Eddie Boyd
Eddie Boyd | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Edward Riley Boyd |
Born | Shelby or near Stovall, Mississippi, U.S. | November 25, 1914
Died | July 13, 1994 Helsinki, Finland | (aged 79)
Genres | Blues |
Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Piano |
Years active | 1930s–1990s |
Labels | JOB, Chess |
Edward Riley Boyd
Life and career
Boyd was born either on Stovall's Plantation, near Clarksdale, Mississippi,[4] or on Frank Moore's Plantation, near Stovall, Mississippi.[2] He learned to play the guitar and the piano. His piano playing was influenced by the styles of Roosevelt Sykes and Leroy Carr.[3]
Boyd moved to the Beale Street district of Memphis, Tennessee, in 1936, where he played with his group, the Dixie Rhythm Boys. He then joined the Great Migration of African Americans north to the factories of Chicago in 1941.[4] He recorded for Bluebird Records, accompanying such musicians as Sonny Boy Williamson, Jazz Gillum, Muddy Waters, and Tampa Red, before making his first recordings under his own name, in 1947.[3]
He decided to produce his own recordings, and took two
He went on to record for a series of smaller labels in the 1950s, but an automobile accident in 1957 in which he was injured put his career on hold for a while.[3] Boyd toured Europe with Buddy Guy's band in 1965 as part of the American Folk Blues Festival.[4] He later toured and recorded with Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.
Unhappy with the racial discrimination faced in the United States, Boyd moved to Belgium, where he continued to perform and recorded ten blues records, the first being Praise to Helsinki (1970). He married his wife, Leila, in 1977.
Boyd died in 1994 at the
In 2009 a plaque was unveiled on a building at Helsinginkatu 12c in Helsinki, Finland, where Boyd had lived the last third of his life.
Discography
Studio albums
- Five Long Years (Fontana, 1966)
- Praise the Blues - Cuby + Blizzards & Eddie Boyd (Philips, 1967)
- Eddie Boyd and His Blues Band Featuring Peter Green (Decca, 1967)
- 7936 South Rhodes (Blue Horizon, 1968)
- Praise to Helsinki (Love Records, 1970)
- The Legacy of the Blues, vol. 10 (Sonet, 1974)
- Brotherhood (Finnish Blues Society, 1975)
- My Lady (Lobo, 1978)
- Soulful (Magic Angel, 1980)
- A Sad Day (Paris, 1980)
- Lover's Playground (Stockholm, 1984)
Live album
- Eddie Boyd Live (Storyville, 1976)
Compilations
- Vacation from the Blues (Jefferson, 1976)
- Rattin' and Runnin' Around (Crown Prince, 1981)
- No More of This Third Degree (Teldec, 1982)
- The Best of Eddie Boyd (P-Vine, 1984)
- Third Degree (Orbis/Charly, 1993)
- The Complete Recordings, vols. 1 and 2 (EPM, 2001, 2004)
- Eddie Boyd in Finland (Blue North, 2005)
- The Blues Is Here to Stay (Jasmine, 2013)
- Vacation from the Blues (Mojo, 2015)
Charting singles
- "Five Long Years" (J.O.B., 1952)
- "24 Hours" (Chess, 1953)
- "Third Degree" (Chess, 1953)
Guest appearances
With Magic Sam
- Give Me Time (Delmark, 1991; recorded 1968)
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995. Record Research. pp. 41–42.
- ^ ISBN 978-0313344237.
- ^ a b c d e Dahl, Bill. Eddie Boyd: Biography. AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ Eddie Boyd's Grave – Finnish Blues Magazine's Blues News (in Finnish)