Edward Heywood Sr. ( – April 2, 1942) 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 ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, popular in the 1910s and 1920s.

Biography

Eddie Heywood Sr. was a famed pianist of the 81 Theater on Decatur Street in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He took over that role from Ed Butler around 1912. He recorded songs for

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

, playing solo and also accompanying performers such as

Mamie Smith Mamie Smith ( Robinson; May 26, 1891 – August or September 16, 1946) was an American singer. As a vaudeville singer, she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues history as the first African-American a ...

Sara Martin Sara Martin (June 18, 1884 – May 24, 1955) was an American blues singer, in her time one of the most popular of the classic blues singers. She was billed as "The Famous Moanin' Mama" and "The Colored Sophie Tucker". She made many recordings, ...

, Texas Alexander, and

Butterbeans and Susie Butterbeans and Susie were an American double act, comedy duo comprising Jodie Edwards (July 19, 1893 – October 28, 1967) and Susie Edwards (née Hawthorne; December 1894 – December 5, 1963). They married in 1917, and performed togethe ...

. He taught piano to his son, Eddie Heywood Jr. He first recorded songs for Okeh in New York in May 1923. In June of that year he accompanied

Lucille Bogan Lucille Bogan (née Anderson; April 1, 1897August 10, 1948) was an American classic female blues singer and songwriter, among the first to be recorded. She also recorded under the pseudonym Bessie Jackson. Music critic Ernest Borneman noted tha ...

on "The Pawn Shop Blues" in Atlanta, a song he had composed. This was the first time a black blues singer had been recorded outside New York or Chicago. He recorded "The Pawn Shop Blues" again in New York in September 1923 with

Martha Copeland Martha Copeland (–1894; date of death unknown) was an American classic female blues singer. She recorded 34 songs between 1923 and 1928. She was promoted by Columbia Records as "Everybody's Mammy", but her records did not sell in the quantiti ...

on vocals.

References

External links

Eddie Heywood Sr.
at Discogs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Heywood, Eddie Sr 1900s births 1942 deaths American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Musicians from Atlanta Okeh Records artists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians