Iverson Minter (March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012), known professionally as Louisiana Red, 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 ...

guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. A master of slide guitar, he played both traditional acoustic and urban electric styles, with lyrics both honest and often remarkably personal. His career includes collaborations with artists as

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 ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

, and others.

Early life

Born March 23, 1932, in

Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States and a southwestern suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham. The population was 26,019 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is within the Bi ...

, Minter lost his parents early in life; his mother died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

shortly after his birth, and his father was

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of in ...

by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

in 1937, prompting an aunt to place him in an orphanage. He later lived with his grandmother and an uncle in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

.Wynn, Ron. Louisiana Red: Biography Allmusic.com. At sixteen, Minter lied about his age and joined the U.S. Army, serving in Korea during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Minter was assigned to a

labor battalion Labour battalions have been a form of alternative service or unfree labour in various countries in lieu of or resembling regular military service. In some cases they were the result of some kind of discrimination, discriminative segregation of t ...

and spent his evenings belting out the blues at the service club.

Career

Early career

His first album, ''Lowdown Back Porch Blues'', was recorded in New York City with Tommy Tucker and released in 1963. His second album, ''Seventh Son'', was released later the same year.Owens, Thom " Louisiana Red, ''Lowdown Back Porch Blues''. Allmusic.com. Louisiana Red released the single "I'm Too Poor to Die" for the Glover label in 1964. It peaked at number 117 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

and number 30 on the '' Cashbox''

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

. (''Billboard'' did not publish an R&B chart in 1964.) He maintained a busy recording and performing schedule through the 1960s and 1970s, working in sessions for Chess, Checker, Atlas, Glover,

Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

, L&R and

Tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

, amongst others.

Later career

Like many other blues musicians, Minter long struggled to make a living in his native country, so in the early 1980s he moved to

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 ...

where, to his delight, he found audiences far more receptive to his elemental sound. He lived in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, from 1983. In 1994, Louisiana Red fused the blues with the urban Greek music of the

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

player Stelios Vamvakaris, on the album ''Blues Meets Rembetika''. He continued to tour, including regular returns to the United States, until his death. In 2011, Louisiana Red released the album ''Memphis Mojo'', to broad public acclaim.

Personal life

Minter married a woman named Ealase in 1963. Together they raised three children. Ealase died of cancer in 1973. His second marriage was to folk singer and civil rights activist

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and s ...

in 1977. Minter separated from her in 1983 to pursue his career in Germany. In 1984 he married Dora, a German-Ghanaian woman who acted as his manager later in life. Minter adopted Dora’s two sons and together they resided in

Hanover, Germany Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest in northern Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Breme ...

Death

English slide guitarist

Michael Messer Michael Messer (born 28 February 1956) is an English singer, songwriter, slide guitarist, recording artist, producer, guitar designer/manufacturer. He is noteworthy for his ability to combine acoustic and electric National slide and lap steel ...

noted on February 25, 2012, "I am very sorry to be bringer of such sad news that my dear friend, Louisiana Red, died this morning. He had a stroke on Monday and had been in a coma." He died in

, aged 79.Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
Accessed February 28, 2012.

Filmography

He appeared in the films ''

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started on 4 October 1974. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz bands have perf ...

'' (1976), '' Comeback'' (1982), ''Ballhaus Barmbek'' (1988), ''Red and Blues'' (2005) and ''Family Meeting'' (2008). In 2005, Louisiana Red, became the central figure in the documentary film 'Red and Blues' directed by the German-Finnish filmmaker Susanna Salonen. The documentary chronicles Louisiana Red's life touring across Germany, providing an intimate look into his experiences as an elderly African-American blues artist residing in Europe.

Discography

Albums

* ''Lowdown Back Porch Blues'' (1963, Roulette) * ''Seventh Son'' (1963, Carnival)

his is a 1972 reissue of ''Lowdown Back Porch Blues'' with Glover single 3002 added His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

* ''Shouts the Blues'' (1970, Forum Circle) his is a 1970 reissue of ''Lowdown Back Porch Blues'' with the last two tracks deleted* ''Louisiana Red Sings the Blues'' (1972, Atlantic) * ''Sweet Blood Call'' (1975, Blue Labor) * ''Dead Stray Dog'' (1976, Blue Labor) * ''New York Blues'' (1979, L+R) * ''Reality Blues'' (1980, L+R) * ''High Voltage Blues'', with

Sugar Blue James Joshua Whiting (born December 16, 1949), known professionally as Sugar Blue, is an American blues harmonica player. He is best known for playing on the 1978 Rolling Stones album '' Some Girls'', and well as his partnership with blues guita ...

(1980, Black Panther) * ''Midnight Rambler'' (1982, Tomato/Rhino) * ''Blues for Ida B'' (1982, JSP) * ''Boy from Black Bayou'' (1983, L+R) * ''Blues from the Heart'' (1983, JSP) * ''Anti Nuclear Blues'' (1983, L+R) * ''Bluesman'' (1984, JSP) * ''Back to the Road Again'' (1984, MMG) * ''My Life'', with

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s be ...

(1984, L+R) * ''World on Fire'' (1985, MMG) * ''Brothers in Blues'' (1985, CMA) * ''Back to the Roots'' (1987, CMA) * ''Last Mohican of the Blues'' (1992,

Polton Polton is a village located in Lasswade parish, Midlothian, Scotland, anciently a superiority of the Ramsay family, cadets of Dalhousie. In 1618 David Ramsay of Polton was in possession. (See: ''Analecta Scotica'', Edinburgh, 1834). Notable res ...

) * ''Ashland Avenue Blues'' (1992, Schubert) * ''Always Played the Blues'' (1994, JSP) * ''Louisiana Red'' (1994, Forum) * ''Blues Meets Rembetika'' (1994, Distazi) * ''Sittin' Here Wonderin (1995, Earwig Music) * ''Sugar Hips'' (1995, CMA) * ''Rising Sun Collection'' (1996, JAMR) * ''I Hear the Train Coming'' (1997, Chrisly) * ''Over My Head'' (1997, Chrisly) * '' Walked All Night Long'' with

Lefty Dizz Lefty Dizz (April 29, 1937 – September 7, 1993) was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer whose recorded work was released on eight albums. As well as fronting his own band, he worked with Junior Wells, J. B. Lenoir and Hound Dog Ta ...

, originally recorded in 1976 (1997, Blues Alliance) * ''Rip Off Blues'' (1998, Chrisly) * ''Winter & Summer Sessions'' (1998, Blues Factory) * ''Driftin (1999, Earwig Music) * ''Millennium Blues'' (1999, Earwig Music) * ''Sings Deep Blues'' (2001, P-Vine) * ''A Different Shade of Red'' (2002,

Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

) * ''No Turn on Red'' (2005, Hightone) * ''Hot Sauce'' (2005, Red Lightnin') * ''Back to the Black Bayou'', with

Kim Wilson Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, " Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top ...

and Little Victor (2008, Bluestown) * ''You Got to Move'', with David Maxwell (2009, Blu Max/Vizztone) * ''Memphis Mojo'', with Little Victor (2011, Ruf) * ''When My Mama Was Living'' (2012, Labor Records; recorded 1975)

Live albums

* ''Live & Well'' (1976, Ornament) * ''King Bee'', with Sugar Blue (1978, Orchid) * ''Red, Funk and Blue'', with Sugar Blue (1978, Black Panther) * ''Live in Montreux'' (2000, Labor) * ''Live at 55'', with Carey Bell (1994, Enja) * ''Bad Case of the Blues'', with Carey Bell (2004, Mojo Tone) * ''Live at Painted Sky'' (2008, Paul Productions) * ''Red Funk 'n Blue: The Complete 1978 Recordings'' ith Sugar Blue(2021, JSP Records)

Compilation albums

* ''Anthologie du Blues'', vol. 11 (Roulette) * ''Blues Classics'' (1983, L+R) * ''Pretty Woman'' (1991, Blues Beacon) * ''The Best of Louisiana Red'' (1995, Evidence) * ''The Blues Spectrum of Louisiana Red'', with Sugar Blue (1998, JSP) * ''The Sky Is Crying'' (2014, Wolf Records)

Guest appearances (selected)

, ''Brought Up the Hard Way'' *

, '' Comeback'' *

Kent Cooper Kent Cooper (March 22, 1880 – January 31, 1965) served with the Associated Press (AP) for 41 years, last as executive director. Background Kent Cooper was born on March 22, 1880, in Columbus, Indiana; his father was Democratic U.S. Congressma ...

, ''The Blues and Other Songs'' *

Bob Corritore Bob Corritore (born Robert Joseph Corritore; September 27, 1956) is an American blues harmonica player, record producer, blues radio show host and owner of The Rhythm Room, a music venue in Phoenix, Arizona. Corritore is a recipient of a Blues Mu ...

, ''Harmonica Blues'' *

Champion Jack Dupree William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer. Biography Dupree was a New Orle ...

, ''After All'' *

, ''Down Child'' *

Albert King Albert King ( Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and ...

, ''Blues Guitar Killers'', with

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1 ...

and

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

, ''Live'' *

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was bor ...

, ''Rainy Day'' *

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

, '' Blown Bone'' *

Johnny Shines John Ned Shines (April 26, 1915 – April 20, 1992) was an American blues singer and guitarist. Biography Shines was born in Frayser, Tennessee, today a neighborhood of Memphis. He was taught to play the guitar by his mother and spent m ...

, ''Too Wet to Plow'' *

Sunnyland Slim Albert Luandrew (September 5, 1906March 17, 1995), "Blues pianist and singer Sunnyland Slim was born Albert Luandrew in Vance, Mississippi, September 5, 1906 (most sources say 1907, but the Social Security Death Index and 1920 census data give t ...

, ''Decoration Day'' *

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 ...

, ''Boogie & Blues'' *

, ''Music Is My Business'' * Wentus Blues Band, ''Family Album''

Various artists (selected)

* ''The Paul Jones Rhythm & Blues Show – The American Guests'' (JSP CD210) * ''The Paul Jones Rhythm & Blues Show – The American Guests'', vol. 3 (JSP CD235) * ''Chicago Blues'', vol. 2 * ''Earwig 16. Ann. Sampler'' (1995, Earwig Music) * ''Earwig 20. Ann. Sampler'' (2000, Earwig Music) * ''American Folk Blues Festival'' (1980, 1983, L+R) * ''The 1. Blues Sampler'' (1980, L+R) * ''Blues Legends – Blues Giants'' (1993, Castle Communications) * ''Live at Boston Blues Festival'', vol. 2 (2007, Blues Trust) * ''Family Meeting'', Wentus Blues Band with

Mick Taylor Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, h ...

and

Lazy Lester Leslie Johnson (June 20, 1933 – August 22, 2018), known as Lazy Lester, was an American blues musician who sang and played the harmonica and guitar. In a career spanning the 1950s to 2018, he pioneered swamp blues, and also played harmonic ...

(2008, Ruf) * ''Blues Wire Birthday Tour'' (Greece, 2007) * ''Houserockin' and Blues Shoutin – Rhythm Room 15 Year Anniversary Album'' (2006, Blue Witch Records)

Awards

* W. C. Handy Award for Best Traditional Blues Male Artist, 1983 *Lifetime Achievement Award, Blues Trust Productions, 2006 * Grand Prix du Disque (Blues) for ''Back to the Black Bayou'', 2009 * German Record Critics Award (2nd quarter) for Best New Release (Blues), 2009 * Bluesnews Poll for ''Back to the Black Bayou'', 2009 *

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

for Acoustic Album of the Year (''You Got to Move''), 2010

References

External links

Official websiteEarwig Music label website

Louisiana Red profile, Ponderosa Stomp
*
Pittsburgh Music History profile of Louisiana Red
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louisiana Red 1932 births 2012 deaths People from Bessemer, Alabama African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singer-songwriters Louisiana blues musicians Contemporary blues musicians Country blues musicians 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers African-American guitarists American blues harmonica players American expatriates in Germany Chess Records artists Blues musicians from Louisiana Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Guitarists from Alabama Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists JSP Records artists Earwig Music artists Ruf Records artists 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Alabama