Booker “Bukka” White
November 12, 1909 – February 26, 1977
Bukka White was an influential Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He began making records in 1930, and about a decade later, he recorded for noted folklorist, Alan Lomax. During the mid ’60s, White enjoyed a career renaissance thanks, in part, to Bob Dylan who covered his “Fixin’ to Die Blues.” It was around that time that he also got a helping hand from John Fahey who “rediscovered” him just in time to take advantage of the folk and blues revival of the period. Bukka White was 70 years old when he died of cancer on February 26, 1977.
Mark Sallings was a gifted Delta blues harmonica player who was one of the most sought-after Memphis side men throughout his career. Sallings learned to play the harmonica while in his early years of high school, and soon after he graduated, he went to work as a session player at Stax studios. During the ’80s, he worked with country singer, David Lynn Jones with whom he toured and recorded. In the ’90s, Sallings formed his own band, the Famous Unkowns and recorded a couple of his own albums. On February 25, 2009, 56-year-old Mark Sallings died as a result of a car accident.
Memphis Slim (Born John Chatman)
September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988
Memphis Slim was a jump blues pianist and prolific composer who could count over 500 recordings as his own. He got his start during the early ’30s by playing honky-tonks and dance halls throughout Arkansas and Missouri. In 1939, he migrated up to Chicago where he started out playing gigs with Big Bill Broonzy. In 1940, Slim began making his own records. One of those recordings, “Nobody Loves Me” has been covered (as “Every Day I Have The Blues”) by the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Ella Fitzgerald, and Natalie Cole, to name just a few. Like so many of the blues greats of the first part of the 20th century, Slim made a nice comeback during the folk and blues revival of the early ’60s. He was so respected around the world, that the U.S. Senate once named him an Ambassador-At-Large of Good Will. Memphis Slim was 72 when he died of renal failure on February 24, 1988.
Fird “Snooks” Eaglin
January 21, 1936 – February 18, 2009
Snooks Eaglin was a popular New Orleans R&B performer who, due to a set list that drew from upwards of 2500 songs, was sometimes called “the human jukebox.” And to the dismay of his backing band, in most cases he performed without a written set list, preferring to just play what felt right in the moment. Even though he was blind since infancy, Eaglin learned to play the guitar at a very young age. When he was just 11, he won a local radio talent competition and within three years, he left school to make his living as a musician. By the mid ’50s, he was playing in the great Allen Toussaint’s band, the Flamingos. In 1958, Eaglin became the subject of several recordings by musicologist, Dr. Harry Oster. Many of these sides were later released on the Folkways label. Eaglin signed with Imperial Records in 1960 and released a series of records that were more in the tradition of New Orleans R&B than the more blues styled Oster recordings. He continued recording through the ’90s and was a common fixture at the New Orleans Jazzfest for many years. Snooks Eaglin was 73 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on February 18, 2009.
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.