Booba Barnes

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Roosevelt Melvin "Booba" Barnes (September 25, 1936 April 2, 1996) [1] was an American Delta blues guitar player and vocalist. One commentator noted that Barnes, R. L. Burnside, Big Jack Johnson, Paul "Wine" Jones and James "Super Chikan" Johnson were "present-day exponents of an edgier, electrified version of the raw, uncut Delta blues sound." [2]

Contents

Career

Born in Longwood, Washington County, Mississippi, United States, [3] Barnes got his start in 1960 as a member of the Swinging Gold Coasters, a local Mississippi blues outfit. He relocated to Chicago in 1964, where he played in bars and clubs, but returned to Mississippi in 1971 and continued to perform locally into the early 1980s. [1] In 1984, Barnes hooked up with Lil' Dave Thompson when the latter was aged 15, and the duo played on Mississippi's juke joint circuit. [4] Barnes opened a nightclub, the Playboy Club, in 1985, and played there with a backing group called the Playboys; they became regional blues favorites, and eventually signed to Rooster Blues, who released Barnes's debut effort in 1990. [1]

The album was hailed by Allmusic as "an instant modern classic", [5] and Guitar Player called Barnes "a wonderfully idiosyncratic guitar player and an extraordinary vocalist by any standard". [6] Barnes toured the U.S. and Europe following the album's release. [1]

Barnes's career was interrupted in the middle of the decade when he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he died of the disease in April 1996 in Chicago, aged 59. [1] [3]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Johnson</span> American blues musician (1911–1938)

Robert Leroy Johnson was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. Although his recording career spanned only seven months, he is recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style, and as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as perhaps "the first ever rock star".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slide guitar</span> Guitar technique

Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that reflect characteristics of the human singing voice. It typically involves playing the guitar in the traditional position with the use of a slide fitted on one of the guitarist's fingers. The slide may be a metal or glass tube, such as the neck of a bottle, giving rise to the term bottleneck guitar to describe this type of playing. The strings are typically plucked while the slide is moved over the strings to change the pitch. The guitar may also be placed on the player's lap and played with a hand-held bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howlin' Wolf</span> American blues musician (1910–1976)

Chester Arthur Burnett, better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chicago blues, and over a four-decade career, recorded blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and psychedelic rock. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Lockwood Jr.</span> American Delta blues guitarist (1915–2006)

Robert Lockwood Jr. was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly from Robert Johnson. Robert Lockwood was one of the first professional black entertainers to appear on radio in the South, on the King Biscuit Time radio show. Lockwood is known for his longtime collaboration with Sonny Boy Williamson II and for his work in the mid-1950s with Little Walter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Brown (musician)</span> American blues guitarist and vocalist (1900–1952)

Willie Lee Brown was an American blues guitar player and vocalist. He performed and recorded with other blues musicians, including Son House and Charlie Patton, and influenced Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. Brown is considered one of the pioneering musicians of the Delta blues genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Jack Johnson</span> American songwriter

Jack N. Johnson, known as Big Jack Johnson was an American electric blues musician, one of the "present-day exponents of an edgier, electrified version of the raw, uncut Delta blues sound." He was one of a small number of blues musicians who played the mandolin. He won a W. C. Handy Award in 2003 for best acoustic blues album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Taylor</span> American electric blues musician

Eddie Taylor was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Chikan</span> American blues musician

James "Super Chikan" Johnson is an American blues musician based in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He is the nephew of fellow blues musician Big Jack Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddy Clearwater</span> American blues musician

Edward Harrington, better known by his stage name Eddy Clearwater, was an American blues musician who specialized in Chicago blues. Blues Revue said he plays "joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning soul fervor and powerful guitar. One of the blues' finest songwriters."

Mississippi Heat is an American blues band based in Chicago, led by harmonica player Pierre Lacocque. Formed in 1991, the band has toured in the United States, Canada, and Europe, with occasional performances in South America and North Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rooster Blues</span> Record label

Rooster Blues is an American independent record label founded in 1980.

Paul "Wine" Jones was an American contemporary blues guitarist and singer.

Robert Lee "Smokey" Wilson was an American West Coast blues guitarist. He spent most of his career performing West Coast blues and juke joint blues in Los Angeles, California. He recorded a number of albums for record labels such as P-Vine Records, Bullseye Blues and Texmuse Records. His career got off to a late start, with international recognition eluding him until the 1990s.

Johnny B. Moore is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Koko Taylor's backing band in the mid-1970s. He has recorded nine solo albums since 1987. Moore's music retains a link to the earlier Chicago blues of Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters, who also travelled to Chicago from the Mississippi Delta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruteland Jackson</span> American singer

Fruteland Jackson is an American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Henry Townsend stated, "My respect for Fruteland Jackson is very high. He and my boy Alvin Youngblood Hart is the future sound of true acoustic blues." He has also worked with children to raise awareness of blues music and has been honored for his work in that field, including in 1997 being granted a W. C. Handy Award for "Keeping the Blues Alive" in Education.

David Lonzo Thompson was an American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known by his stage name Lil' Dave Thompson. He is best known for his tracks "She Didn't Say Goodbye" and "I Got the Blues".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Wheeler (musician)</span> American singer-songwriter

Michael Lewis Wheeler is a Chicago blues songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist. His first gig was with Muddy Waters' piano player, Lovie Lee. He performed with numerous Chicago bands and well-known artists such as Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, and Shemekia Copeland. He formed his own band, the Mike Wheeler Band, in 2001.His CD, Self Made Man, was released by Delmark Records in 2012 with critical acclaim. He was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in 2014. He is a regular performer at the famed Chicago blues club, Kingston Mines.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Jim O'Neal and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes at Allmusic
  2. Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 160. ISBN   1-904041-96-5.
  3. 1 2 Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1996 - 1997". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  4. Steve Huey. "Dave Thompson | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  5. Thom Owens. "The Heartbroken Man - Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  6. Jas Obrecht of Guitar Player as quoted in Barnes' Allmusic biography.