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Biography
photo credit:
Blues and Two J's
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photo credit:
Drinkin' In The Blues
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photo credit:
The Blueflame Cafe
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| "Not only did Memphis write most of the more than
200 sides she recorded during her career, she also wrote songs for
other outstanding blues musicians, including Robert Nighthawk. Her virtuosity as an instrumentalist
was matched by her brilliance and subtlety as a lyricist; with
the keen mind of a poet, she transmuted the facts of life in the Delta
and beyond into contemplations of identity, desire, and power."
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quoted from an online essay The
Forgotten Queen: Was Memphis Minnie the Mother of Electric Blues
Guiarists? by JoBeth Briton
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photo credit:
Drinkin'
In The Blues
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"Born Lizzie "Kid"
Douglas on June 3, 1897 near New Orleans, she was the oldest of 13
children.... With a powerful
backing of her vocals on guitar, it was often said 'she plays as good
as any man!'"
"In
1929 Minnie and her first husband, Kansas Joe McCoy were playing on the
streets of Memphis when they were discovered by a scout for Colombia.
In June of that year they made their first record. She sang solos, and
they performed duets with their strong dual guitar backgrounds. "
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the two quoted paragraphs are from the site Drinkin'
In The Blues which offers biographical information
of some blues artists and links to other online blues
reference; hosted by the blues lady
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Memphis Minnie
and her husband
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ALBUM
REVIEWS AND LINER NOTES
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ALBUM:
Memphis
Minnie, Jimmy Rogers, St. Louis Jimmy, et al, Early Rhythm &
Blues (1949, the Rare Regal Session) |
| "Minnie was one of the best and most respected
guitarists in the city, reportedly winning contests against some of the
best male players such as Big Bill Broonzy. Minnie
was also one of the earliest artists to make the switch to electric
guitar....The quartet featured here is actually an early example of
what would became the definitive Chicago blues band.
Minnie was recording electric blues with a guitar, piano, bass and
drums combination before Muddy Waters."
---Liner
note by Brett J. Bonner, Living Blues Magazine
"It
is important to note that she was
the first to record with what would later become the classic postwar
blues combination: electric guitar, piano, bass, and drums.
These are those ground breaking sides, compiled for the first time on
CD."
---Album
review by Kari Leigh, Blues Access
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| "This disc is
comprised of 16 uneven sides from a grouping of disparate
artists....This is the seminal electric Chicago sound--guitar, bass,
piano, drums--that which eventually cohesed into the style heard round
the world" |
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