A Month of Blues History
April
This is the history of the blues – one month at a time.
1880-1909
April 26, 1886 – Ma Rainey [Gertrude Pridgett], American singer “Mother of the Blues”, born in Columbus, Georgia (d. 1939).
April 15, 1894 – Bessie Smith, American blues singer nicknamed the “Empress of Blues” (over 200 songs), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (d. 1937).
April 23, 1894 – Charles “Cow Cow” Davenport, American boogie-woogie and blues musician, born in Anniston, Alabama (d. 1955).
April 1, 1895 – Alberta Hunter, blues singer/composer (Downhearted Blues) is born this day.
April 9, 1895 – Mance Lipscomb, American blues musician (Shine On, Harvest Moon), born in Navasota, Texas (d. 1976).
April 30, 1896 – [Reverend] Gary Davis, American blues and folk guitarist (A Little More Faith), born in Laurens, South Carolina (d. 1972).
1910-1929
April 7, 1915 – Billie Holiday, [Eleanora Fagan], jazz singer (Lady Sings the Blues), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
April 12, 1915 – Hound Dog Taylor [Theodore Roosevelt], American Chicago blues guitarist and singer, born in Natchez, Mississippi (d. 1975).
April 26, 1915 – Johnny Shines, American delta blues singer and guitarist, born in Memphis, Tenneessee (d. 1992).
April 6, 1917 – Big Walter Horton, American blues harmonica player (Everybody’s Fishin’), born in Horn Lake, Mississippi (d. 1981).
April 25, 1923 – Albert King [Nelson], American blues guitarist and singer (BB King & Friends, Blues Alive), born in Indianola, Mississippi (d. 1992).
April 18, 1924 – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, American blues singer (Mary is Fine), born in Vinton, Louisiana (d. 2005).
April 19, 1928 – Alexis Korner, British blues musician (Blues Inc-Bootleg Him), born in Paris, France (d. 1984).
1930-1949
April 7, 1932 – Louis “Mr Bo” Collins, blues singer born this day.
April 16, 1935 – Haskell Sadler, American blues singer and guitarist, born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1994).
April 29, 1935 – Otis Rush, American blues musician (Right Place, Wrong Time), born in Philadelphia. Mississippi (d. 2018).
April 29, 1935 – Leroy Carr, American blues singer-songwriter, dies at 30.
April 15, 1943 – Mighty Sam McClain, American soul and blues singer-songwriter, born in Monroe, Louisiana (d. 2015).
April 16, 1945 – Stefan Grossman, American country blues singer (Yazoo Basin Boogie), born in NYC, New York.
April 21, 1946 – Doug MacLeod, American blues musician (Blues Music Awards’ Acoustic Artist of the Year, 2014, 2016 and 2017), born in NYC, New York.
April 7, 1947 – Charles ‘skip’ Pitts, soul and blues guitarist (Shaft), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2012).
April 25, 1949 – Watermelon Slim [William Homans], American blues musician (The Wheel Man), born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1950-1969
April 5, 1950 – Paul Oscher, American blues musician (Muddy Waters Blues Band), born in Brooklyn, New York
April 29, 1952 – Nora Dunn, comedienne (SNL, Miami Blues, Working Girl), born in Chicago, Illinois
April 6, 1960 – Warren Haynes, rock and blues guitarist (The Allman Brothers Band), born in Asheville, North Carolina
April 29, 1967 – J. B. Lenoir, African American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the 1950s, dies from injuries sustained in a car crash at 38
April 27, 1969 – Mica Paris, British Rhythm & Blues singer (So Good), born in London
1970-1999
April 18, 1974 – Madeleine Peyroux, American French jazz and blues singer-songwriter, born in Athens, Georgia.
April 30, 1983 – Muddy Waters, US blues singer/guitarist (Mad Love), dies at 70.
April 20, 1992 – Johnny Shines, American delta blues singer and guitarist, dies at 76.
April 12, 1994 – Q T Macon, blues vocal/guitar, dies at 60.
April 19, 1994 – Larry Davis, American blues singer and guitarist, dies at 57.
April 23, 1995 – Lonesome Sundown [Cornelius Green III], American blues singer and guitarist, dies at 66.
April 2, 1996 – Guitar Gabriel [Robert Lewis Jones], American blues singer and guitarist, dies at 70.
April 3, 1996 – Booba [Roosevelt Melvin] Barnes, American blues guitarist, dies at 59.
April 23, 1996 – Leonard Kuntstat, blues discographer, dies at 70.
April 6, 1999 – Red Norvo, American jazz vibraphonist known as “Mr. Swing” (Congo Blues, Knockin’ on Wood), dies at 91.
2000-Present
April 13, 2005 – Johnnie Johnson, American blues and jazz piano player (Chuck Berry’s band), dies from kidney problems and pneumonia at 80.
April 10, 2013 – Jimmy Dawkins, American electric blues musician, dies at 76.
April 18, 2015 – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Lou Reed, Ringo Starr, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Green Day, Bill Withers, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the 5 Royales.