Cootie Stark

Cootie Stark
Cootie Stark
Birth name James Miller or Johnny Miller
Also known as Blind Johnny Miller[1]
King of the Piedmont blues[2]
Born December 27, 1927(1927-12-27)
Abbeville, South Carolina, United States
Died April 14, 2005(2005-04-14) (aged 77)
Greenville, South Carolina, United States
Genres Piedmont blues, songster[3]
Occupations Guitarist, singer, songwriter
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active Late 1930s – 2005
Labels Music Maker

Cootie Stark (December 27, 1927 – April 14, 2005)[2] was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter.[3] His best remembered recordings were "Metal Bottoms" and "Sandyland." Stark was known as the 'King of the Piedmont blues.'[2]

Contents

Biography

He was born either James Miller[3][1] or Johnny Miller,[4] in Abbeville, South Carolina, United States, the son of sharecroppers,[1] and grew up in Anderson County.[3] Stark was given his first guitar by his father at the age of 14,[5] having then relocated to Greenville, South Carolina. His poor eyesight meant that he was unable to find regular employment. He began busking on street corners, and learned his art from fellow street performers such as Peg Leg Sam, Pink Anderson and Josh White plus, particularly in his earliest days, from Baby Tate.[3][5][1] He acquired the nickname, Sugar Man, and continued to work his trade as a songster in the area.[3] His performing name of Cootie Stark was an amalgam of a childhood nickname and his grandfather's surname.[4]

His eyesight deteriorated until he was legally registered as blind, but Stark continued to perform across the State and beyond,[3] often using the name Blind Johnny Miller.[1] However by the 1980s, with playing prospects diminishing, Stark settled in Greenville. "By then, the real Piedmont blues was pretty much gone," he stated. "All them guys were dead and gone and I wasn't making no headway."[6] In 1997, when Stark was over seventy years old, he was heard playing Fats Domino songs by Tim Duffy, the founder of the Music Maker Relief Foundation.[5] Their record label released Stark's debut album, Sugar Man, in 1999. In 2003, Stark released his second and final album, Raw Sugar, when he was again accompanied on record by Taj Mahal.[3] He received the South Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 2005.[1]

Stark died at the age of 77, in Greenville, in April 2005.[2]

Discography

Year Title Record label
1999 Sugar Man Music Maker
2003 Raw Sugar Music Maker

[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Dave Peabody, Obituary in Juke Blues no. 59, 2005, p.67
  2. ^ a b c d "Doc Rock" (2011). "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2005 January to June" Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Accessed October 18, 2011
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Steve Leggett. "Cootie Stark". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p359927/biography. Retrieved October 18, 2010. 
  4. ^ a b Room, Adrian (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5th ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 453/4. ISBN 978-0-7864-4373-4. 
  5. ^ a b c "Cootie Stark". Ibiblio.org. http://www.ibiblio.org/musicmakers/mm4000b/mm4008.html. Retrieved October 18, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Cootie Stark". Bluesandhash.com. http://www.bluesandhash.com/cootiestark.php. Retrieved October 18, 2011. 
  7. ^ "Allmusic ((( Cootie Stark > Discography > Main Albums )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p359927/discography. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cootie Williams — Cootie Williams. Fotografie von William P. Gottlieb. Charlie Melvin „Cootie“ Williams (* 10. Juli 1911 in Mobile, Alabama; † 15. September 1985 in Long Island in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Jazztro …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Neal Pattman — Also known as Big Daddy Pattman Born January 10, 1926(1926 01 10) Madison County, Georgia, United States Died May 4, 2005(2005 05 04) (aged 79) Athe …   Wikipedia

  • Piedmont blues — articleissues OR=September 2007 fansite=June 2008The Piedmont blues (also known as Piedmont fingerstyle or East Coast blues ) is a type of blues music characterized by a unique fingerpicking method on the guitar in which a regular, alternating… …   Wikipedia

  • Music Maker (label) — Founded 1994 Founder Tim Duffy Denise Duffy Distributor(s) Dixiefrog Records (Europe) Genre …   Wikipedia

  • Kenny Wayne Shepherd — Infobox Musical artist Name = Kenny Wayne Shepherd Img capt = Kenny Wayne Shepherd live in 2005 Img size = Landscape = Background = non vocal instrumentalist |Birth name = Kenny Wayne Brobst Alias = Born = birth date and age|1977|06|12 Shreveport …   Wikipedia

  • Piedmont blues — Le Piedmont blues est un genre de blues qui se distingue par une méthode de jeu de guitare (picking) spécique dans laquelle on utilise le pouce pour jouer les notes basses alors que la mélodie est jouées sur les trois cordes aïgues. Le Piedmont… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Piedmont blues — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El Piedmont blues es un género de música blues, popular durante los primeros años del Siglo XX y caracterizado por su método a la hora de tocar la guitarra sin púa; dicho método utiliza un patrón de bajo, basado en… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Duke Ellington Orchestra — Duke Ellington und das Duke Ellington Orchestra 1943 Das Duke Ellington Orchestra (auch: Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, zunächst The Washingtonians) war eine Jazzband des Swing von den 1920er bis in die 1970er Jahre in unterschiedlichen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • The Washingtonians — Duke Ellington und das Duke Ellington Orchestra 1943 Das Duke Ellington Orchestra (auch: Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, zunächst The Washingtonians) war eine Jazzband des Swing von den 1920er bis in die 1970er Jahre in unterschiedlichen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Top-30-Schellackplatten des Duke Ellington Orchestra — Hinweise zur Nutzung der Liste Diese Liste enthält Titel und Komponist(en) der Stücke, Aufnahmedatum, Datum des Eintritts in die Charts, höchste Position und Verweildauer in den Charts. Die Voreinstellung erfolgt nach dem Eintrittsdatum in die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”