- Stick McGhee
Granville "Stick" Henely McGhee (
March 23 1917 –August 15 1961 ) was an Americanguitarist (Brownie McGhee 's younger brother) best known for hisblues song "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", one of the earliest prototypical rock and roll songs, whichJerry Lee Lewis andMike Bloomfield 's Electric Flag (as "Wine") covered. The song lent its name to the alcoholic fruit drink "spodi "; the "spo-dee-o-dee" was ascat substitute for the original "motherfucker "Fact|date=June 2008.Career
He earned his
nickname 'Stick', from pushing his polio-stricken older brother Brownie through the streets of Kingsport, on a cart that he propelled with astick .McGhee grew up in Kingsport,
Tennessee and first recorded "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" - which his futurerecord label ,Atlantic Records , said he adapted from a drinking song he heard in the Army - in 1947 to little fanfare. The track was credited as being written by McGhee andJ. Mayo Williams . A re-make in 1949 (as Stick McGhee and his Buddies) became a R&B hit.His crisp
guitar work may be heard on on some ofSonny Terry 's 1947 Capitol sessions.cite book
first= Tony
last= Russell
year= 1997
title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
edition=
publisher= Carlton Books Limited
location= Dubai
pages= p. 143
id= ISBN 1-85868-255-X]1951's "Tennessee Waltz Blues" was another hit, as were several following singles, including "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," "Jungle Juice", "Double Crossin' Liquor" "Six to Eight" and "Head Happy with Wine".
'Stick' McGhee died of
lung cancer in 1961 in New York [ [http://wc04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=STICK|MCGHEE&sql=11:wifyxqegld6e~T1 All Music Guide biography] ] , and he was interred at theLong Island National Cemetery .ee also
*
List of polio survivors
*List of current Atlantic Records artists
*List of people from Tennessee References
External links
* [http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/sticksmcghee.txt Fansite biography]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13731990 Photo]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:aeu1z8ba8yv4~T1 All Music Guide biography]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.