Henry Jay Lewis, musician and conductor, was born October 16, 1932 in Los Angeles to automobile dealer Henry J. Lewis, and nurse Mary Josephine Lewis. Lewis started playing the piano when he was five, and in junior high he learned to play the double bass … Read MoreHenry Jay Lewis (1932-1996)
Paul Dusenbury was a multi-talented visual artist, musician, teacher, and proponent of the synthesis of many art expressions. His explorations, infectious inspiration, and originality were well appreciated throughout the Seattle, Washington area where he taught and worked. He expressed caring relationships, and art that combined … Read MorePaul R. Dusenbury (1935-1998)
Tommy Johnson is one of the most exemplary of all the Delta bluesmen. Though he recorded only fourteen titles between 1928 and 1930, almost all of these compositions became classics: for example “Big Road Blues,” “Cool Drink of Water,” and “Slidin’ Delta.” One of them, … Read MoreTommy Johnson (1896-1956)
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)
Idlewild, Michigan, was one of the leading African American resorts in the era of Jim Crow segregation. White land developers marketed Idlewild as an all-Negro resort town in Lake County, Michigan, about 300 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois and 250 miles north of Detroit, through … Read MoreIdlewild, Michigan (1912- )
Historians have documented the arrival of black people in Britain as members of the Roman Army. The first reference to a black African in Britain in the historical record is at a Roman military settlement at Carlisle, in ca. 210 AD. Shortly after, in the … Read MoreJohn Blanke (16th Century)
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was born November 21, 1904, in Saint Joseph, Missouri. He began his musical education early with lessons on both the piano and cello. Despite parental encouragement towards more classic instruments, Hawkins focused on the saxophone after he received a “C melody” tenor … Read MoreColeman Hawkins (1904-1969)
Ray Charles Robinson, a talented musician, singer, and composer, was one of the first African American artists to merge the blues with gospel to pave the way for rhythm and blues (R&B) music. Robinson was born September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia. At age five, … Read MoreRay Charles (1930-2004)
