Jerry McCain, an extraordinary blues singer and harmonica player, died on March 28 in Gadsden, AL, the same town where he was born and lived his life. I will remember him most for his songs, which were sometimes topical and often filled with wry humor.
McCain said he learned to play the harmonica because it was the only musical instrument he could afford. As a young man, his role model was Chicago harmonica player Little Walter. When Walter played in Gadsden in 1953, McCain and his band showed him around town and Walter invited him to join him on stage. McCain said that, in the darkened club, some people couldn't tell when Walter stopped playing and he began. This gave him the courage to send a demo to Lillian McMurrray's legendary Trumpet Records in Jackson, MS. Trumpet was the label for which Sonny Boy Williamson (#2—Aleck Miller) first recorded, as well as Elmore James, Willie Love, Arthur Crudup and Big Joe Williams.
His first Trumpet session was on October 10, 1953. It produced his first single, “Wine-O-Wine”/”East of the Sun” (Trumpet 217), credited to Jerry “Boogie” McCain, a billing that stuck with him for the rest of his career. “Wine-O-Wine” was loosely based on Stick McGhee's 1949 hit, “Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee.” I consider “East of the Sun” to be the better side, despite the odd combination of McCain's harmonica and Bernard Williams' tenor sax. McCain had a second Trumpet session the following year, at which he recorded “Stay Out of Automobiles,” a cautionary tale about unwanted pregnancy.
When Trumpet folded, he recorded six singles for Excello Records in Nashville, including the popular “Courtin' in a Cadillac.” His biggest hit, however, was the catchy “She's Tough,” which was released on Rex Records in New Orleans in 1960.
McCain recorded more-or-less continuously for the remainder of his life, up through his 2000 CDThis Stuff Just Kills Me, on which he tackled the problem of addiction. His latter day reputation is based primarily on four excellent CDs he recorded for Ichiban Records between 1989 and 1993. Here's a favorite song of mine from that period.
In 2005, blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd traveled around the country to make a CD and a documentary film about some of the blues pioneers who were still performing (some of whom have since passed away). McCain's “Potato Patch” was a highlight of the CD. Here's a clip from the video which shows him being interviewed in his home. McCain was always an outspoken advocate for the blues.
I didn't learn of Jerry McCain's death until more than a month after it happened. His obituary did not appear in any major U. S. newspapers; however, it was noted by The Guardian in Great Britain.
Big Walter Price (1917-2012)
Big Walter Price was the “other” Big Walter, to distinguish him from Big Walter Horton, the Memphis to Chicago harmonica player who was once a member of Muddy Waters' band. Walter Price was a strong vocalist and barrelhouse piano player who grew up in East Texas and spent his life in the Houston area. He died on March 7 in a nursing home at the age of 94. He is best known for four singles he recorded for Don Robey's Peacock label in 1955 and 1956. The most successful of these was “Pack Fair and Square,” a song with a strong resemblance to Joe Turner's “Flip, Flop and Fly.”
Many of Price's recordings were done in the swamp-pop style that was popular in East Texas and Louisiana. They were released on smaller local labels or were self-releases. Price is also known for having introduced Texas blues singer-guitarist Albert Collins. Here's a rare recording of Price singing “My Tears” in 1963, accompanied by Collins. As far as I know, it is unavailable on CD.
Eddie King (1938-2012)
Eddie King was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, known both as a soul-shouting vocalist and an exciting instrumentalist. He was born Edward Milton in Talledega, AL and moved to Chicago in 1954. He died in Peoria, IL on March 14. He was part of Chicago's second generation West Side blues scene, along with Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Luther Allison, Eddie C. Campbell and others. He was billed as “Little Eddie” due to his short stature, and he took the last name King because of his admiration for B. B. King.
His first recording was in 1960 on J.O.B. Records, “Love You, Baby”/”Shakin' Inside.” He performed and recorded duets with his sister, Mae Bee Mae. He was lead guitarist for Koko Taylor for 20 years, after which he formed his own group, the Swamp Bees. Eddie King was a quality artist who was underrecorded and largely unknown outside of Chicago. His 1997 CD, Another Cow's Dead, won a Handy Award for best comeback album of the year and I highly recommend it.
