Died On This Date (August 26, 1992) Professor Eddie Lusk / Chicago Blues Musician

Eddie Lusk
September 21, 1948 – August 26, 1992

Raised by parents who were Pentacostal ministers, Eddie Lusk was exposed to gospel music at a very young age.  And although he, himself became ordained in 1968, he couldn’t resist the call of the blues music he heard around him on Chicago’s south side.  A pianist since childhood, Lusk went on to play with some of the biggest names in contemporary blues.  That list includes Luther Allison, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and Koko Taylor.    Lusk learned he was suffering from colon cancer in 1992.  That revelation apparently lead him to jump to his death into the Chicago River on August 26, 1992.

Thanks to Suzanne Swanson for the assist



Died On This Date (June 3, 2009) Koko Taylor / Queen of the Blues

Koko Taylor (Born Cora Walton)
September 23, 1928 – June 3, 2009

koko1Known as the Queen Of The Blues, Koko Taylor wowed audiences with her powerful voice for almost 50 years.  Born on a sharecropper’s farm in Tennessee, Taylor moved to Chicago with her husband in the early ’50s.  She began singing around town and was soon discovered by no less than Willie Dixon.  Dixon’s approval helped her land more gigs and a recording contract with the legendary Chess Records.  Her first single was the Dixon penned “Wang Dang Doodle” which hit #4 on the R&B charts and went on to sell over one million copies.   Taylor continued to record critically acclaimed blues albums for the next 3 decades including more than a dozen for blues label giant, Alligator Records.  Among her countless awards, Taylor has been nominated for several Grammys (winning one for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1995), and won a record-setting 25 WC Handy Blues Awards.  Taylor continued to perform as many as 70 shows a year until her final years.  Koko Taylor died two weeks after a gastrointestinal surgery.  She was 80 years old.

What You Should Own

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What It Takes: The Chess Years - Koko Taylor

Died On This Date (November 1, 2008) Rosetta Reitz / Founder of Rosetta Records

Rosetta Reitz
September 28, 1924 – November 1, 2008

Photo By Jill Lynne
Photo By Jill Lynne

Rosetta Reitz was a much-respected feminist and music authority who formed her own label, Rosetta Records in 1979.  The label specialized in lost recordings of female blues artist from the 1920s to the 1960s.  Over the years, she released sides by the likes of Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Mae West.  Her packages were noted quality remasters, extensive liner notes and rare historical photos.  Reitz curated the Newport Jazz Festival’s “Women of Jazz” tributes in 1980 and 1981.  The programs included performances by Big Mama Thornton, Nell Carter and Koko Taylor.    Rosetta Reitz was 84 when she passed away on November 1, 2008.



Died On This Date (October 16, 1969) Leonard Chess / Chess Records

Leonard Chess (Born Lejzor Czyz)
March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969

Leonard ChessBorn in Poland, a young (and not yet called) Leonard Chess moved with his family to Chicago in 1928.  Leonard and his brother Phil got into the music business by way of the Macomba Lounge, a popular Black club they took over in 1946.  Shortly thereafter, Leonard began working with a local jazz and black label called Aristocrat Records.  He and his brother eventually took it over and began changing its focus to the down and dirty sound of the blues they had fallen in love with.  By the time they were done, they had made seminal records with the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley, Etta James and Koko Taylor, to name just a handful.   In the early ’60s, Chess purchased a couple of radio station, and in 1969, he sold Chess Records.  He died of a heart attack just a few months later.