Fird Eaglin Jr. (January 21, 1936 or 1937 – February 18, 2009), known as Snooks Eaglin, was an American guitarist and singer based in New Orleans. In his early years he was sometimes credited under other names, including Blind Snooks Eaglin, "Lil" Snook, Ford Eaglin, Blind Guitar Ferd. His vocal style was reminiscent of that of Ray Charles; in the 1950s, when he was in his late teens, he sometimes billed himself as "Little Ray Charles". He played a wide range of styles of music within the same concert, album, or even song: blues,

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

, and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

. In his early years, he also played acoustic blues. His ability to play a wide range of songs and make them his own earned him the nickname "The Human Jukebox." Eaglin claimed in interviews that his musical repertoire included some 2,500 songs. At live shows, he usually did not prepare set lists and was unpredictable, even to his bandmates. He played songs that came to him on stage, and he also took requests from the audience.

Early life

Eaglin lost his sight not long after his first birthday, having been stricken with

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye re ...

, and spent several years in the hospital with other ailments. Around the age of five he received a guitar from his father and taught himself to play by listening to and playing along with the radio. A mischievous youngster, he was given the nickname "Snooks" after a radio character named Baby Snooks.

Career

Early years

In 1947, at the age of 11, Eaglin entered a talent contest organized by the radio station WNOE and won it with his performance of " Twelfth Street Rag.""Snooks Eaglin Interview". ''Blues & Soul Records Magazine'', no. 8, March 31, 1996. Three years later, he dropped out of a school for the blind to become a professional musician. In 1952, he joined the Flamingoes, a local seven-piece band started by Allen Toussaint. The Flamingoes did not have a bass player, and according to Eaglin, he played both the guitar and the bass parts simultaneously on his guitar. He stayed with the Flamingoes for several years, until the group disbanded in the mid-1950s. As a solo artist, his recording and touring were inconsistent, and for a man with a career of about 50 years, his discography is rather slim. His first recording was in 1953, playing guitar at a recording session for James "Sugar Boy" Crawford. The first recordings under his own name were made by

Harry Oster Dr. Harry Oster (April 12, 1923 – January 19, 2001) was an American folklorist and musicologist. Biography Oster was the firstborn of Jacob and Sarah, Russian-Polish Jews, who emigrated to Cambridge, Massachusetts. After one year in college ...

, a folklorist from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, who found Eaglin playing in the streets of New Orleans and recorded him in seven sessions between 1958 and 1960. For these recordings, Eaglin played in a folk blues style, accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar, without a band. These recordings were later released by several labels, including Folkways, Folk-Lyric, and Prestige/Bluesville."Snooks Eaglin Story & Discography". ''Blues & Soul Records Magazine'', no. 6, September 20, 1995.

1960s and 1970s

From 1960 to 1963, Eaglin recorded for

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

. He played electric guitar in sessions for Imperial, with backup from a band including James Booker on piano and

Smokey Johnson Joseph "Smokey" Johnson Jr. (November 14, 1936 – October 6, 2015) was an American drummer. He was one of the musicians, session players, and songwriters who served as the backbone for New Orleans' output of jazz, funk, blues, soul, and R ...

on drums. He recorded 26 tracks for Imperial (available on ''The Complete Imperial Recordings''), many of which were songs written by

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally ...

. Unlike the Harry Oster recordings, these works on Imperial are New Orleans R&B in the style for which he is widely known today. After Imperial, in 1964, he recorded alone at his home with a guitar for the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation; these recordings were released on the album ''I Blueskvarter 1964: Vol. 3''. For the remainder of the 1960s, he apparently made no recordings. His next recorded work was for the Swedish label Sonet in 1971. Another album, ''Down Yonder'', with Ellis Marsalis on piano, was released in 1978. Apart from his own work, Eaglin took part in recording sessions with Professor Longhair in 1971 and 1972 (released on the album ''Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge''). He also played guitar on the first album by the Wild Magnolias, recorded in 1973.

Black Top and later years

Eaglin joined Nauman and Hammond Scott of Black Top Records in the 1980s and obtained a recording contract with the label. Eaglin's years with Black Top were the most consistent years of his recording career. Between 1987 and 1999, he recorded four studio albums and a live album and appeared as a guest on a number of recordings by other Black Top artists, including

Henry Butler Henry Butler (September 21, 1948 – July 2, 2018) was an American jazz and blues pianist. He learned piano, drums, and saxophone in school. He received a college degree and graduate degree and taught at the New Orleans Center for Creati ...

, Earl King, and Tommy Ridgley. After Black Top Records closed, Eaglin released the album ''The Way It Is'' for Money Pit Records, produced by the Scott brothers of Black Top. In 1997, Eaglin's version of " St. James Infirmary" was featured in a UK television advertisement for Budweiser

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "stora ...

. Eaglin appears in performance footage in the 2005 documentary film '' Make It Funky!'', which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed p ...

, funk and

. In the film, he performs " Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)" with guest

George Porter Jr. George Porter Jr. (born December 26, 1947) is an American musician, best known as the bassist and singer of The Meters. Along with Art Neville, Porter formed the group in the mid 1960s and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of fun ...

and the house band.

Death

Eaglin died of a heart attack at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans on February 18, 2009. He had been diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

in 2008 and had been hospitalized for treatment. He was scheduled to make a comeback appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the spring of 2009. In honor of his contributions to New Orleans music, he was depicted in an artist's rendering on the cover of the "Jazz Fest Bible" edition of ''

Offbeat Offbeat, originally a music term meaning "not following the standard beat", which has also become a general synonym for "unconventional" or "unusual", may refer to: Music *Syncopation *Off-beat (music), the musical term in more detail *Off Beat (l ...

'' magazine, for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2009. For many years, Eaglin lived in St. Rose, a suburb of New Orleans, with his wife, Dorothea. Though he did not play many live shows, he regularly performed at Rock 'n' Bowl in New Orleans and at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Discography

Original albums

*1958, ''New Orleans Street Singer'', recordings made by

, of

, March 1958 *1959, ''New Orleans Street Singer'' (Smithsonian Folkways 2476) *1960, ''Message from New Orleans'' (Heritage 1002) *1971, ''The Legacy of the Blues Vol. 2'' (Sonet) *1978, ''Down Yonder—Snooks Eaglin Today!'' (Sonet 752) *1987, '' Baby, You Can Get Your Gun!'' (Black Top) *1989, ''Out of Nowhere'' (Black Top 1049) *1992, '' Teasin' You'' (Black Top 1072) *1995, ''

Soul's Edge ''Soul's Edge'' is an album by the American blues guitarist and singer Snooks Eaglin, released in 1995 on Black Top Records. Reception In his review for AllMusic, Bill Dahl wrote: "Give this New Orleans master enough studio time, and he'll red ...

'' (Black Top 1112) *1996, ''Soul Train from Nawlins: Live at the Park Tower Blues Festival '95'' ( P-Vine) *1997, ''Live in Japan'' (Black Top 1137), U.S. release of ''Soul Train from Nawlins'' *2002, ''The Way It Is'' (Money Pit)

Compilation albums

*1959, ''New Orleans Washboard Blues'' (Folk-Lyric 107) *1964, ''Portraits in Blues Vol. 1'' (Storyville 146) *1964, ''Blues from New Orleans Vol. 2'' (Storyville 140) *1971, ''The Legacy of the Blues Vol. 2'' (Sonet 625) *1983, ''New Orleans 1960–1961'' (Sundown 709-04) *1996, ''Heavy Juice, The Blues Collection Vol. 75'' (Orbis BLU 075) *2003, ''The Best of ...'' (Grammercy 182) *2004, ''The Blues of Snooks Eaglin & Boogie Bill Webb'' (Storyville 8054) *2010, ''ABC of the Blues Vol. 10'' (IntenseMedia 233168)

Harry Oster recordings

*1961, ''That's All Right'' (Prestige/Bluesville 569) *1991, ''Country Boy Down in New Orleans'' (Arhoolie 348) *1994, ''New Orleans Street Singer'' (Storyville 8023)

Imperial recordings

*1995, ''The Complete Imperial Recordings'' (Capitol 545)

Singles

*1960 "Yours Truly" / "Nobody Knows" (Imperial 5671) *1962 "Going to the River" / "I'm Slippin' In" (Imperial 5802) *1962 "Nothing Sweet as You" / "Don't Slam the Door" (Imperial 5823) *1963 "Country Boy" / "Alberta" (Storyville 45056)

Filmography

*199? ''Snooks Eaglin & George Porter Jr at Lone Star Roadhouse 1998'' VHS (details not known, songs appear on YouTube and elsewhere) *2005 ''The Blues of Snooks Eaglin'' (Storyville 16041, DVD) – recorded live, October 23, 1985, Storyville Jazz Hall, New Orleans. Also released as ''Jazz Icons: Snooks Eaglin''. *2005 '' Make It Funky!'' ( Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 11952, DVD) – appears in performance footage with

References

External links

* *
Illustrated Snooks Eaglin discography

''New Orleans Street Singer'' Album Details
at Smithsonian Folkways {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaglin, Snooks 1937 births 2009 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Black Top Records artists Imperial Records artists Arhoolie Records artists Jazz musicians from New Orleans Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Blues musicians from New Orleans 20th-century American guitarists Singers from Louisiana People from St. Rose, Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians