Died On This Date (March 15, 1929) Pinetop Smith / Influential Blues Pianist

Clarence “Pinetop” Smith
June 11, 1904 – March 15, 1929

Pinetop Smith was a blues pianist who blazed the trail for boogie-woogie players to follow.  He launched his career around 1920 when he found work as part of a traveling vaudeville act with whom he sang, told jokes, and played the piano.  It was during this time that he also played for Ma Rainey on occasion.  In 1928, Smith made his first record, “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie” which was one of the first boogie woogie hits.  He was reportedly the first to use the phrase “shake that thing” on record.  On the eve of his second recording, 24-year-old Pinetop Smith was shot and killed by an unknown assailant and for reasons never known.  Since his death, Smith has been noted as an influence on the likes of Tommy Dorsey, Ray Charles, and of course, Pinetop Perkins.



Died On This Date (March 6, 1999) Lowell Fulson / Blues Great

Lowell Fulson
March 31, 1921 – March 6, 1999

lowell-fulsonLowell Fulson was an influential west coast blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was one of the key figures of the ’40s and ’50s. After moving to Los Angeles in the early ’40s, Fulson formed his first band which included future greats, Ray Charles and Stanley Turrentine.    Over the course of his career, Fulson released such now-classics as “3 O’Clock Blues,” “Lonesome Blues,” and “Reconsider Baby” which was later made into a hit by Elvis Presley and selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. He continued recording and performing well into the ’90s.  Lowell Fulson was 77 when he died from complications of diabetes, kidney disease and congestive heart failure on March 6, 1999.

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Lowell Fulson

Died On This Date (February 24, 1988) Memphis Slim / Blues Legend

Memphis Slim (Born John Chatman)
September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988

Photo By Raeburn Flerlage
Photo By Raeburn Flerlage

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.

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The Folkways Years, 1959-1973 - Memphis Slim

Died On This Date (February 12, 2000) Screamin’ Jay Hawkins / Influential R&B Pioneer

Jalacy “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins
July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000

screamin-jay-hawkinsScreamin’ Jay Hawkins was a somewhat outrageous blues and rock ‘n roll singer and musician whose biggest hit, “I Put a Spell On You,” and spooky stage theatrics influenced the likes of Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath.  Even Bruce Springsteen has borrowed from Hawkins by coming out of a coffin to kick off his shows around Halloween.  After serving in WWII where he was reportedly captured and tortured, Hawkins came home to the U.S. where he became a middleweight boxing champ, and later, a recording artist.  In 1956, he released “I Put a Spell On You,” which went on to become a radio staple each year in October and has since been recorded or performed by the likes of  Creedance Clearwater Revival, Ray Charles, Iggy Pop, Marylin Manson, and more recently, She & Him (Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward).   In later years, Hawkins collaborated with Dread Zeppelin and the Fuzztones.  He’s also shared the stage with the Clash, the Rolling Stones and Fats Domino.  On February 12, 2000, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, age 70, died following surgery for an aneurysm.  It has been estimated that he left behind as many as 75 children to many different mothers.

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Cow Fingers and Mosquito Pie - Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Died On This Date (February 7, 1959) Guitar Slim / New Orleans Blues Great

Guitar Slim (Born Eddie Jones)
December 10, 1926 – February 7, 1959

guitar-slimGuitar Slim was a New Orleans blues singer and guitarist whose “The Things That I Used To Do” is considered one of the most important records to the birth of rock ‘n roll.  Slim learned to play the guitar as a child while working the cotton fields of Mississippi.  After serving in the military during WWII, Slim began to build a local following due to his dynamic live shows.  He was one of the first to wear outlandishly colorful outfits while sometimes dying his hair to match.  And he is likely the first to commonly roam through the audience attached to a long guitar chord.  On occasion he’d even walk out the front door of the club and literary stop traffic while playing a solo.  He was also one of the earliest users of distortion in his playing.  In 1954, he released his biggest hit, “That Thing That I Used To Do,” which was later covered by the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy.  Slim’s version was produced and arranged by a young Ray Charles.   Just five years later, Guitar Slim died of pneumonia at the age of 32.

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Sufferin' Mind - Guitar Slim