Edgar Vernon Blanchard (August 17, 1924 – September 16, 1972) was an American R&B guitarist, bandleader and

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

who was prominent in the musical life of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

between the 1940s and 1960s. He was born in

Grosse Tête, Louisiana Grosse Tête (; ) is a village in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 647 at the 2010 census, and 731 at the 2019 American Community Survey. The village name is French for "Big Head". Grosse Tête is part of the Bato ...

, the son of Elizabeth and Sam Blanchard, Bob L. Eagle, Eric S. LeBlanc, ''Blues: A Regional Experience'', ABC-CLIO, 2013, p.173
/ref> and learned to play both guitar and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

. He was stationed in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and on his return formed his own band, the Gondoliers, named in memory of his time in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. By 1947, he was established as bandleader at the Down Beat club on

Rampart Street Rampart Street () is a historic avenue located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The section of Rampart Street downriver from Canal Street is designated as North Rampart Street, which forms the inland or northern border of the French Quarter (Vieux ...

, with Roy Brown as one of his vocalists and Ernest McLean as a second guitarist. Colin Larkin, "Edgar Blanchard", ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues'', Random House, 2013
/ref> Biography, ''AllMusic.com''
Retrieved 9 September 2015 Blanchard's band was known for his ability to play in a range of styles. They first recorded in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, in 1949, for

Don Robey Don Deadric Robey (November 1, 1903 – June 16, 1975) was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the car ...

Peacock Records Peacock Records was an American record label, founded in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston, Texas, United States. History Robey established the record label in 1949 after two years of being blues singer Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's manager, and Brow ...

, but his recordings were not successful and he returned to New Orleans where – with

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arrangement, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century ...

— he was a resident bandleader at the Dew Drop Inn. He recorded with Roy Brown, and performed with other musicians and singers who recorded in New Orleans in the early 1950s, including

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

and

Professor Longhair Henry Roeland Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday o ...

for

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

;

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American R&B and rock 'n' roll singer, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality (Lloyd Price song), Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a ...

and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

for Specialty; and

Paul Gayten Paul Leon Gayten (January 29, 1920 – March 26, 1991) was an American R&B pianist, songwriter, producer, and record company executive. Career Gayten was born in Kentwood, Louisiana, the nephew of blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery. In hi ...

Eddie Bo Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), known as Eddie Bo, was an American singer and pianist from New Orleans. Schooled in jazz, he was known for his blues, soul and funk recordings, compositions, productions and arrang ...

and

Clarence "Frogman" Henry Clarence Henry II (March 19, 1937 – April 7, 2024), known as Clarence "Frogman" Henry, was an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, best known for his hits " Ain't Got No Home" (1956) and "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do" (1961). Life a ...

for

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

.Dan Phillips, "For Your Dancing Pleasure, The Gondoliers", ''Home of the Groove'', March 3, 2006
Retrieved 9 September 2015 Though he rarely recorded under his own name, he did record some instrumentals for the Specialty label. His band included saxophonist August "Dimes" Dupont, bassist

Frank Fields Frank Nomer Fields (May 2, 1914 – September 18, 2005) was an American double bass player who was involved in many R&B, rock and roll and jazz recordings made in New Orleans. He was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana. In the 1930s, he played w ...

, pianist Lawrence Cotton, and drummer Alonzo Stewart. In 1958 he started working for Joe Ruffino's Ric label, as guitarist, arranger, and (briefly) musical director; he backed

Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...

on his recordings for the label. He recorded a poorly-received album, ''Let's Have a Blast with the Gondoliers'', issued in 1961, and continued to perform with his band in clubs in New Orleans through to the mid-1960s. His last, untypically raucous, recordings, were made in the late 1960s but were not issued at the time. He died in New Orleans in 1972, aged 48. He had one son, Edgar Vernon Blanchard Jr., and his wife, Doris Blanchard.

References

External links

Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Edgar 1924 births 1972 deaths African-American guitarists People from Iberville Parish, Louisiana Jazz musicians from New Orleans American rhythm and blues guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American male musicians American expatriates in Italy American military personnel of World War II 20th-century African-American musicians