Died On This Date (November 1, 1956) Tommy Johnson / Influential Delta Blues Musician
themusicsover Tommy Johnson
1896 – November 1, 1956
Tommy Johnson was a Mississippi-born blues musician whose career began around 1915, with his first recordings coming in the late ’20s. He is considered one of the foundations of Delta blues due to his solid songwriting and his strong falsetto voice. The band Canned Heat took their name from his “Canned Heat Blues.” Johnson was the first known blues musician’s to claim that he sold his soul to the devil. A primary character in the 2000 film O’ Brother Where Art Thou, also named Tommy Johnson, is said to be based upon him and not Robert Johnson as has been assumed. Tommy Johnson, age 60, suffered a fatal heart attack after playing a party on November 1, 1956.
Henry Vestine is best remembered as a guitarist for boogie blues rock band, Canned Heat. His original tenure with the band ran from 1966 to 1969. Prior to that, he played in 
Smiley Lewis was a New Orleans R&B artist who got his start in the clubs throughout the French Quarter during the late ’30s. He released his first album, Here Comes Smiley Lewis on DeLuxe Records in 1947. In 1950, producer Dave Bartholomew recorded Lewis for Imperial Records. The sessions resulted in his biggest hits, “Tee Nah Nah,” “The Bells Are Ringing,” and the first recorded version of the R&B standard, “I Hear You Knocking” which would later be recorded by the likes of Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dave Edmunds, and Canned Heat. His “Blue Monday” became a hit for Domino while his “One Nigh,t” as covered by 
