Furry Lewis
Furry Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Lewis c. 1927 Lewis c. 1927 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Walter E. Lewis |
| Born | March 6, 1893 or 1899 Greenwood, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | September 14, 1981 (aged 82-88) Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Genres | Delta blues, country blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, guitarist, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | Late 1920s–1970s |
| Labels | Vocalion, Victor, Barclay, Lucky Seven, Universal |
Walter E. "Furry" Lewis (March 6, 1893[1] or 1899[2] – September 14, 1981) was an American country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. He was one of the first of the blues musicians active in the 1920s to be brought out of retirement and given new opportunities to record during the folk blues revival of the 1960s.
Life and career
Lewis was born in Greenwood, Mississippi. His birth year is uncertain. Many sources give 1893, the date he gave in his later years, but the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest 1899, based on his 1900 census entry, and other sources suggest 1895 or 1898.[2] His family moved to Memphis when he was seven.[1] He acquired the nickname "Furry" from childhood playmates.[3] By 1908, he was playing solo at parties, in taverns, and on the street. He was also invited to play several dates with W. C. Handy's Orchestra.[3]
In his travels as a musician, he was exposed to a wide variety of performers, including Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Alger "Texas" Alexander. Like his contemporary Frank Stokes, he grew tired of traveling and took a permanent job in 1922. His position as a street sweeper for the city of Memphis, a job he held until his retirement in 1966, allowed him to continue performing music in Memphis.[3]
Lewis made his first recordings for Vocalion Records in Chicago in 1927.[4] A year later he recorded for Victor Records at the Memphis Auditorium, in a session with the Memphis Jug Band, Jim Jackson, Frank Stokes, and others. He again recorded for Vocalion in Memphis in 1929.[3] The tracks were mostly blues but included two-part versions of "Casey Jones" and "John Henry". He sometimes fingerpicked and sometimes played with a slide.[5] He made many successful records in the late 1920s, including "Kassie Jones", "Billy Lyons & Stack-O-Lee" and "Judge Harsh Blues" (later called "Good Morning Judge").
In July 1968, Bob West recorded Furry along with Bukka White in Furry's Memphis apartment. In 1972 West, with Bob Graf, in Seattle, released the recording on a 12-inch vinyl record.[6] In 2001 the recording was released on CD as "Furry Lewis, Bukka White & Friends, Party! at Home", by Arcola Records.[7]
In 1969, the record producer Terry Manning recorded Lewis in his Fourth Street apartment in Memphis, near Beale Street. These recordings were released in Europe at the time by Barclay Records and again in the early 1990s by Lucky Seven Records in the United States and in 2006 by Universal Records. Joni Mitchell's song "Furry Sings the Blues" (on her album Hejira), is about her visit to Lewis's apartment and a mostly ruined Beale Street on February 5, 1976. Lewis despised the Mitchell song and felt she should pay him royalties for being its subject.[8]
In 1972 he was the featured performer in the Memphis Blues Caravan, which included Bukka White, Sleepy John Estes, Clarence Nelson, Hammie Nixon, Memphis Piano Red, Sam Chatmon, and Mose Vinson.[citation needed]
He opened twice for the Rolling Stones, performed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, had a part in a Burt Reynolds movie (W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, 1975), and was profiled in Playboy magazine.[1][5]
Lewis began to lose his eyesight because of cataracts in his final years. He contracted pneumonia in 1981, which led to his death from heart failure in Memphis on September 14 of that year, at the age of 88.[9] He is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery, in South Memphis, where his grave bears two headstones, the second purchased by fans.[8]
Discography
- Furry Lewis, 1959
- Back on My Feet Again, 1961
- Done Changed My Mind, 1962
- Fourth & Beale, 1969
- Live at the Gaslight at the Au Go Go, 1971
References
- ^ a b c Eder, Bruce (1981). "Furry Lewis: Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ^ a b Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. pp. 187, 447. ISBN 978-0313344237.
- ^ a b c d "Furry Lewis Biography". Musicianguide.com. September 14, 1981. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 12. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ a b Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 134–35. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ "popsike.com - SCARCE BLUES LP Furry Lewis & Bukka White ASP1 - auction details". Popsike.com. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
- ^ "Arcola Records, music cds, Traditional Jazz Blues, Furry Lewis and Friends". Arcolarecords.com. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
- ^ a b [1] Archived January 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine"Furry Lewis", by Greg Johnson - Article Reprint from the July 2001 BluesNotes, via Cascade Blues Association
- ^ Doc Rock. "The 1980s". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
External links
- 1893 births
- 1981 deaths
- African-American musicians
- American blues guitarists
- American male guitarists
- Memphis blues musicians
- American blues singer-songwriters
- Blues revival musicians
- Country blues singers
- American buskers
- Fat Possum Records artists
- Songster musicians
- People from Greenwood, Mississippi
- Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee
- Vocalion Records artists
- Victor Records artists
- Barclay Records artists
- Universal Records artists
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American guitarists
- Songwriters from Tennessee
- Songwriters from Mississippi
- Guitarists from Mississippi
- Guitarists from Tennessee
- 20th-century male musicians