Furry Lewis

Walter " Furry " Lewis ( born March 6, 1893 in Greenwood, Mississippi; † September 14, 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee ) was an American blues guitarist and singer.

He was one of the most important representatives of the Memphis blues and one of the first blues veterans who were "rediscovered" in the wake of the American blues revival of the 1960s. Among his most famous pieces include Billy Lyons & Stack -o -Lee, Judge Harsh Blues and Kassie Jones.

Career

Nicknamed the " Furry " (Eng. furry ) he received as a child. His parents, Walter and Victoria, still separated before his birth, the children stayed with their mother. At the age of 7, his family moved to Memphis, where a certain "Blind Joe" who taught him to play the guitar. From him he learned two of his most famous pieces, Kassie Jones and John Henry.

Early on, Lewis played in pubs and on the street, a few times in the orchestra of WC Handy, who, together with the bar owner Chad Fields, gave him his first guitar, which he was to play for 20 years. At times, he also appeared in Medicine shows, know the Dr. Willie Lewis, he met Jim Jackson.

1916 Lewis lost a leg when he snagged when popping up on a train with his foot in the clutch. Nevertheless, he drew still around as a musician and has appeared on with Gus Cannon, Will Shade, Memphis Minnie, Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Texas Alexander and Frank Stokes.

In 1923 he was employed by the City Cleaning in Memphis, where he worked until his retirement in 1968. In 1925 he teamed up with Will Shade, Dewey Thomas and Hambone Lewis to Memphis Jug Band together. Early 1927 he and Jim Jackson was discovered by talent scouts; on April 20 of this year he was accompanied by Landers Waller as a second guitarist, with some pieces by Charles Johnson on mandolin, in Chicago his first recordings for the label Vocalion Records. Three more recording sessions, this time always solo, followed in October 1927 ( also in Chicago ), and in August 1928 and September 1929 respectively in Memphis. The Great Depression ended in 1929 his recording career, but he also appeared in the coming decades on a regular basis, especially in the Beale Street, but also at private parties.

Age

1959 Furry Lewis was rediscovered by Sam Charters and until his death in 1981, considerable success. He played at festivals and appeared on the Johnny Carson Show.

1976, five years before his death, Joni Mitchell Hejira LP released on their song " Furry Sings The Blues" about him, which, however, displeased him.

Swell

• Neil Slaven, Blues in Memphis, in: Masters of Memphis Blues, CD Booklet A, JSP Records, 2004

• American musician
• Blues musicians
• Guitarist
• Born in 1893
• Died in 1981
• Man