"Bogus" Ben Covington (born Benjamin Curry ''possibly'' April 19, 1890 – around 1935) was an American

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

singer, harpist, and

mandolin-banjo The mandolin-banjo is a hybrid instrument, combining a banjo body with the neck and tuning of a mandolin. It is a soprano banjo. It has been independently invented in more than one country, variously being called mandolin-banjo, banjo-mandolin, ...

player. Originally a resident of Louisiana, Covington was active in Mississippi and recorded in the late-1920s and 1930s, presumably under various names such as Blind Ben Covington, Ben Curry, and Memphis Ben. He also occasionally performed alongside

Big Joe Williams Joseph Lee Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the songs "Baby, Pl ...

, King Solomon Hill, and

Speckled Red Rufus George Perryman (October 23, 1892 – January 2, 1973), known as Speckled Red, was an American blues and boogie-woogie piano player and singer noted for his recordings of "The Dirty Dozens", exchanges of insults and vulgar remarks that have ...

Biography

According to

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 ...

historian Gayle Dean Wardlow, Covington was originally from the town of Arcadia in northern Louisiana. Covington, born Benjamin Curry, was possibly the same Curry who was drafted during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

; his birth date is listed as April 19, 1890 in

Yalobusha County, Mississippi Yalobusha County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,481. It has two county seats, Water Valley and Coffeeville. History ''Yalobusha'' is a Native American word, likely f ...

. Whatever the case, Covington moved to Birmingham, Alabama in the mid-1920s, but traveled frequently to Mississippi and

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 ...

to perform on street corners.

remembered Covington: he described him as "bogus blind", hence Covington's nickname, for pretending to be blind to earn more money while playing on the streets. The two musicians were still playing together as late as 1933 at the

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Exposit ...

Expo in Chicago. Blues experts Kip Lornell and David Evans are in agreement that Covington is the same musician who recorded under the aliases Ben Curry and Memphis Ben. The researchers based their conclusions on the similar playing styles and the selected material. Another blues writer,

Paul Oliver Paul Hereford Oliver MBE (25 May 1927 – 15 August 2017) was an English architectural historian and writer on the blues and other forms of African-American music. He was equally distinguished in both fields, although it is likely that afici ...

also determined Covington was the same Ben Curry who recorded a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

's song "The Dirty Dozen". For recording sessions, Covington played a

and also provided accompaniment on the

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

. In September 1928, Covington traveled to Chicago to record under the moniker "Bogus" Ben Covington for

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...

. If he is indeed Memphis Ben, Covington entered

Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pi ...

' studio in Memphis on November 28 to complete two unissued sides. The Memphis Ben alias may have been devised by Harry Charles, a

talent scout In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports, and they determine whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the s ...

who sometimes gave blues musicians different names to avoid contract disputes. In October 1929, Covington recorded again for Vocalion, this time with the alias Blind Ben Covington. After a two year recording drought, he was rediscovered by Paramount Records. He was invited to a session, with him credited as Ben Curry, and which included Marshall Owens, the Famous Bluejay Singers of Birmingham, and King Solomon Hill, the latter an old friend of Covington's. Not much is known about Covington after his final recording session. He is believed to have moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, where he died in around 1935.

References

External links

Ben Covington discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covington, Bogus Ben 1890 births 1935 deaths American blues singers Country blues singers Singers from Louisiana 20th-century American singers American harpists American mandolinists American banjoists Singers from Mississippi Paramount Records artists Vocalion Records artists American harmonica players People from Arcadia, Louisiana

Biography

See also

References

External links