Nathan Beauregard

Nathan Beauregard (front left) on cover of Arhoolie LP 1084

Nathan Beauregard, real name Nathan Bogard, (*1887, 1893 or 1896 in Colbert, Mississippi; died May 15, 1970 in Memphis, Tennessee) was an African-American blues singer and guitarist.

Born blind, Beauregard soon became a musician, his repertoire consisting of songs of the pre-blues era and dance tunes like "Spoonful" and "Pretty Bunch of Daisies". When he was in his thirties, in the times of the "race recordings" of the 1920s, he saw many blues musicians with minor talent make a fortune as a recording artist while he himself was not offered such a chance.

During the folk and blues revival of the 1960s Beauregard was "discovered" in Memphis by Bill Barth, who convinced him to work as a musician again. In the short time between his "discovery" in 1968 and his death in 1970, he played at various folk and blues festivals (e.g. the 1968 Memphis Country Blues Festival, which has been recorded on the Sire and Blue Horizon labels) and on a number of compilation albums on such labels as Blue Thumb, Arhoolie und Adelphi.

References

• Chris Smith: Trying to make a hundred (99 and a half ain't true).- Blues & Rhythm 217 (2007), p. 25

External links

• Illustrated Nathan Beauregard discography
• "The Real True Story of How I Found Nathan Beauregard and Got Him to Play Music Again" by Bill Barth