Lafayette Leake

Lafayette Leake ( born June 1, 1920 in Winona, Mississippi; † August 14, 1990 in Chicago, Illinois ) was an American blues pianist.

Life

Leake is certainly one of the unsung heroes of the Bluesmusik.Da he was not keen to be beyond his music in the spotlight, little is known about his life. He grew up in a musical family in which a lot of different styles were maintained, from classical to blues. His ability to process every kind of music was remarkable by ear. That and his technique made ​​him an important part of Chicago's blues scene in the early 1950s - years.

He was a member of the Big Three Trio, where he replaced Leonard Caston, in the early 1950s and the bass player Willie Dixon, he remained his entire lifetime. When Dixon went to Chess Records as a songwriter and producer, Leake was there. He played in all of Dixon produced songs and beside still many other sessions. He played as the piano on Chuck Berry's " Johnny B. Goode ". The list of musicians, whom he accompanied as a who's who reads the blues. ( Chuck Berry, Howlin 'Wolf, Billy Boy Arnold, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Little Walter, Homesick James, Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor and many others) in the 1960s, Willie Dixon was the Chicago Blues All-Stars, whose pianist was Leake. With this band he toured until the mid - 1970s, after which he made only a few tours and recordings. Noteworthy was his appearance at the Chicago Blues - Festival in 1986 with Chuck Berry and Keith Richards and 1988 he played on Willie Dixon's " Hidden Charms " piano. Lafayette Leaks died in August 1990 from the effects of a diabetes coma after he was undiscovered for several days in his house.

Besides his work as a session musician, he recorded their own albums, but what only in the 1970s - came years. ( Might Is Right, Soul Wrinkles both in the 1960s; Feel So Blue ( 1978) Black & Blue (France) reissued as Easy Blues (2002) )

Others

Also, as a songwriter, he was active, with some of his songs have been covered, such as "Love That Woman " by Fleetwood Mac on their album The Original Fleetwood Mac. His song " Wrinkles " ( sung by the Big Three Trio) was part of the soundtrack to David Lynch's "Wild at Heart". The American band Slo Leak named after an instrumental track leaks.