Theodore Roosevelt Darby, better known as Blind Teddy Darby (March 2, 1906 – December 1975), 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 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 ...

. Darby was born in Henderson,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He moved to

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

with his family when he was a child. His mother taught him to play the guitar. He served some time for selling

moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

. In 1926, he lost his eyesight because of

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

.Barlow, William (1989). ''"Looking Up At Down": The Emergence of Blues Culture'', pp. 267–268. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. . He recorded from 1929 until 1937, under the names Blind Teddy Darby, Blind Darby, Blind Blues Darby and Blind Squire Turner for

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

, Victor,

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous passerine birds in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. Bluebirds lay an ...

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

and

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

. In 1960 he was "rediscovered" and recorded by

Pete Welding Peter John Welding (November 15, 1935 – November 17, 1995) was an American historian, archivist, and record producer specializing in jazz and blues. Born in Philadelphia, United States, Welding worked as a journalist for ''Down Beat'' magazine an ...

of Testament Records, but the recordings from this session were never released. Darby was a friend of the blues musician

Peetie Wheatstraw William Bunch (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941), known as Peetie Wheatstraw, was an American musician, an influential figure among 1930s blues singers. Early life and career William Bunch was born in Ripley, Tennessee, in 1902, the s ...

. On December 21, 1941, Wheatstraw's 39th birthday, Darby was invited to go for a drive with Wheatstraw and two others, but Darby's wife objected, and he declined the invitation. Wheatstraw and his two companions were killed when their car struck a standing freight train. In the late 1930s, he gave up the blues and became an ordained deacon. His song, "Built Right on the Ground", has been covered (under the title of "I Never Cried"), from the 1970s onwards, by John Miller (who first changed the title),

Roy Book Binder Roy Book Binder (born October 5, 1941 as Paul Roy Bookbinder) is an American blues guitarist, singer-songwriter and storyteller. A student and friend of the Rev. Gary Davis, he is equally at home with blues and ragtime. He is known to shift fro ...

, Howard Bursen, and Phil Heywood. Teddy Darby died in December 1975.

Compilations

*''St. Louis Country Blues'' (Earl Archives, 1984) *''Bootleggin' Ain't Good No More'' (Blue Planet, 1993) *''Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order'' (Document, 1993)

References

External links

Illustrated Teddy Darby discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, Teddy 1906 births 1975 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Songwriters from Kentucky Blues musicians from Kentucky St. Louis blues musicians Paramount Records artists Bluebird Records artists Singers from Kentucky 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Kentucky African-American male songwriters African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American blind singers American blind guitarists Blind blues musicians 20th-century American songwriters