Kansas Joe McCoy

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This article is about the musician. For the 19th-century entrepreneur of the same name, see Joseph McCoy.

Kansas Joe McCoy
McCoy c. 1945
McCoy c. 1945
Background information
Birth nameWilbur Joe McCoy
Also known asKansas Joseph Allen McCoy
Born(1905-05-11)May 11, 1905
Raymond, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedJanuary 28, 1950(1950-01-28) (aged 44)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Guitar
  • vocals
Years active1920s–1940s

Wilbur Joe "Kansas Joe" McCoy[1] (May 11, 1905 – January 28, 1950)[2] was an American Delta blues singer, musician and songwriter.[3]

Career

McCoy performed under various stage names but is best known as Kansas Joe McCoy.

hit.[5][6] In 1930, the couple moved to Chicago, where they were an important part of the burgeoning blues scene there.[4] After they were divorced, McCoy teamed up with his brother to form the Harlem Hamfats, a band that performed and recorded during the second half of the 1930s.[4]

In 1936, the Harlem Hamfats released their recording of the song "The Weed Smoker's Dream". McCoy later refined the tune, changed the lyrics and retitled the song "

hit single. "Why Don't You Do Right?" remains a jazz standard and is McCoy's most enduring composition.[7]

At the outbreak of

Robert Nighthawk on harmonica and Charlie McCoy on mandolin.[8]

Death and legacy

McCoy died of

Restvale Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois
.

Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant took a recording of "When the Levee Breaks," by McCoy and Memphis Minnie, which was in his personal collection, to guitarist Jimmy Page, who revamped the music, and the band recorded it, with most of the original lyrics (Minnie was credited on the record), for Led Zeppelin's 1971 album, Led Zeppelin IV.

McCoy's songs have also been covered by Skip James, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, the Ink Spots, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Ann Kelly, Cleo Laine and A Perfect Circle.

Pseudonyms

McCoy also performed and recorded under the names Bill Wither, Georgia Pine Boy, Hallelujah Joe, Big Joe McCoy and His Washboard Band, and the Mississippi Mudder.[8] He also used the names Hamfoot Ham, Hillbilly Plowboy, and Mud Dauber Joe.[2]

Posthumous recognition

Like many blues musicians of his era, Joe McCoy's grave site was originally unmarked. A tribute concert[9] was held in October 2010 to celebrate the music of Joe and Charlie McCoy and to buy gravestones for each of them; they were installed on May 31, 2011.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0313344237
    .
  2. ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Kansas Joe McCoy: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  3. ISBN 1-904041-96-5
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-85112-673-1
    .
  5. ISBN 0-306-80460-3
    .
  6. ISBN 1-85868-255-X
    .
  7. ^ "Search for "Why Don't You Do Right"". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  8. ^
    ISBN 1-85868-255-X
    .
  9. ^ "McCoy Brothers Tribute". McCoyBrothersTribute.com. Retrieved August 30, 2015.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kansas_Joe_McCoy&oldid=1218447237"