Louis Washington (reportedly born Louis Jackson, October 1895 – after 1934), also known by his bluesman name, Tallahassee Tight, was an American musician, performing both gospel music and blues. According to researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc, he was born in

Wadesboro, Florida Wadesboro is an unincorporated community in eastern Leon County, Florida, United States. Location In broad geographic terms, Wadesboro is located between Highway 90 on the north, Interstate 10 on the south, Baum Road on the west, and State ...

, in 1895. His limited output was all recorded, as far as is known, by the

American Record Corporation American Record Corporation (ARC), also referred to as American Record Company, American Recording Corporation, or ARC Records, was an American record company in operation from 1929 to 1938, and again from 1978 to 1982. Overview ARC was crea ...

in New York in 1934, and is essentially limited to one relatively modern release: ''East Coast Blues & Gospel Songs'', Document Records DOCD-5387, 1995. This recording also includes the work of his contemporary, Spark Plug Smith.Evans, David, 1995. Liner notes of ''East Coast Blues & Gospel Songs'', Document Records DOCD-5387. Washington used his real name for his gospel singing, but apparently preferred to use Tallahassee Tight when singing blues. It is believed that he was from northwest Florida, based not only on his choice of nicknames, but also from several of his songs: "Tallahassee Women", "Quincy Wimmens", and "Coast Line Blues".

Quincy, Florida Quincy is a city in and the county seat of Gadsden County, Florida, United States. Quincy is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area, Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,970 as of the 2020 census, almost eve ...

is approximately 20 miles from

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

, and the Coast Line refers to the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

which passes through Tallahassee.Bastin, Bruce, 1995. ''Red River Blues'',

University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois System. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, thirty-three scholarly journals, and several electroni ...

, pp. 43-44, In 1995, an album was released by Document Records of the music of Louis Washington/Tallahassee Tight and Spark Plug Smith. The album indicates that the music was originally recorded in 1933 and 1934. According to

Bruce Bastin Bruce Bastin (born 19 September 1939) is an English folklorist and a leading expert on the blues music styles of the southeastern states of America (such as East Coast blues and Piedmont blues). In 2022, his publication ''Red River Blues: The B ...

, "Of limited musical interest, but completely within the guitar traditions of the Southeast, Louis Washington may have the distinction of being the one recorded resident Florida Bluesman of the period of commercial blues recording".

References

External links

Document Records DOCD-5387
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Louis 1895 births Year of death missing American blues guitarists American male guitarists American male singers People from Leon County, Florida