Hidden Figures: Memphis Minnie #BlackHERstoryMonth 15/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Memphis Minnie #BlackHERstoryMonth 15/28

Lizzie Douglas, known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted from the 1920s to the 1950s. Memphis Minnie has been described as "the most popular female country blues singer of all time”. She was an influence on later singers, such as Big Mama Thornton, Jo Ann Kelly, and Erin Harpe, and she was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1980. Douglas was born on June 3, 1897, in Algiers, Louisiana. She learned to play the banjo by the age of 10 and the guitar by the age of 11, when she started playing at parties; in 1910, at the age of 13, she ran away from home to play music on Beale St. in Memphis. She performed on street corners for most of her teenage years, and her sidewalk performances led to a tour of the South with the Ringling Brothers Circus from 1916 to 1920. She then went back to Beale Street, with its thriving blues scene, and made her living by playing guitar and singing. She began performing with Joe McCoy, a Delta Blues musician that she would later marry, in 1929. They were discovered by a talent scout for Columbia Records and went to record in New York City, given the names Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie by a Columbia A&R man. Over the next few years she and McCoy released a series of records, performing as a duet. In February 1930 they recorded the song "Bumble Bee,” which became one of Minnie's most popular songs; she eventually recorded five versions of it. Minnie and McCoy continued to record together until September 1934, before divorcing in 1935. By 1935, Minnie was established in Chicago and had become one of a group of musicians who worked regularly for the record producer and talent scout Lester Melrose. Back on her own after her divorce from McCoy, Minnie began to experiment with different styles and sounds. She released dozens of records during this period and also toured extensively in the 1930s, mainly in the South. In 1938 Minnie married the guitarist and singer Ernest Lawlars, known as Little Son Joe, and they began recording together in 1939, with Son adding a more rhythmic backing to Minnie's guitar. They recorded for Okeh Records in the 1940s and continued to record together through the decade. By 1941 Minnie had started playing electric guitar, and in May of that year she recorded her biggest hit, "Me and My Chauffeur Blues". Minnie continued to record into the 1950s, but her health began to decline. With public interest in her music waning, she retired from her musical career, and in 1957 she and Lawlars returned to Memphis. Periodically, she appeared on Memphis radio stations to encourage young blues musicians. She suffered a stroke in 1960, which left her confined to a wheelchair; she died of another stroke in 1973. She is buried at the New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery, in Mississippi. ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren Follow me on social media! Twitter: @seren_sensei Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: I'm A Bad Luck Woman - MEMPHIS MINNIE (1936) Memphis Blues Guitar Legend (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPGzKEhQUsw Memphis Minnie - Kissing In The Dark (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH8_WH5aRqo Memphis Minnie - Hoodoo Lady Blues (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhis33IOXN0 Memphis Minnie: http://memphisminnie.com Memphis Minnie - Memphis Music Hall of Fame: http://memphismusichalloffame.com/inductee/memphisminnie/ Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnie's Blues (Google Books): https://books.google.com/books?id=IerXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA140&dq=%22no+royalties%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22no%20royalties%22&f=false 'The Legends - Memphis Minnie:' http://sheshredsmag.com/legends-memphis-minnie/ Memphis Minnie: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/memphis-minnie-mn0000352499/biography Minnie, Memphis: http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/memphis-minnie Memphis Minnie (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Minnie