Little Arthur Duncan (February 5, 1934 – August 20, 2008) was an American

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 ...

and

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. He was a member of the Backscratchers and over his career was associated with

Earl Hooker Earl Zebedee Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and ...

, Twist Turner, Illinois Slim and Rick Kreher.

Life

Duncan was born in

Indianola, Mississippi Indianola is a city in and the county seat of Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta. The population was 10,683 at the 2010 census. History On June 30, 1874 the town was surveyed and on April 14, 1885 an addition ...

. His first instrument was the drums. In 1950, aged 16, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, and became acquainted with

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

, who helped him to learn the rudiments of harmonica playing, and

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

. He found work playing the harmonica accompanying

John Brim John Charles Brim (April 10, 1922 – October 1, 2003) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He wrote and recorded the song "Ice Cream Man" which was later covered by the rock band Van Halen for their first album, and ...

and

Floyd Jones Floyd Jones (July 21, 1917 – December 19, 1989) was an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II, and a number of his recor ...

. Billed and henceforth commonly known as Little Arthur Duncan, he played primarily in and around Chicago and built up a local reputation over the years. He performed with his own band in the Backscratcher's Social Club, which he owned. He worked in construction during the 1960s and 1970s, so was limited to playing and singing in the evenings. In 1989, Duncan recorded the album ''Bad Reputation'', which was released on the Blues King label. He later appeared on a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, ''Blues Across America: The Chicago Scene'', with Emery Williams Jr. and Robert Plunkett. In 1999, Duncan recorded for

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent, American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 as Delmar Records and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, ...

, which released the album ''Singin' with the Sun'' that year. On the album he was accompanied by the guitar players Billy Flynn and Eddie Taylor Jr. ''Live in Chicago'' followed in 2000. His final recording was ''Live at Rosa's Blues Lounge'', a live album recorded in Chicago in August 2007. One

music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

noted that "spirited, gritty performances of

Reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

's "Pretty Thing," Wolf's "No Place to Go," and two Dixon favorites ("Young Fashioned Ways" and "

Little Red Rooster "Little Red Rooster" (or "The Red Rooster" as it was first titled) is a blues standard credited to arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon. The song was first recorded in 1961 by American blues musician Howlin' Wolf in the Chicago blues style. Hi ...

") leave no doubt that Duncan lives and breathes electric Chicago blues." However, a subsequent lengthy illness and hospitalization prevented Duncan from building on this success. Duncan died in

Northlake, Illinois Northlake is a city in Leyden Township and Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,840 at the 2020 census. The city's moniker is "The City of Friendly People". The name "Northlake" comes from two streets, N ...

, in August 2008, of complications following brain surgery, at the age of 74.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

References

External links