Charley Patton, born in Hinds County, Mississippi near the town of Edwards, is by consensus the Father of Delta blues and one of the most important American musicians of the 20th century. Legendary bluesmen Son House, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, … Read MoreCharley Patton (1891-1934)
John Adam “Sleepy” Estes, born into a sharecropping family just outside of Ripley, Tennessee but raised in Brownsville, was a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and generally recognized as one of the most important artists in blues history. He got the nickname “Sleepy” from his frequent naps. … Read MoreJohn Adam “Sleepy” Estes (1904-1977)
Image Courtesy of Carl Lender (CC BY-SA 2.0) Delta blues and boogie-woogie piano master Willie “Pinetop” Perkins was born on the Honey Island plantation near Belzoni, Mississippi on July 7, 1913. During his career, Perkins played with some of the best known blues and rock … Read MoreJoseph William “Pinetop” Perkins (1913–2011)
Herbert “Herbie” Julian Hancock is an African American pianist, composer, bandleader, and keyboardist, with a career spanning over five decades. Hancock was born on April 12, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Winne Belle Griffin, a secretary and Waymand Edward Hancock, a government meat … Read MoreHerbie Hancock (1940- )
In 1925, Josephine Baker took Paris, France by storm, appearing on stage in “La Revue Negre” wearing nothing but a skirt of artificial bananas in Danse Sauvage. Born Josephine Freda MacDonald in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906, she was nicknamed “Tumpy” because she … Read MoreJosephine Baker (1906-1975)
Eartha Mae Kitt was born on January 26, 1928, in the city of North in South Carolina. Her sharecropper parents abandoned Kitt and her half-sister as young children, forcing them to live with a foster family until they moved to New York City, New York … Read MoreEartha Mae Kitt (1928-2008)
