Teddy Darby
Theodore Roosevelt Darby, better known as Blind Teddy Darby (March 2, 1906 – December 1975), was an American blues singer and guitarist.[1]
Darby was born in Henderson, Kentucky. He moved to St. Louis with his family when he was a child.[1] His mother taught him to play guitar. He served some time for selling moonshine, and in 1926 he lost his eyesight because of glaucoma.[2]
He recorded from 1929 until 1937 under the names of "Blind Teddy Darby", "Blind Darby", "Blind Blues Darby" and "Blind Squire Turner" for the Paramount, Victor, Bluebird, Vocalion and Decca labels. In 1960 he was "rediscovered" and recorded by Pete Welding of Testament Records, yet the recordings from this session were never released.
Darby was a friend of fellow blues musician Peetie Wheatstraw. On December 21, 1941, Wheatstraw's 39th birthday, Darby was invited to go for a drive with Wheatstraw and two others, but Darby's wife objected. Wheatstraw and his two companions were killed when their car struck a standing freight train.[3]
In the late 1930s he gave up the blues and became an ordained deacon.[2]
His song "Built Right On The Ground" has been covered (under the title of "I Never Cried"), from the 1970s onwards, by John Miller (who first changed the title), Roy Book Binder, Howard Bursen, and Phil Heywood.
References
- ^ a b "Biography by Bruce Eder". Allmusic.com. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- ^ a b Barlow, William (1989). "Looking Up At Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture, pp. 267-68. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 0-87722-583-4.
- ^ Garon, Paul (1971). The Devil's Son-in-Law: The Story of Peetie Wheatstraw and His Songs. Studio Vista. p. 7. ASIN B008B1TAME. Reissued with ISBN 978-0882862668.
External links
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- 1906 births
- 1975 deaths
- African-American musicians
- American blues guitarists
- American male guitarists
- American blues singers
- American male singers
- Songwriters from Kentucky
- Blind musicians
- Blues musicians from Kentucky
- St. Louis blues musicians
- Paramount Records artists
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- 20th-century American singers
- Singers from Kentucky
- 20th-century American guitarists
- American music biography stubs