Nathan Beauregard (born Nathan Bogard; February 1892 (probable) – May 25, 1970) 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 ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Biography

According to researchers Bob Eagle and Eric S. LeBlanc, Nathan Bogard was born in Benton County, Mississippi, in February 1892, the month indicated in his 1900 census entry. He sometimes claimed falsely to have been born in the 1860s, and his official death record gives a birth date of July 2, 1887. Born blind, Beauregard soon became a musician, his repertoire consisting of songs of the pre-blues era and dance tunes like "Spoonful" and "Pretty Bunch of Daisies". When he was in his thirties, in the times of the "race recordings" of the 1920s, he saw many blues musicians with minor talent make a fortune as a recording artist while he himself was not offered such a chance. During the

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and

revival of the 1960s Beauregard was discovered in Memphis by Bill Barth, who convinced him to work as a musician again. In the short time between his discovery in 1968 and his death in 1970, he played at various folk and blues festivals (e.g. the 1968 Memphis Country Blues Festival, which has been recorded on the

Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

and Blue Horizon labels) and on a number of

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 ...

s on such labels as Blue Thumb, Arhoolie und Adelphi. He died in Memphis on May 25, 1970.

References

*Chris Smith: Trying to make a hundred (99 and a half ain't true).- Blues & Rhythm 217 (2007), p. 25

External links

Illustrated Nathan Beauregard discography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauregard, Nathan 1892 births 1970 deaths African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blind musicians Blues musicians from Mississippi Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American guitarists Arhoolie Records artists American blind people American musicians with disabilities