Clifford Gibson (1901-1963)

BT-620 Clifford Gibson
www.kotapparel.com

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1901, Clifford "Grandpappy"Gibson was an American blues singer and guitarist who cut his musical teeth in St. Louis, Missouri. He recorded twenty-four sides for two different labels between 1929 and 1931. He is best known for the tracks, "Bad Luck Dice" and "Hard Headed Blues".

One of the first purely urban performers whose playing had no pronounced rural influences, Gibson's inventive single-string, vibrato-laden approach resembled that of the highly sophisticated jazz blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson, but placed more emphasis on improvisation. Gibson died in 1963.

This week enjoy 15% Off this "Heroes of the Blues" t-shirt design. No coupon code required, discount will be applied at checkout.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this Keep on Truckin' Apparel exclusive t-shirt will be donated to Music Maker Relief Foundation.

T-shirt Image copyright of Shanachie Entertainment Corp.

On Sale: Memphis Minnie "Guitar Queen"

Memphis Minnie born Lizzie "Kid" Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana on June 3, 1897, was an American blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist and was among the first to record the blues.

She recorded over 200 sides during her forty years career, almost unheard of for any woman in show business at the time and not common in any blues artist. A flamboyant character who wore bracelets made of silver dollars; and would spit tobacco wearing a chiffon ball gown, she was a very popular blues recording artist at the height of her career from the early Depression years through World War II.

One of the first generation of blues artists to take up the electric guitar she combined her Louisiana-country roots with Memphis blues to produce her own unique country-blues sound. In 1933 Minnie and Big Bill Broonzy participated in a Blues Showdown at a club in Chicago, Memphis Minnie preformed "Chauffeur Blues" and "Looking the World Over" and won the prize--a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of gin. Big Bill and Minnie became friends and later preformed together on several occasions.

Enjoy 15% off this week on this Keep On Truckin Apparel exclusive design. Available in both short and long sleeve t-shirts. No coupon code required your discount will be applied at checkout at www.kotapparel.com

Featured weekly Blues Artist: Barbecue Bob

Barbecue Bob (1901-1931)

Heroes of the Blues Trading Tee Card #28

Art by R. Crumb, Text by Stephen Calt

Robert Hicks was born in 1902 at Walnut Grove, Georgia, and learned guitar from his brother, who recorded under the name Charlie Lincoln. Around 1920 Hicks moved to Atlanta; his employment at a local restaurant gave rise to his recording name, Barbecue Bob. Between 1927 and 1930, Hicks recorded fifty-five sides. His twelve-string guitar style was among the most percussive found in blues, setting him apart from some like-sounding Georgians. He died in 1931.

On sale this week, 15% discount will be applied at checkout, no coupon code required. Choose from both short and long sleeve tees in a variety of colors!

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this Keep on Truckin' Apparel exclusive t-shirt will be donated to Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Image copyright of Shanachie Entertainment Corp.

Featured Blues Artist this week: Rube Lacey

Rube Lacey(1901-1972)

Heroes of the Blues Trading Tee Card #13

Art by R. Crumb, Text by Stephen Calt

Rubin (Rube) Lacey was born in 1901 at Pelahatchie, Mississippi, and learned guitar in his teens from an older performer, George Hendrix, Working out of the Jackson area in the Mississippi Delta, he became one of the state's most popular blues singers. His bottleneck style inspired that of the better-known performer Son house. In 1928, Lacey recorded two dance tunes for Paramount; four years later he became a minister. He died in 1972.

Enjoy 15% off both short and long sleeve Rube Lacey, Heroes of the Blues t-shirts this week! A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this Keep on Truckin' Apparel exclusive t-shirt will be donated to Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Image copyright of Shanachie Entertainment Corp.

Featured Blues Artist: Bo Carter

Bo Carter (1893-1964)

Heroes of the Blues Trading Tee Card #36

Art by R. Crumb, Text by Stephen Calt

Armenter Chatmon, better known as Bo Carter, was raised in Bolton, Mississippi. He learned guitar in the early 1900's, played bass viol in a family string band led by his brother, Lonnie Chatmon, in the 1910's, and later joined the Mississippi Sheiks. Carter's career as a street singer was largely imposed by the blindness that afflicted him in the late 1920's. Between 1930 and 1940, he recorded 105 titles, many notable for their musical sophistication and for the clever sexual innuendo of their lyrics.

Enjoy 15% off this week on all Bo Carter t-shirts, no coupon code required, discount will be applied at checkout.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this Keep on Truckin' Apparel exclusive t-shirt will be donated to the Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Image copyright of Shanachie Entertainment Corp.

R. Crumb Illustration of Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe

Lizzie Douglas, born in Algiers, Louisiana, was raised in Memphis, and learned guitar at the age of eleven. As Kid Douglas, she toured the South from 1916 onward, returning to Memphis in the late 1920's under the name Memphis Minnie. An accomplished guitarist and gifted song-writer, she recorded over 150 sides between 1929-1941. Most were solo blues, but she also teamed for duets with her second husband, guitarist Kansas Joe McCoy, and her third husband, guitarist Little Son Joe Lawlar. Memphis Minnie was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1980.

R. Crumb of underground comics fame immortalized Memphis Minnie, as well as 35 other early great musicians and singers who were among the first to record the Blues,when creating the original “Heroes of the Blues” Trading Card Set for Yazoo Records in 1980.

In 2010 Keep On Truckin' Apparel of Carlton, Oregon negotiated the rights to reproduce these amazing portraits on t-shirts and hoodies. A portion of the proceeds from each sale is donated to Music Makers Relief Foundation so you can support the blues while wearing the blues.

Featured Blues Artists: Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell

Leroy Carr (1905-1935)
Scrapper Blackwell (1903-1962)

Heroes of the Blues Trading Tee Card #8

Art by R. Crumb, Text by Stephen Calt

Leroy Carr, one of the first blues singers to use understated vocal delivery, was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1905. Francis (Scrapper) Blackwell was born in 1903 and learned guitar in childhood, eventually developing a delicate vibrato blended with string-snapping. The Indianapolis-based team of Carr and Blackwell popularized the piano-guitar blues duet. They made more than one hundred sides between 1928 and Carr's death in 1935, including the famous "How Long Blues."

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this Keep on Truckin' Apparel exclusive t-shirt will be donated to Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Image copyright of Shanachie Entertainment Corp.