Eddie Burns

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Eddie "Guitar" Burns (born February 8, 1928 in Belzoni , Mississippi , † December 13, 2012 ) was an American guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter of the Detroit blues .

life and work

Burns came as a child of a country farmer (Sharecropper) and grew mainly with his grandparents. He taught himself to play the harmonica and also built his first guitar himself.

Influenced by Sonny Boy Williamson I and Big Bill Broonzy, Burns moved to Detroit in 1948 , which had a thriving blues scene in the post-war years, led by John Lee Hooker . His first single, Notoriety Woman , showed his mastery of the harmonica, but he turned to guitar playing over the next few years, including while recording with John Lee Hooker. At that time he appeared regularly as "Big Daddy", "Little Eddie" or "Big Ed" in Detroit nightclubs; but since he couldn't make a living from it, he worked as a mechanic. In the mid-1950s he recorded two singles for Checker Records and Chess Records , but they did not sell well. In the course of the 1960s he recorded various singles, now under his name Eddie "Guitar" Burns. He can also be heard as a guitarist on Hooker's 1966 album The Real Folk Blues .

During a European tour in 1972 he recorded his first album, Bottle Up & Go , in London . In 1994 he received the Michigan Heritage Award . His younger brother Jimmy Burns is a successful soul blues singer and guitarist. On the album Snake Eyes he accompanied Eddie Burns as guitarist. Burns recorded his last album in 2005 at the age of 77. Burns made his last appearance with Little Sonny at the Motor City Blues and Boogie Woogie festival in 2008.

Discography

Albums

  • 1972: Bottle Up & Go (Action)
  • 1975: Detroit Blackbottom ( Big Bear Records )
  • 1989: Detroit (Blue Suit)
  • 2002: Snake Eyes (Delmark Records)
  • 2005: Second Degree Burns (Blue Suit Records. Living Blues Award "Best Contemporary Blues Album 2005" )

Singles

  • 1948: Notoriety Woman (Palda Records)
  • 1953: Hello Miss Jessie Lee (DeLuxe Records)
  • 1954: Biscuit Baking Mama (Checker Records)
  • 1957: Treat Me Like I Treat You (Chess Records)
  • 1961: Orange Driver (Harvey Records)
  • 1961: The Thing To Do (Harvey Records)
  • 1962: (Don't Be) Messing With My Bread (Harvey Records)
  • 1965: Wig Wearin 'Woman (From Records)
  • 1965: I Am Leaving (Von Records)
  • 1982: Don't Even Try It (Red Bird Records)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary in Macomb Daily
  2. ↑ a b Dahl, Bill: Eddie "Guitar" Burns on allmusic.com (English)
  3. ↑ a b Manheim, James: Burns, Eddie 1928– . Contemporary Black Biography, 2004, on encyclopedia.com (English)
  4. ^ Obituary in The Guardian
personal data
SURNAME Burns, Eddie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guitar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues musician
DATE OF BIRTH February 8, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Belzoni (Mississippi) , USA
DATE OF DEATH December 13, 2012