Jazz Gillum
Jazz Gillum | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William McKinley Gillum |
| Born | September 11, 1904 |
William McKinley "Jazz" Gillum (September 11, 1902[1] or 1904 – March 29, 1966)[2] was an American blues harmonica player.
Biography
Gillum was born in
Gillum's recordings, under his own name and as a sideman, were included on many of the highly popular "Bluebird beat" recordings produced by Lester Melrose in the 1930s and 1940s.[2] In 1940, he was the first to record the blues classic "Key to the Highway" (featuring Broonzy on guitar),[4] utilizing the now-standard melody and eight-bar blues arrangement. (The song had first been recorded a few months earlier by Charlie Segar, with a different melody and a 12-bar blues arrangement.) Gillum's version of the song was covered by Broonzy a few months later, and his version has become the standard arrangement of this now-classic blues song.
Gillum's records were some of the earliest featuring blues with electric guitar accompaniment, when the 16-year-old jazz guitarist George Barnes played on several songs on Gillum's 1938 session that produced "Reefer Headed Woman" and others.
He joined the United States Army in 1942 and served until 1945.[5]
Gillum recorded an early version of "Look on Yonder Wall" (1946) with Big Maceo on piano, which was later popularized by Elmore James.[6]
After the Bluebird label folded in the late 1940s, he made few recordings. His last recordings were on a couple of 1961 albums with Memphis Slim and the singer and guitarist Arbee Stidham, for Folkways Records.[6]
On March 29, 1966, Gillum was shot in the head during a street argument and was pronounced
His late daughter, Ardella Williams, was a blues singer in Chicago.[citation needed]
See also
- List of blues musicians
- List of Chicago blues musicians
- List of country blues musicians
- List of harmonicists
References
- ISBN 978-0313344237.
- ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. "Jazz Gillum: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ISBN 978-0-306-80743-5.
- ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ a b c "Jazz Gillum, Complete Recorded Works 1936–1949 in Chronological Order. Vol. 1, 3 April 1936 to 16 December 1938. Document Records Vintage Blues and Jazz, DOCD-5197". Document-records.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
External links
- Gillum discography on Folkways[permanent dead link]
- Jazz Gillum at Find a Grave
- Document Records biography of Gillum
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