Willie Nix

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Willie Nix
Background information
Also known asThe Memphis Blues Boy
Born(1922-08-06)August 6, 1922
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedJuly 8, 1991(1991-07-08) (aged 68)
Leland, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • drums
  • guitar
Years active1940s–1970s
Labels

Willie Nix (August 6, 1922 – July 8, 1991)[1] was an American Chicago blues singer and drummer, active in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1940s and 1950s.[2]

Biography

Nix was born in Memphis.

B.B. King and with Joe Hill Louis. Later the same decade he worked with the Beale Streeters. In 1951, Nix made his first recording, for RPM Records, in Memphis. A year later he recorded for Checker Records.[1]

He recorded for Sun Records[3] and other labels in the 1950s, including the Chicago-based Chance Records[4] and Sabre Records. Nix wrote the songs "Nervous Wreck" and "Try Me One More Time" and reworked others, such as "Catfish Blues" and Curtis Jones's "Lonesome Bedroom Blues." At various times he worked with Big Walter Horton, Elmore James, Johnny Shines, Memphis Slim, and Ike Turner.[5][6][1] In the late 1950s Nix was briefly a member of Willie Cobbs's band.[7]

By the end of the 1950s, Nix returned to Memphis. He spent a short time in prison before 1960. Over the next twenty years he performed sporadically. As his health declined, his behaviour became more eccentric. He did not record again, although his mid-1950s work is held in high regard for his lyrical dexterity and compelling beat.[1]

Nix died in Leland, Mississippi, in 1991.[1]

References

  1. ^
    Allmusic
    .com. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  2. ISBN 1-904041-96-5
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-306-80145-7
    .
  5. ^ Hinckley, David (June 14, 1993). "The Tainted Turner". New York Daily News – via Sun-Sentinel.
  6. ^ Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1990–1991". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  7. ISBN 9780289700334
    .
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