Major "Big Maceo" Merriweather (March 31, 1905 – February 23, 1953) was an American pianist and

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. He was mainly 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 ...

through the 1940s.

Career

Born in

Newnan, Georgia Newnan is a city in and the county seat of Coweta County, Georgia, United States, about southwest of Atlanta. Its population was 42,549 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 33,039 in 2010 United States census, 2010. History N ...

, he was a self-taught pianist. In the 1920s, he moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, to begin his music career. He moved to Chicago in 1941, where he made the acquaintance of

Tampa Red Hudson Whittaker (born Hudson Woodbridge; January 8, 1903March 19, 1981), known as Tampa Red, was an American Chicago blues musician. His distinctive single-string slide guitar style, songwriting and bottleneck technique influenced other Chicago ...

. Red introduced him to

Lester Melrose Lester Franklin Melrose (December 14, 1891 – April 12, 1968) was a talent scout who was one of the first American producers of Chicago blues records. Career Lester Franklin Melrose was born in Sumner, Illinois, the second of six childr ...

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

and its subsidiary label

Bluebird Records Bluebird Records is an American record label best known for its low-cost releases, primarily of children's music, blues, jazz and swing in the 1930s and 1940s. Bluebird was founded in 1932 as a lower-priced subsidiary label of RCA Victor. Bluebi ...

, who signed Merriweather to a recording contract.
His first record was "

Worried Life Blues "Worried Life Blues" is a blues standard and one of the most recorded blues songs of all time. Originally recorded by Big Maceo Merriweather in 1941, "Worried Life Blues" was an early blues hit and Maceo's most recognized song. The song was insp ...

" (1941), which became a blues

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

and remained his signature piece. The song had elements derived from

Sleepy John Estes John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 or 1900June 5, 1977),
known as Sleepy John Estes, was an A ...

' "Someday, Baby". Other classic piano blues recordings followed, such as "Chicago Breakdown", "Texas Stomp", and " List of songs about Detroit, Detroit Jump". His piano style was developed from players like

Leroy Carr Leroy Carr (March 27, 1904 or 1905 – April 29, 1935) was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. Mu ...

and

Roosevelt Sykes Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper". Career Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...

and from the

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

style of

Meade Lux Lewis Anderson Meade "Lux" Lewis (September 4, 1905 – June 7, 1964) was an American pianist and composer, remembered for his playing in the boogie-woogie style. His best-known work, " Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded by many artists. Biog ...

and

Albert Ammons Albert Clifton Ammons (March 1, 1907 – December 2, 1949) was an American pianist and player of boogie-woogie, a blues style popular from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. Life and career Ammons was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were ...

. He in turn influenced other musicians, such as

Little Johnny Jones ''Little Johnny Jones'' is a musical by George M. Cohan. The show introduced Cohan's tunes " Give My Regards to Broadway" and " The Yankee Doodle Boy." The "Yankee Doodle" character was inspired by real-life Hall of Fame jockey Tod Sloan. Ba ...

and

Henry Gray Henry Gray (1827 – 13 June 1861) was a British anatomist and surgery, surgeon most notable for publishing the book ''Gray's Anatomy''. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) at the age of 25. Biography Gray was born ...

, the latter of whom credited Merriweather with helping him launch his career as a blues pianist. His style influenced practically every postwar blues pianist of significance. His best known song, "Worried Life Blues", is a staple of the blues repertoire, with artists such as

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

performing it regularly in concert. It was in the first batch of songs inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

in the category Classic Blues Recordings – Singles or Album Tracks, alongside "

Stormy Monday "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" (commonly referred to as "Stormy Monday") is a song written and recorded by American blues electric guitar pioneer T-Bone Walker. It is a slow twelve-bar blues performed in the West Coast bl ...

", '

Sweet Home Chicago "Sweet Home Chicago" is a blues standard first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. While often credited to Johnson, the song has precedents in several earlier blues songs. It has become a popular anthem for the city of Chicago, despite ambiguity ...

", "

Dust My Broom "Dust My Broom" is a blues song originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson's vocal accompanied by his acoustic guitar. A ...

", and "

Hellhound on My Trail "Hellhound on My Trail" (originally "Hell Hound on My Trail") is a blues song recorded by Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson in June 1937 and released as a 78 rpm single on Vocalion Records that September. It was inspired by earlier blues s ...

". Merriweather suffered a stroke in 1946. He died of a heart attack on February 23, 1953, in Chicago and was interred at the Detroit Memorial Cemetery, in

Warren, Michigan Warren is a city in Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Warren borders Detroit to the north, roughly north of downtown Detroit. The population was 139,387 at the ...

. His recordings for RCA Victor/Bluebird were released as a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording ...

, ''Chicago Breakdown'', in 1975. They have since been reissued on various labels. In 2002, he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. On May 3, 2008, the White Lake Blues Festival took place at the Howmet Playhouse Theater, in

Whitehall, Michigan Whitehall is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,909 at the 2020 census. The city is located to the west of Whitehall Township. Montague is its neighbor. History It is located on White Lake (actual ...

. The event was organized by executive producer Steve Salter, of the nonprofit organization Killer Blues, to raise monies to honor Merriweather's unmarked grave with a headstone. The concert was a success, and a headstone was placed in June 2008.

Discography

* ''Collection "Jazz Classics" No. 22'' (RCA Victor, 1961) * ''Black & White Vol. 9'' (RCA, 1969) * ''Big Maceo with Tampa Red in Chicago 1941–1946'' (Sunflower, 1970) * ''Chicago Breakdown'' (RCA, 1975) * ''Bluebird No. 2: Big Maceo'', vol. 1 (RCA, 1976) * ''The Best of Big Maceo'', vols. 1 and 2 (Arhoolie, 1984) * ''Tampa Red/Big Maceo: Get It Cats! '' (Swingtime, 1989) * ''The King of Chicago Blues Piano'' (Arhoolie, 1993) * ''Worried Life Blues'' (Orbis, 1995) * ''The Bluebird Recordings'' (RCA/Bluebird 1997) * ''The Essential Recordings of Tampa Red and Big Maceo'' (Indigo, 1999) * ''The Best of Big Maceo with Tampa Red'' (Blues Forever, 2001) * ''Chicago Piano'', vols. 1 and 2 (Fabulous, 2003) * ''Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume'', vols. 1 and 2 (Document, 2004)

References

External links

African American Registry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merriweather, Big Maceo 1905 births 1953 deaths Musicians from Atlanta American blues pianists American male pianists 20th-century male pianists Chicago blues musicians American blues singers African-American pianists Boogie-woogie pianists Bluebird Records artists 20th-century American pianists People from Newnan, Georgia 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers

Career

Discography

See also

References

External links