwriter

Died On This Date (May 4, 1987) Paul Butterfield / Blues Great

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Paul Butterfield
December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987

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Paul Butterfield was a harmonica player and  singer who was an integral part of the growth of blues rock.  He was also part of the Chicago scene of the early ’60s that introduced the blues to middle class white kids.  He was also one of the few “blues” artists that performed at Woodstock.  In his early days, Butterfield, along with friend Elvin Bishop, played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and Howlin’ Wolf.  He spent the next two decades performing and recording with various versions of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. In the early ’80s, Butterfield was diagnosed with peritonitis, a serious and painful inflammation of the intestines which would dog him for the rest of his life, and unfortunately, he developed an addiction to herion to help with the pain. His drug use eventually bankrupted him and ultimately took his life when he died of what was ruled an accidentaly overdose on May 4th, 1987. He was 44 years old.

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The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Blues Musician Singer Songwriter

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

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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

Blues Musician Singer

Died On This Date (April 29, 1935) Leroy Carr / Depression Era Blues Star

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Leroy Carr
March 27, 1905 – April 29, 1935

Leroy Carr was a blues singer, songwriter and pianist who didn’t quite fit the old blues man stereotype of the day.  As a suave young man from Indianapolis, his style of crooning would be more Nat King Cole than Muddy Waters; more Ray Charles than Robert Johnson.  And because of (or in spite of) that, he was one of the most popular blues men of the Depression era.  Some of his most popular recordings were with Scrapper Blackwell, with whom he recorded some 100 sides.  His most famous song, “How Long Blues,” was later covered by Eric Clapton.  Carr passed away of the effects of alcohol at just 30.

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Whiskey Is My Habit, Good Women Is All I Crave - The Best of Leroy Carr - Leroy Carr

Blues Musician Songwriter

Died On This Date (April 28, 1934) Charley Patton / Blues Legend

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Charley Patton
DOB Unknown – April 28, 1934

If Delta Blues has a flash point, it was most likely Charley Patton. His gritty voice, passionate singing and flashy guitar playing made him a local celebrity throughout the juke joints and plantation dances of the 1920s South. He’s influenced no less than John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. As stated at allmusic.com, “He epitomized the image of a ’20s sport blues singer: rakish, raffish, easy to provoke, capable of downing massive quantities of food and liquor, a woman on each arm, with a flashy, expensive-looking guitar fitted with a strap and kept in a traveling case by his side, only to be opened up when there was money or good times involved.” Charley Patton was indeed the blues’ first superstar.  He died of heart failure on April 28, 1934.  Although his actual date of birth remains a mystery, most believe he was 34 when he died.

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Charley Patton

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