Every so often there will be a 'lesson' in the Blues... by the end of the year, you should have a working repertoire of Blues Musicians. Francis Hillman Blackwell was born in North Carolina and was one of 16 children. He was also part Cherokee. He spent most of his life in Indiana and was a self-taught guitarist. His first guitar was built out of wood, wire and cigar boxes. In his teens he travelled as far as Chicago, as a part time musician. He was known for being hard to work with and withdrawn, but still managed to create a productive working relationship with Leroy Carr, who played piano. His solo recordings included "Kokomo Blues". Blackwell and Carr toured the South between 1928 and 1935 as stars of the blues scene, recording over 100 sides together. Carr apparently also did time for bootlegging. Their last recording together was in 1935, for the Bluebird Label. They split due to financial/ payment disputes. Carr died soon later, from heavy drinking. Blackwell retired, but returned to music in the 1950's. Blackwell died when he was shot and killed in an alley at the age of only 59. The crime remains unsolved.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Scrapper Blackwell
Every so often there will be a 'lesson' in the Blues... by the end of the year, you should have a working repertoire of Blues Musicians. Francis Hillman Blackwell was born in North Carolina and was one of 16 children. He was also part Cherokee. He spent most of his life in Indiana and was a self-taught guitarist. His first guitar was built out of wood, wire and cigar boxes. In his teens he travelled as far as Chicago, as a part time musician. He was known for being hard to work with and withdrawn, but still managed to create a productive working relationship with Leroy Carr, who played piano. His solo recordings included "Kokomo Blues". Blackwell and Carr toured the South between 1928 and 1935 as stars of the blues scene, recording over 100 sides together. Carr apparently also did time for bootlegging. Their last recording together was in 1935, for the Bluebird Label. They split due to financial/ payment disputes. Carr died soon later, from heavy drinking. Blackwell retired, but returned to music in the 1950's. Blackwell died when he was shot and killed in an alley at the age of only 59. The crime remains unsolved.
