On this day, 24 May the deaths of; David I King of Scots (1153), famed beauty Jane Leveson-Gower Hyde (1725), Scottish golfer and four-time Open Champion Old Tom Morris (1908) and …
#RIP #OTD in 1543 polymath, mathematician, astronomer, physician, classics scholar, translator, governor, diplomat, economist, Nicolaus Copernicus died in Frombork, Poland at the age of 70. Frombork Cathedral
| Elmore James | |
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On this day in 1963, United States Navy veteran, blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, King of the Slide Guitar, Elmore James died from a heart attack in Chicago at the age of 45. Born Elmore Brooks on January 27, 1918 in Richland, Mississippi. He was known as “King of the Slide Guitar” and was noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.
He began recording with Trumpet Records in Jackson in January 1951, first as a sideman for Sonny Boy Williamson II (see below). He made his debut as a session leader in August with “Dust My Broom”, which was a surprise R&B hit in 1952. His backing musicians became known as the Broomdusters.
James broke his contract with Trumpet Records to sign with the Bihari brothers through their scout Ike Turner, who played guitar and piano on a couple of his early Bihari recordings. His “I Believe” was a hit a year later. He also recorded for Chess Records.
In 1959, he began recording for Bobby Robinson’s Fire Records, which released “The Sky Is Crying”, “My Bleeding Heart”, “Stranger Blues”, “Look on Yonder Wall”, “Done Somebody Wrong”, and “Shake Your Moneymaker”, among others.
The Final Footprint
He was buried in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery, in Ebenezer, Mississippi.
| Sonny Boy Williamson II | |
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On this day in 1965, blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter Sonny Boy Williamson II died from a heart attack in Helena, Arkansas at the age of 52. Born Alex or Aleck Miller (né Ford), possibly on December 5, 1912 in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. He was an early and influential blues harp stylist who recorded successfully in the 1950s and 1960s. Miller used various names, including Rice Miller and Little Boy Blue, before calling himself Sonny Boy Williamson, which was also the name of a popular Chicago blues singer and harmonica player. To distinguish the two, Miller has been referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson II.
He first recorded with Elmore James (see above) on “Dust My Broom”. Some of his popular songs include “Don’t Start Me Talkin'”, “Help Me”, “Checkin’ Up on My Baby”, and “Bring It On Home”. He toured Europe with the American Folk Blues Festival and recorded with English rock musicians, including the Yardbirds, the Animals, and Jimmy Page. “Help Me” became a blues standard, and many blues and rock artists have recorded his songs.
The Final Footprint
Williamson is buried on New Africa Road, just outside Tutwiler, Mississippi at the site of the former Whitman Chapel cemetery. Trumpet Records owner McMurry provided the headstone with an incorrect date of death.
On this day in 1974, Grammy award-winning composer, pianist and big band leader, Duke Ellington died of lung cancer in New York City at the age of 75. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington on 29 April 1899 in Washington, D. C. In my opinion, one of the most prominent figures in jazz and one of the greatest composers. His music spanned other genres including blues, gospel, film scores, popular and classical. Ellington was married to Edna Thompson. Ellington was awarded the NAACP Springarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Richard Nixon, and The French Legion of Honor.
The Final Footprint – Ellington is interred in the Ellington private estate in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. The estate is marked by two large granite crosses flanking a large tree. One of the crosses has the inscription; THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD. His grave is marked by a flat granite marker. Ella Fitzgerald said, “It’s a very sad day. A genius has passed.” Numerous memorials have been dedicated to Duke Ellington, in cities from New York (The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival, Duke Ellington Boulevard and Duke Ellington Circle) and Washington, D. C. (The Duke Ellington School of Arts and Duke Ellington Bridge) to Los Angeles (a statue at the entrance to UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall). Many songs and albums have been written and dedicated to Ellington. My favorite tribute song is Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke”. Ellington was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. Other notable Final Footprints at Woodlawn include; Irving Berlin, Miles Davis, Fiorello La Guardia, Rowland Macy, Bat Masterson, Herman Melville, LeRoy Neiman, J. C. Penney, and Joseph Pulitzer.
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