Eddie "Guitar" Burns
Eddie "Guitar" Burns ( born February 8, 1928 in Belzoni, Mississippi; † 13 December 2012) was an American guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter of the Detroit blues.
Life and work
Burns was a child of a country farmer ( Sharecropper ) and grew up mainly by his grandparents on. He taught himself the harmonica at and also built his first guitar itself
Influenced by Sonny Boy Williamson I and Big Bill Broonzy moved Burns in 1948 to Detroit, which in the postwar years had a thriving blues scene, which was led by John Lee Hooker. His first single Notoriety Woman showed his mastery of the harmonica, but he turned in the next few years playing the guitar, even when shooting with John Lee Hooker. At this time he performed regularly as " Big Daddy ," " Little Eddie", or "Big Ed" in Detroit nightclubs; but as he could not live with them, he worked as a mechanic. The mid- 1950s he took for Checker Records and Chess Records two singles that but not sold. During the 1960s he recorded several singles, now under his name Eddie "Guitar" Burns. Also on Hooker's album The Real Folk Blues from 1966 he can be heard as a guitarist.
During a European tour in 1972, he took in London, his first album, Bottle Up & Go on. In 1994 he was awarded the Michigan Heritage Award. His younger brother Jimmy Burns is a successful soul blues singer and guitarist. On the album Snake Eyes, he accompanied Eddie Burns as a guitarist. His last album took Burns in 2005 at the age of 77 years. His last appearance was with Little Sonny Burns on the Motor City Blues and Boogie Woogie Festival 2008.