Brown's date and place of birth are uncertain; many sources state that he was born in 1910 in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, but the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest that he was born in 1903 or 1904, in Jackson, Tennessee, on the basis of Social Security information.[1] When applying for his musicians union card, he gave his birthdate as July 15, 1914. He was reputedly the half-brother of Big Bill Broonzy.[2] He moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1920s, performing as a street musician with Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon.[3] He moved to Chicago in 1932, performing regularly with Broonzy and other musicians, including Memphis Slim and Tampa Red, in many recording sessions for Lester Melrose of Bluebird Records.[3]
In 1935, he began recording in his own right for both Bluebird and Vocalion Records,[4] becoming one of the most popular Chicago blues performers of the late 1930s and 1940s, selling numerous records and playing to packed audiences. He recorded over 160 tracks in those decades.[5] His strong voice and songwriting talent overcame his stylistic limitations.[6]
By the 1950s, his audience had begun to shrink, largely because he had difficulty adapting to the new electric blues.[3] His final recording session, for RCA Victor, was in 1949. He retired from music for several years and became a Chicago police officer.[7] He recorded a session in 1953 with Broonzy and Memphis Slim. Samuel Charters included Brown's "I've Been Treated Wrong" on the compilation album The Country Blues for Folkways Records in 1959. Brown made a modest and short-lived comeback as a live performer in the early 1960s.[3]
He died of heart disease in Chicago, in November 1966,[2] and was buried in an unmarked grave at the Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery, in Homewood, Illinois.
Memorial
A concert organized by the executive producer Steve Salter, of the Killer Blues organization,[8] was held on September 18, 2009, at the Howmet Playhouse Theater,[9] in Whitehall, Michigan, to raise monies for a headstone for Washboard Sam's grave. The show was a success, and a headstone was placed in October 2009. The concert was recorded by Vinyl Wall Productions and filmed for television broadcast in the central Michigan area by a television crew from Central Michigan University.[10] It featured musical artists such as Washboard Jo[11] and R.B. and Co. and was headlined by the Big House Blues Band.[12][13]
References
^ abEagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 241. ISBN978-0313344237.
^ abcdDoc Rock. "The 1960s". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
^ abcd"Washboard Sam / Robert Brown". Thebluestrail.com. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
^Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 13. ISBN1-85868-255-X.
^Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 180. ISBN1-85868-255-X.
washboard, robert, clifford, brown, july, 1910, november, 1966, known, professionally, american, blues, musician, singer, background, informationbirth, namerobert, clifford, brownborn, 1910, july, 1910walnut, ridge, arkansas, united, statesdiednovember, 1966, . Robert Clifford Brown 1 July 15 1910 November 6 1966 2 known professionally as Washboard Sam was an American blues musician and singer 2 Washboard SamBackground informationBirth nameRobert Clifford BrownBorn 1910 07 15 July 15 1910Walnut Ridge Arkansas United StatesDiedNovember 6 1966 1966 11 06 aged 56 Chicago Illinois United StatesGenresBluesOccupation s Singer songwriterInstrument s Vocals washboardYears active1920s 1960sLabelsBluebird Vocalion RCA Victor Folkways Contents 1 Biography 2 Memorial 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditBrown s date and place of birth are uncertain many sources state that he was born in 1910 in Walnut Ridge Arkansas but the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest that he was born in 1903 or 1904 in Jackson Tennessee on the basis of Social Security information 1 When applying for his musicians union card he gave his birthdate as July 15 1914 He was reputedly the half brother of Big Bill Broonzy 2 He moved to Memphis Tennessee in the 1920s performing as a street musician with Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon 3 He moved to Chicago in 1932 performing regularly with Broonzy and other musicians including Memphis Slim and Tampa Red in many recording sessions for Lester Melrose of Bluebird Records 3 In 1935 he began recording in his own right for both Bluebird and Vocalion Records 4 becoming one of the most popular Chicago blues performers of the late 1930s and 1940s selling numerous records and playing to packed audiences He recorded over 160 tracks in those decades 5 His strong voice and songwriting talent overcame his stylistic limitations 6 By the 1950s his audience had begun to shrink largely because he had difficulty adapting to the new electric blues 3 His final recording session for RCA Victor was in 1949 He retired from music for several years and became a Chicago police officer 7 He recorded a session in 1953 with Broonzy and Memphis Slim Samuel Charters included Brown s I ve Been Treated Wrong on the compilation album The Country Blues for Folkways Records in 1959 Brown made a modest and short lived comeback as a live performer in the early 1960s 3 He died of heart disease in Chicago in November 1966 2 and was buried in an unmarked grave at the Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood Illinois Memorial EditA concert organized by the executive producer Steve Salter of the Killer Blues organization 8 was held on September 18 2009 at the Howmet Playhouse Theater 9 in Whitehall Michigan to raise monies for a headstone for Washboard Sam s grave The show was a success and a headstone was placed in October 2009 The concert was recorded by Vinyl Wall Productions and filmed for television broadcast in the central Michigan area by a television crew from Central Michigan University 10 It featured musical artists such as Washboard Jo 11 and R B and Co and was headlined by the Big House Blues Band 12 13 References Edit a b Eagle Bob LeBlanc Eric S 2013 Blues A Regional Experience Santa Barbara California Praeger p 241 ISBN 978 0313344237 a b c d Doc Rock The 1960s TheDeadRockStarsClub com Retrieved 2015 08 30 a b c d Washboard Sam Robert Brown Thebluestrail com Retrieved November 19 2011 Russell Tony 1997 The Blues From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray Dubai Carlton Books p 13 ISBN 1 85868 255 X Russell Tony 1997 The Blues From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray Dubai Carlton Books p 180 ISBN 1 85868 255 X Colin Larkin ed 1995 The Guinness Who s Who of Blues Second ed Guinness Publishing p 59 ISBN 0 85112 673 1 Pearlin Victor 1993 Washboard Sam Complete Recorded Works vol 7 31 July 1942 to 27 October 1949 Document Records Killer Blues Headstone Project Killerblues net Retrieved 2015 08 30 Whitehall s Historic Howmet Playhouse Howmetplayhouse org Retrieved 2015 08 30 Central Michigan University Cmich edu Retrieved 2015 08 30 Washboard Jo Burke WashboardJo com Retrieved 2015 08 30 BHBB Classic Blues and Blues Rock Bighousebluesband com Retrieved 2015 08 30 Verschueren Nancy 2009 09 09 Event Will Raise Funds to Honor Deceased Musician MLive com Retrieved 2015 08 30 External links EditWashboard Sam at Find a Grave Washboard Sam recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Washboard Sam amp oldid 1079817535, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
