Smokey Wilson
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Robert Lee "Smokey" Wilson (July 11, 1936 – September 8, 2015) was an American West Coast blues
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 ...
. He spent most of his career performing West Coast blues and juke joint blues in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. He recorded a number of
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s for
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
s such as
P-Vine Records P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name ...
, Bullseye Blues and Texmuse Records. His career got off to a late start, with international recognition eluding him until the 1990s.


Biography

Wilson was born in Glen Allan, Mississippi, and raised in
Lake Village, Arkansas Lake Village is a city in and the county seat of Chicot County, Arkansas, Chicot County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,575 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is located in the Arkansas Delta. Lake Village is name ...
, He played alongside Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes, Big Jack Johnson, and
Frank Frost Frank Otis Frost (April 15, 1936 or 1938 – October 12, 1999) was one of the foremost United States, American Delta blues harmonica players of his generation. Life and career Most sources state that Frost was born in 1936 in Auvergne, Jackson ...
, before his move to Los Angeles in 1970. He opened the Pioneer Club in
Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), a list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Albie Watts, a fictional character in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' *Angie ...
, where he was the
frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
of the
house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
. He also In booked blues musicians to perform at the club, 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 ...
,
Percy Mayfield Percy Mayfield (August 12, 1920August 11, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer with a smooth vocal style. He was also a songwriter, known for the songs "Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Hit the Road Jack", the latter being a song f ...
,
Pee Wee Crayton Connie Curtis Crayton (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985), known as Pee Wee Crayton, was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer. Career Crayton was born in Rockdale, Texas. He began playing guitar seriously after moving to California ...
and
Albert Collins Albert Gene Collins (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993)Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. He was noted for his powerful playing ...
. His down-to-earth guitar playing was typical of his
Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazo ...
background. "I bring the cotton-field with me," he said, "and I got the juke-joint inside." Wilson released two albums on Big Town Records in the 1970s. His 1983 album, ''88th Street Blues'', for the Murray Brothers label (later reissued by
Blind Pig Records Blind Pig Records is an American blues independent record label. Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco. I ...
) had contributions from
Rod Piazza Rod Piazza (born December 18, 1947, Riverside, California) is an American blues harmonica player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers, which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza, since 1980. Their boogie sound ...
(
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
and
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
) and
Hollywood Fats Michael Leonard Mann (March 17, 1954 – December 8, 1986),Liner notes from Al Blake's album ''Dr. Blakes Magic Soul Elixir'' by Eric LeBlanc known as Hollywood Fats, was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California. Biogra ...
(
rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...
). Wilson performed at the
Long Beach Blues Festival The Long Beach Blues Festival, in Long Beach, California, United States, was established fully in 1980, and was one of the largest blues festivals and was the second oldest on the West Coast (first being the San Francisco Blues Festival). It w ...
in 1980, 1981 and 1999; having earlier appeared at the
San Francisco Blues Festival The San Francisco Blues Festival was active from 1973 until 2008, and was located in San Francisco, California. It was one of the longest running blues festival in the United States. History Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the bl ...
in 1978. ''Smoke n' Fire'' (1993) and '' The Real Deal'' (1995) followed, as Wilson's reputation began to grow as he reached his sixtieth year. Whilst Wilson's years of residency at the Pioneer Club did little to secure nationwide recognition, he appeared on the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
special ''Three Generation of Blues'', with
Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at ...
and
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 ...
. He also appeared in various television commercials, including
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...
's "The Watcher," and FOX's "Divas", plus in a
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
made by
Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
. Wilson died in his sleep on September 8, 2015, in Los Angeles, California.


Discography

*''Blowin' Smoke'' (1977), Big Town; reissued on CD by
P-Vine P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name ...
*''Sings the Blues'' (1978), Big Town; reissued on CD by P-Vine *''88th Street Blues'' (1983); reissued in 1995 by Blind Pig *''With the William Clarke Band'' (1990), Black Magic *''Smoke n' Fire'' (1993), Bullseye Blues *'' The Real Deal'' (1995), Bullseye Blues *'' The Man from Mars'' (1997), Bullseye Blues *''Smokey Stack Lightnin (1995), Vivid Sound; recorded in Japan *''Push'' (1999), previously unreleased Big Town recordings, P-Vine *''Ready to Roll'' (2003), with the Andy T Band, Marble


See also

*
List of electric blues musicians The following is a list of electric blues musicians. The electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, the bass guitar, and/or the harmonica and other instruments. Electric blues is performed in severa ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Smokey 1936 births 2015 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American male singers Songwriters from Mississippi Electric blues musicians Singers from Mississippi Blues musicians from Mississippi Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters