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Charlie Burse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charlie Burse(August 25, 1901 – December 20, 1965)[1]was an Americanbluesmusician, best known for his work with theMemphis Jug Band.His nicknames included "Laughing Charlie," "Uke Kid Burse" and "The Ukulele Kid."[2]The "uke" in his nicknames referred to the first instrument he was known for, the tenor banjo, which was commonly called a "ukulele-banjo" in the South.[3]Later photographs show him with a tenor guitar, a similar instrument that he played in the same tuning.

Biography

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Career

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Burse was raised inSheffield, Alabamaby his father—a hotel cook—and mother, along with seven siblings.[4]During the 1920s, he moved to Jackson, where he met his wife, Birdie Crawford, and had three children.[5]He then moved his family toMemphis, Tennesseein 1928.[6]Burse played manymusical instruments,including the piano, saxophone andspoons,[7]but was only recorded on guitar,tenor guitarandmandolin.

As a singer and multi-instrumentalist, Burse recorded over 60 commercial sides withWill Shade'sMemphis Jug Band.Burse was described as a "smart mouth"[5]and Roger Brown remarked that he was "boisterous" and "the most irrepressible person I've ever met."[8]This contrasted with Shade, who was businesslike and orderly in managing the band.[7]Yet Burse became Shade's most frequent collaborator and a key member of the jug band in subsequent years. Shade and Burse were recorded by blues researchersSamuel Chartersin 1956 andAlan Lomaxin 1959, and appeared on a Memphis TV special called "Blues Street" in 1958.[9]In 1963, the pair made one of their last recordings,Beale Street Mess-Around.[7]They continued to perform together on street corners or private parties until Burse's death.[10]Their renown revived toward the end of their lives, beginning with their rediscovery by Charters.[7]

Burse participated in other projects, being photographed with an outfit called theSchlitzJug Band (named for their sponsor, a beer brewer) in the early 1930s, and recording as Charlie Burse and His Memphis Mudcats in 1939.[7]The Memphis Mudcats updated the traditional jug band lineup, adding drums instead ofwashboard,bass instead ofjug,and saxophone instead of harmonica.[10]He achieved an even more modern, piano-driven sound in 1950 with "Shorty the Barber," one of the first tracks recorded bySam PhillipsatSun Studios.

Memphis nightclub owner Robert Henry credited Burse for inspiringElvis Presley's signature "leg shake": "He would watch the coloured singers, understand me, and then he got to doing it the same way as them," Henry said. "He got that shaking, that wiggle, from Charlie Burse, Ukulele Ike we called him, right there at the Gray Mule onBeale."[11]

Burse's brother, Robert, performed and recorded on washboard with the Memphis Jug Band and performed on washtub bass with the Will Batts Novelty Band.[2]His sister, Fannie Carter, worked as a burlesque dancer,[5]and her son Robert Carter played guitar with the Memphis Jug Band from at least 1940 on, adding electric guitar on their 1959 session with Alan Lomax.[12]

Burse died ofheart diseaseon December 20, 1965, and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery inMemphis, Tennessee.[13]He was survived by his wife Birdie, children Charlie Jr., Lucille and Connie, and seven grandchildren.[14]On May 8, 2019,Mount Zion Memorial Fundunveiled a new headstone for Burse in a ceremony.[15]

References

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  1. ^Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013).Blues – A Regional Experience.Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 142.ISBN978-0-313-34423-7.
  2. ^abSpringer, Robert (July 1977). "I Never Did Like to Imitate Nobody".Blues Unlimited.
  3. ^Olsson, Bengt (1970).Memphis Blues.November Books Limited. p. 29.ISBN0-289-70033-7.
  4. ^Robert Burse,United States census,1910; Sheffield, Colbert, Alabama; page 12A, line 41, enumeration district 172. Retrieved on August 29, 2017.
  5. ^abcBurse, Perdido (August 17, 2017). "Interview with Perdido Burse" (Interview). Interviewed by Arlo Leach.
  6. ^Hay, Fred (2001).Goin' Back to Sweet Memphis: Conversations with the Blues.University of Georgia Press. p. 165.ISBN0-8203-2301-2.
  7. ^abcdeBiography by Eugene Chadbourne,AllMusic.Retrieved October 15, 2016
  8. ^Brown, Roger (December 1, 2015). "Interview with Roger Brown" (Interview). Interviewed by Arlo Leach.
  9. ^"Will Shade and Charlie Burse".YouTube.RetrievedFebruary 11,2022.
  10. ^ab"Charlie Burse".Archived fromthe originalon August 14, 2006.RetrievedJune 1,2006.
  11. ^McKee, Margaret (1993).Beale Black and Blue: Life and Music on Black America's Main Street.LSU Press. p. 94.ISBN978-0-8071-1886-3.
  12. ^"Robert Carter".Association for Cultural Equity.RetrievedFebruary 11,2022.
  13. ^"Charlie" Uke "Burse".Thedeadrockstarsclub.com.RetrievedJuly 1,2010.Charlie "Uke" Burse - Died 12-20-1965 - Heart disease (Blues) Born 8-25-1901 in Decatur, Alabama, U.S. - (He recorded, "Brand New Day Blues" and "Too Much Beef" ).
  14. ^Burse Wesson, Cynthia (June 8, 2017). "Interview with Cynthia Burse Wesson" (Interview). Interviewed by Arlo Leach.
  15. ^"Headstone Dedication for the Late Memphis Bluesman Charlie Burse".Thedeltareview.com.May 8, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 28,2021.