Boogie Bill Webb | |
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Born | Jackson, Mississippi, United States | March 24, 1924
Died | August 22, 1990 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | (aged 66)
Genres | Louisiana blues, R&B, country blues, electric blues [1] |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist, singer, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1947–1990 |
Labels | Imperial, Flying Fish |
Boogie Bill Webb (March 24, 1924 – August 22, 1990) [2] was an American Louisiana blues and rhythm-and-blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. His music combined Mississippi country blues with New Orleans R&B. [1] His best-known recordings are "Bad Dog" and "Drinkin' and Stinkin'". [2] Despite a lengthy (albeit intermittent) career, Webb released only one album. [1]
Webb was born in Jackson, Mississippi. His got his first guitar at the age of eight, made from a cigar box and strung with screen wire. [1] His greatest influence was Tommy Johnson. [3] With a real guitar obtained when he was a teenager, he won a talent show in 1947. He subsequently appeared briefly in the musical film The Jackson Jive. He moved to New Orleans in 1952. [1]
In New Orleans Webb became friends with Fats Domino and was thus introduced to Dave Bartholomew and obtained a recording contract with Imperial Records, for which Domino and Bartholomew recorded. [3] In 1953 Webb released his debut single, "Bad Dog," a noncommercial slice of country boogie-woogie. Frustrated by lack of recognition, Webb relocated to Chicago, where he worked in factories. [1] There he met and played with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, and Chuck Berry. [4]
Webb returned to New Orleans in 1959 to work as a stevedore, performing music infrequently. However, in 1968 he recorded several songs for the folklorist David Evans, which eventually appeared on the Arhoolie Records album Roosevelt Holts and His Friends. [3] The 1972 compilation album The Legacy of Tommy Johnson contains five tracks recorded by Webb. [5]
Exposure at home and in Europe led to visits to Webb from blues fans and invitations to tour. In 1982 he appeared at the Utrecht Festival, in the Netherlands. [1] In 1989, with financial assistance from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, he released the album Drinkin' and Stinkin'. [1] An encounter with three women who had been out drinking for three days without bathing inspired the lyrics of the title track. [6]
Webb died in New Orleans in August 1990, at the age of 66. [2]