Bumble Bee Slim
Bumble Bee Slim | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Admirl Amos Easton |
| Born | May 7, 1905 Brunswick,Georgia,U.S. |
| Died | June 8, 1968(aged 63) Los Angeles,California,U.S. |
| Genres | Piedmont blues |
| Instruments | |
| Labels | |
Admirl Amos Easton(May 7, 1905 – June 8, 1968),[1][2]better known by thestage nameBumble Bee Slim,was anAmericanPiedmont bluessinger and guitarist.[2]
Biography
[edit]Easton was born inBrunswick, Georgia,United States.[3]Several original sources confirm that he spelled his first name "Admirl".[4]Around 1920 he joined theRingling Brotherscircus. He then returned to Georgia and was briefly married before heading north on a freight train toIndianapolis,where he settled in 1928. There he met and was influenced by thepianistLeroy Carrand theguitaristScrapper Blackwell.[2]
By 1931 he had moved toChicago,where he made his firstrecordings,as Bumble Bee Slim, forParamount Records.[3]The following year hissong"B&O Blues" was ahitforVocalion Records,inspiring several other railroad blues and eventually becoming a popularfolksong.[3]In the next five years, he recorded over 150 songs forDecca Records,Bluebird Recordsand Vocalion,[5]often accompanied by other musicians, includingBig Bill Broonzy,Peetie Wheatstraw,Tampa Red,Memphis Minnie,andWashboard Sam.
In 1937, he returned to Georgia. He relocated toLos Angeles,Californiain the early 1940s, apparently hoping to break intomotion picturesas asongwriterandcomedian.During the 1950s he recorded several albums, but they had little impact.[2]His last album was released in 1962 byPacific Jazz Records.[6]
He continued to perform in clubs around Los Angeles until he died in 1968.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013).Blues: A Regional Experience.Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 325.ISBN978-0313344237.
- ^abcdKoda, Cub(1905-05-07)."Bumble Bee Slim: Biography".AllMusic.com.Retrieved2016-11-08.
- ^abcColin Larkin,ed. (1995).The Guinness Who's Who of Blues(Second ed.).Guinness Publishing.p. 63.ISBN0-85112-673-1.
- ^Chris Smith, "Words Words Words: Amos Easton",Blues & Rhythm,#342, p.28, 2019
- ^Russell, Tony (1997).The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray.Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 96–97.ISBN1-85868-255-X.
- ^Eckenrode, Andrew."East Coast Piedmont Blues: Bumble Bee Slim".University of North Carolina at Asheville. Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2006.Retrieved29 December2013.
- ^"Bumble Bee Slim".Thebluestrail.com.Retrieved2016-11-08.
Other source
[edit]- Zolten, Jerry(September/October 1997). "The Rough and Rugged Road of Bumble Bee Slim".Living Blues,no. 135.
External links
[edit]
- 1905 births
- 1968 deaths
- Country blues musicians
- Piedmont blues musicians
- Chicago blues musicians
- West Coast blues musicians
- American blues singers
- Paramount Records artists
- Decca Records artists
- Bluebird Records artists
- Specialty Records artists
- Singers from Georgia (U.S. state)
- People from Brunswick, Georgia
- Vocalion Records artists
- 20th-century American singers