Memphis Minnie Queen Of The Delta Blues
by Larry Butterworth
Title
Memphis Minnie Queen Of The Delta Blues
Artist
Larry Butterworth
Medium
Digital Art - Vector Graphic
Description
In 1910, at the age of 13, she ran away from her home to live on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. She played on street corners for most of her teenage years, although she would periodically return to her family's farm when she ran out of money.[4] Her sidewalk performances led to a four-year tour of the South with the Ringling Brothers Circus from 1916 to 1920.[5] Eventually she came back to Beale Street and got involved in the blues scene. At the time, women, whiskey, and cocaine were high in demand with the people and places she would be around. She made her money by playing guitar, singing, and prostitution, which was not uncommon at the time, since many female performers also worked as prostitutes because of financial desperation.[6]
In 1929 she and Kansas Joe McCoy, her second husband, began to perform together. They were discovered by a talent scout of Columbia Records in front of a barber shop where they were playing for dimes.[7] When she and McCoy went to record in New York, they were given the names Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie by a Columbia A and R man.[8] During the next few years she and McCoy released a series of records, performing as a duet. In February 1930 they recorded the song "Bumble Bee", which they had already recorded for Columbia but which had not yet been released, for the Vocalion label. This became one of Minnie's most popular songs, and she eventually recorded five versions of it.[9] Minnie and McCoy continued to record for Vocalion until August 1934, when they recorded a few sessions for Decca, with their last session together being for Decca in September.[10] They divorced in 1935.[1] She and McCoy introduced country blues to the urban environment and became very well known.[citation needed]
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June 26th, 2014
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