Baby Face Leroy
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Baby Face" Leroy Foster (February 1, 1923 – May 26, 1958) was an American
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
singer, drummer and guitarist, active in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
from the mid-1940s until the late 1950s. He was a significant figure in the development of the postwar electric
Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...
sound, particularly as a member of the
Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...
band during its early years.


Early life

Foster was born in Algoma southwest of
Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 7th-most populous ...
. He moved to Chicago in the mid-1940s. By 1946 was working with the pianist
Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...
and the harmonica player John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. He was introduced to the singer and guitarist
Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...
by an acquaintance Waters met at a recording session in 1946. Foster was soon playing guitar and drums in Waters's band, along with
Jimmy Rogers Jay or James Arthur "Jimmy" Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and ...
, a guitarist and harmonica player. Calling themselves the Headhunters, the trio was known for going from club to club and “cutting” (i.e. engaging in musical duels with) other bands.
Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...
later joined the band on harmonica.


First recordings

Foster's first recordings were made, as a sideman, with the pianist Lee Brown in 1945 for
J. Mayo Williams Jay Mayo "Ink" Williams (September 25, 1894 – January 2, 1980) was a pioneering African Americans, African-American producer of recorded blues music. Some historians have claimed that Ink Williams earned his nickname by his ability to get ...
' Chicago label. In 1946, he took part in another session with Brown; the same year he also recorded for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
backing James "Beale Street" Clark and Waters, although only the sides by Clark were issued at the time. He accompanied
Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...
on a 1947 or 1948 session for the Opera label. Further recordings were released, under his own name for
Aristocrat Records Aristocrat Records, sometimes billed as the Aristocrat of Records, was founded in April 1947 by Charles and Evelyn Aron, together with their partners Fred and Mildred Brount and Art Spiegel. By September, Leonard Chess had invested in the young re ...
and
J.O.B. Records J.O.B. Records was an American, Chicago based independent record label, founded by businessman Joe Brown and bluesman St. Louis Jimmy Oden in 1949. It specialized in Southern blues and city based R&B. In 1952, the label's recording of " Five ...
and also backing Sunnyland Slim, Waters, Little Walter, and the pianist Johnny Jones before his most notable session, for the Parkway label in 1950.


The Parkway session

The Parkway session featured the personnel of Waters' band at the time: Foster, Waters, Little Walter and (on two tracks only since he was late for the session) Jimmy Rogers. Four singles were released from the session, two by Foster and two by Little Walter. One of the singles, the two-part "
Rollin' and Tumblin' "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (or "Roll and Tumble Blues") is a blues standard first recorded by American singer-guitarist Hambone Willie Newbern in 1929. Called a "great Delta blues classic", it has been interpreted by hundreds of Delta and Chicago b ...
", was notable enough to be reviewed (unusually for a down-home blues release) in the ''
Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...
'' by Edward Myers. He described it as having "the sound and beat of African chant". The track featured only Foster's drumming and singing, Walter's harmonica, and Waters's slide guitar with hummed ensemble vocals on one side. Unfortunately, Waters' guitar playing and backup singing were distinctive enough for the record to come to the attention of
Leonard Chess Leonard Samuel Chess (born Lejzor Szmuel Czyż; March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a Polish-American record company executive and the founder of Chess Records alongside his brother Phil. He was influential in the development of the recor ...
of
Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...
, who had Waters under an exclusive recording contract. As a result, Waters was made to record his own version of the song for the larger Chess label to "kill" the Parkway recording.


Later career and death

After signing with Parkway, Foster left Waters's band,Rowe, p. 76. possibly in the hope of a solo career resulting from the Parkway releases, but the label soon folded. Foster recorded two further sessions for J.O.B. in 1951 and 1952; only the first of these resulted in the release of a single.Leadbitter, M.; Slaven, N. (1987). ''Blues Records 1943–1970: A Selective Discography.'' London: Record Information Services, pp. 417–418. Foster died of a heart attack in Chicago in 1958, at the age of 35; alcoholism may have been a factor leading to his early death. He was buried at Fern Oak Cemetery in
Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...
adjacent to
Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...
. In 2012 the Killer Blues Headstone Project, a nonprofit organization, placed a headstone on Foster's unmarked grave. As of 1973, there was only one known photograph of Foster.Rowe, p. 76.


Influences and performing style

Foster sang in a style which was influenced by Sonny Boy Williamson and Dr. Clayton.Rowe, p. 74. While he played guitar and drums competently, the talents for which he was popular have been described as "drinking, singing and clowning".


Discography


As leader

*"Locked Out Boogie" / "Shady Grove Blues" (1948), Aristocrat 1234 *"My Head Can't Rest Anymore" / "Take a Little Walk with Me" (1949), J.O.B. 100 *"Boll Weevil" / "Red Headed Woman" (1950), Parkway 104 *"Rollin' and Tumblin' part 1" / "Rollin' and Tumblin' part 2" (1950), Parkway 501 *"Pet Rabbit" / "Louella" (1951) J.O.B. 1002


Citations


References

*Gordon, R. (2002). ''Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters''. London: Jonathan Cape. *Rowe, M. (1981). ''Chicago Blues: The City and the Music''. New York: Da Capo Press.


External links


Illustrated Leroy Foster discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Leroy 1923 births 1958 deaths Chicago blues musicians American blues drummers American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers People from Pontotoc County, Mississippi 20th-century American singers Blues musicians from Mississippi 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Illinois Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American male musicians