Edward Harrington (January 10, 1935 – June 1, 2018), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Eddy Clearwater, 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 ...

musician who specialized in

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 ...

. ''Blues Revue'' said he plays "joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning soul fervor and powerful guitar. One of the blues' finest songwriters."

Early life

Edward Harrington was born in

Macon, Mississippi Macon is a city in Noxubee County, Mississippi along the Noxubee River. The population was 2,768 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Noxubee County. History In 1817, Jackson's Military Road was built at the urging of Andrew Jackson to p ...

, on January 10, 1935. He was raised by his part-Cherokee grandmother in Mississippi. His family moved to

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, in 1948. He was a cousin of the blues harmonica player Carey Bell. He began playing guitar at age 13, teaching himself left-handed and upside down. He began performing with gospel groups, including the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. He moved to Chicago in 1950, playing predominantly gospel, and later developed his blues artistry after working with

Magic Sam Samuel Gene Maghett (February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969), known as Magic Sam, was an American Chicago blues musician. He was born in Grenada County, Mississippi, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and ...

Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter who has been long revered as one of the creators of modern Chicago blues; though he was respected and praised, the success he sought e ...

, and others.

Career

Clearwater is best known for his activity in the

scene since the 1950s. He performed in the US (especially around the

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 ...

area, where he resides) and internationally, having played at blues

festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. His sound has been described as "hard-driving Windy City blues, soul-tinged balladry, acoustic country blues and gospel uplift….good natured fretboard fireworks." When he left the South for Chicago in 1950, he worked as a dishwasher while living with an uncle, through whom he met many of Chicago's blues masters, including Otis Rush (who also was a left-handed playing the guitar upside down) and Magic Sam. Inspired by the music of

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

, he began performing some of Berry's songs and writing in a style influenced by him. Clearwater regularly performed songs by Rush, Magic Sam, and Berry, as well as original compositions. In 1953, then known as Guitar Eddy, he began working regularly in bars on Chicago's South and West Sides. His first single, the

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

-styled "Hill Billy Blues", was recorded in 1958 for his uncle's Atomic H label, under the moniker Clear Waters, a name given to him by his booking agent, drummer Armand "Jump" Jackson, as a play on the name of the famous

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 ...

. He recorded a few more singles, which had some local radio airplay. Eventually the name Clear Waters evolved into Eddy Clearwater. He worked steadily throughout the 1960s and 1970s and was among the first blues musicians to find success with Chicago's North Side college audiences. He was a regular Saturday act on the north stage of the blues club Kingston Mines, while bluesman Linsey Alexander played on the south stage. He toured Europe twice during the 1970s and appeared on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Television. Clearwater acquired the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

The Chief and often performed wearing a Native American

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or fo ...

. The release of his 1980 album, ''The Chief'', on the Rooster Blues label, made him known on the Chicago blues scene. Two encores for Rooster Blues, ''Help Yourself'' (1992) and ''Mean Case of the Blues'' (1996), cemented Clearwater's reputation. His album ''Cool Blues Walk'' was released in 1998, followed by ''Chicago Daily Blues'' in 1989 and ''Reservation Blues'' in mid-2000. Eddy Clearwater accessed February 2008. In 2004, he was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

with

Los Straitjackets Los Straitjackets is an American instrumental rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1988. Originally comprising guitarists Danny Amis (formerly of the Raybeats), Eddie Angel and drummer L. J. "Jimmy" Lester under the ...

for their collaborative album ''Rock 'n' Roll City''. His album ''West Side Strut'', released by

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

in 2008, was described by ''Vintage Guitar'' magazine as "great blues. Eddy's tone shows a masterful command of the guitar. It's hard to believe he can reach such heights in a recording studio. One listen and you'll wonder why Clearwater's name isn't respectfully spoken in the same breath as Freddie King and Otis Rush."

Personal life

Clearwater was first married to Earlean Harrington of Chicago and was the stepfather of her son Daryl Thompson. Clearwater was later married to his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, Renee Greenman. They owned Reservation Blues, a Wicker Park (Chicago) blues bar and restaurant, in the early 2000s (and no longer in operation). It featured Clearwater regularly as well as local and national blues talent. He fathered two sons, Jason and Edgar. On January 8, 1997, Clearwater underwent successful triple

heart bypass Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage"), is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest p ...

surgery. Clearwater's hometown for the last few decades of his life was Skokie,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, a northern suburb of Chicago. Skokie's mayor declared January 6 as Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater Day. Clearwater died at his home in Skokie on June 1, 2018, of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at the age of 83.

Discography

* ''Black Night'' (1979) * ''The Chief'' (1980) * ''Two Times Nine'' (1981) * ''Flimdoozie'' (1986) * ''Blues Hang Out'' (1989) * ''Real Good Time: Live!'', live (1990) * ''

Help Yourself Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * ''Help'' (2021 TV film), a TV film about the COVID-19 pand ...

'' (1992) * ''Live at The Kingston Mines, 1978'', live (1992) * ''Boogie My Blues Away'' (1995) * ''Mean Case of the Blues'' (1996) * ''Cool Blues Walk'' (1998) * ''Chicago Blues Session'', vol. 23, live (1998) * ''Chicago Daily Blues'' (1999) * ''Reservation Blues'' (2000) * ''Rock 'n' Roll City'', with

(2003) * ''West Side Strut'' (

, 2008) * ''Soul Funky'', with Ronnie Baker Brooks and

Billy Branch William Earl Branch (born October 3, 1951) is an American blues harmonica player of Chicago blues. He is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner , and a winner of the Addy Awar ...

(Cleartone, 2014)

References

External links