- List of dirty blues musicians
Dirty blues encompasses forms ofblues music that deal with topics that are sometimes consideredtaboo in society, including sexual connotation and/or references to drug use of some kind. Due to the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and only available on ajukebox . The following is a list of dirty blues musicians.B
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Lucille Bogan - (April 1 ,1897 –August 10 ,1948 ) Born inAmory, Mississippi , Bogan was aclassic female blues singer who performed earlycountry blues . Because many of her songs were sexually suggestive, she might be considered to have been adirty blues musician, also.Document Records has issued her complete recordings in a series of releases.*
Roy Brown (blues musician) - (September 10 ,1925 –May 25 ,1981 ) Born inNew Orleans, Louisiana , Brown was a quite respectedrhythm and blues pianist andsinger , a musician that also performedurban blues ,West Coast blues andjump blues over his quite long career. He did record one rather strange song called "Butcher Pete", the content of which deals with a combination offelacio andcannibalism .C
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Bo Carter - (March 21 ,1893 –September 21 ,1964 ) Born inBolton, Mississippi , Carter was one of the firstdirty blues musicians with songs like "Banana in Your Fruit Basket", among several others. Acountry blues multi-instrumentalist who performed mostly earlyDelta blues , Carter playedguitar ,banjo ,string bass ,clarinet and sang.Document Records has an impressive series of issues devoted to his complete recordings.H
*The Harlem Hamfats - Formed in
1936 by musicians that were not even fromHarlem, New York and led by trumpeterHerb Morand , the group performed mostlyChicago blues andEast Coast blues while backingjazz musicians. The members wereKansas Joe McCoy ,Charlie McCoy , Odell Rand, John Lindsay, Horace Malcolm, Pearlis Williams and Freddie Flynn. The group's inclusion in thedirty blues genre is due to such songs as "Gimme Some of that Yum Yum" and "Lets Get Drunk and Truck", along with lyrics in various other songs dealing with themes including drug use, prostitution or criminal behavior.J
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Bull Moose Jackson - (April 22 ,1919 –July 31 ,1989 ) Born inCleveland, Ohio as Benjamin Joseph Jackson, Jackson was arhythm and blues andjump blues saxophonist andsinger . He also is included in thedirty blues genre due to his sometimes suggestive songs, like "I Want a Bowlegged Woman" and "Big Ten Inch Record". He recorded for theKing Records label.*
Myra Johnson - Arhythm and blues singer , Johnson's inclusion here is due to her metaphorical references to the male organ on the song "Silent George".L
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The Lamplighters *Julia Lee - (
October 31 ,1902 –december 8 ,1958 ) Born inBoonville, Missouri , Lee was ajump blues pianist andsinger who also performedswing music . Her inclusion on this list is due to two songs she performed, ie. "King-Size Papa" and "Snatch It and Grab It". However, it would be very misleading to characterize her music as always being in this vein. She released several solo albums.W
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Dinah Washington - (August 29 ,1924 –december 14 ,1963 ) Born inTuscaloosa, Alabama , Washington's inclusion on this list is really only due to two songs. Otherwise she performedtraditional pop ,jump blues and ballads. The songs were "Long John Blues" about herdentist , with lyrics like "He took out his trusty drill. Told me to open wide. He said he wouldn't hurt me, but he filled my whole inside." She also recorded a song called "Big Long Sliding Thing" about a trombonist.References
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Allmusic A list of Dirty Blues singers would not be complete without "Tampa Red", one of the greatest resophonic guitar players whose songs included "Let Me Play With Your Poodle" (later covered by [Lightnin' Hopkins] ) and "What Tastes Like Gravy?" Entry will be updated with more information soon. While his songs are not as readily available as some others, much of his work is available on iTunes and similar services.
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