Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes (born January 31, 1906 in Elmar , Arkansas , † July 17, 1983 in New Orleans , Louisiana ) was an influential American blues pianist, also known as "the Honeydripper".
Life
Sykes started playing the piano at the age of 15. In the early 1920s the family moved to St. Louis , where Sykes soon became known as an outstanding blues musician. Like many other musicians, he moved around playing in front of an all-male audience in sawmills and construction camps along the Mississippi River. Here he developed a repertoire of raw, sexually suggestive songs. He was discovered by a talent scout in 1929 and made his first recording for Okeh Records . It was 44 Blues, a number that became a blues standard and trademark. He made many recordings for various labels, also under pseudonyms such as "Easy Papa Johnson", "Dobby Bragg" and "Willie Kelly". He was also active as an accompanist, u. a. for Charlie McFadden .
Sykes went to Chicago in the 1940s ; there he also recorded a few singles for United . His song Sunny Road reached # 2 on the Race Records charts in 1946 . He was one of the few musicians who were allowed to make recordings during the war, in times of rationing. Sykes was one of the first American blues musicians to perform in Europe. After the electrified blues dominated the music scene in Chicago, Sykes went to New Orleans. There he began to record again in the 1960s, for example for Delmark , Bluesville, Storyville and Folkways .
Roosevelt Sykes spent his final years in New Orleans , where he died in 1983. In 1999 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame .
Discography (selection)
Albums
The table contains a selection of Sykes' works. As far as possible, the year of origin is given, otherwise the year of publication of the compilation or the reprinted original.
Surname | Label | year |
---|---|---|
Return of Roosevelt Sykes | Original Blues Classics | 1960 |
Roosevelt Sykes Sings the Blues | Ace | 1960 |
Piano blues | Folkways | 1966 |
Blues Roots / Chicago - The 1930's | Folkways | 1967 |
Feel Like Blowing My Horn | Delmark | 1973 |
Hard drivin 'blues | Delmark | 1974 |
Raining in My Heart | Delmark | 1987 |
Complete Recorded Works Vol. 1 to 10 | Document records | 1992-1994 |
Gold Mine Live in Europe | Delmark | 1992 |
Blues by Roosevelt "The Honeydripper" Sykes | Smithsonian Folkways | 1995 |
Rock it | Allegro | 1998 |
Dirty Mother for You | Southland / City Hall | 1998 |
Postwar Years 1945–1957, Vol. 2: West Helena Blues | Wolf Records | 1998 |
Roosevelt Sykes 1931-1941 | Wolf Records | 1999 |
Grind It! | Total Energy | 1999 |
Honey dripper | Aim | 2000 |
Chicago boogie | Delmark | 2004 |
Music is my business | laboratory | 2007 |
Honey dripper | Acrobat | 2008 |
Video albums
- Lightnin 'Hopkins & Roosevelt Sykes (recordings from 1993-2003)
- Big Bill Broonzy and Roosevelt Sykes (recordings from 1956-2002)
Web links
- Roosevelt Sykes at Discogs (English)
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Sykes, Roosevelt |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American blues pianist |
DATE OF BIRTH | January 31, 1906 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Elmar , Arkansas |
DATE OF DEATH | 17th July 1983 |
Place of death | New Orleans , Louisiana |