- John Brim
Infobox Musical artist
Name = John Brim
Img_capt = John Brim performing at a Bluesfest inAurora, Illinois .
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Born =birth date|1922|4|10|mf=yHopkinsville, Kentucky
Died =death date and age|2003|10|1|1922|4|10|mf=yGary, Indiana
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Instrument =Guitar ,Blues harp
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Genre =Blues
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Notable_instruments =John Brim (
April 10 1922 —October 1 2003 ) was aChicago blues guitarist ,songwriter andblues harp player. He wrote and recorded the original "Ice Cream Man " thatDavid Lee Roth covered on "Diamond Dave", andVan Halen also covered on their firstalbum . [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3cfexq85ld0e~T1 All Music Guide biography] ] "Ice Cream Man" was also covered byMartin Sexton on his 2001 livedouble album , "Live Wide Open".Biography
Brim picked up his early guitar licks from the
gramophone record s ofTampa Red andBig Bill Broonzy , before venturing first toIndianapolis in 1941 andChicago four years later. He met his wife Grace in 1947; fortuitously, she was a capabledrummer andharmonica player who played on several of Brim's records. She was also the vocalist on a 1950 single for theDetroit basedFortune Records , that signaled the beginning of Brim's discography.Brim recorded for Random Records,
J.O.B. Records ,Parrot Records (the socially aware "Tough Times"), andChess Records ("Rattlesnake," his answer toBig Mama Thornton 's "Hound Dog " was pulled from the shelves by Chess for fear of aplagiarism lawsuit ). All of his 1950s recordings for the Chess label were later included on the compilation LP/CD "Whose Muddy Shoes" (which also included the few recordingsElmore James made for the label; because they share this LP/CD, it has sometimes been assumed that they performed or recorded together, but this is not the case.) On some tracksLittle Walter played theharmonica , whilstJimmy Reed ,Snooky Pryor , or James Dalton were also featured blowing the harp. Cut in 1953, the suggestive "Ice Cream Man" had to wait until 1969 to enjoy a very belated release. Brim's last Chess single, "I Would Hate to See You Go," was waxed in 1956 with acombo consisting of Little Walter,guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. ,bassist Willie Dixon , anddrummer Fred Below .In between touring, Brim operated
dry-cleaning businesses and arecord store . When theroyalties from Van Halen’s recording of "Ice Cream Man" came through, they enabled him to open John Brim’s House of the Blues Broadway Nite Club inChicago .Brim continued to perform occasionally around Chicago, and was a regularly featured performer on the
Chicago Blues Festival beginning in 1991, when he was backed by the local Chicago blues band The Ice Cream Men (the band name a total coincidence - they were not Brim's regular band, but had taken that name because the members had previously worked with Chicago bluesman Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, who worked as an ice cream man on Chicago's south side.)He was tempted back into the recording studio again in 1989 to record four songs for the German Wolf label, and renewed interest in him finally led to his recording his first solo CD, "Ice Cream Man", for Tone Cool Records in 1994. It received a W. C. Handy nomination as the best Traditional Blues Album of the Year.
Brim also appeared at the 1997
San Francisco Blues Festival .He recorded again in 2000, 50 years after his recording debut, and continued to tour, playing in
Belgium in 2001. One of his final appearances was at the 2002Chicago Blues Festival .Brim, who lived in Gary,
Indiana remained active on the Chicago blues scene until his death, on 1 October 2003 at the age of 81. He is survived by seven daughters and two sons. One son predeceased him. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article995409.ece Timesonline.co.uk obituary dated 18 October 2003] ]ee also
*
List of Chicago blues musicians
*List of Electric blues musicians
*J.O.B. Records discography References
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