Sylvester Weaver

Sylvester Weaver (born July 25, 1897 in Louisville , Kentucky , † April 4, 1960 ibid) was an American blues guitarist and pioneer of country blues .

Live and act

On October 23, 1923 he played together with the blues singer Sara Martin in New York the 78er "Longing for Daddy Blues" / "I've Got to Go and Leave My Daddy Behind" one, two weeks later as a soloist the record "Guitar Blues" "/" Guitar Rag " ; both recordings were released on Okeh Records . These recordings represent the very first country blues recordings. In particular the piece "Guitar Rag" (actually recorded on a guitar banjo) is still one of the classics of the early blues, an arrangement from the 1930s by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys became a country standard as "Steel Guitar Rag" .

By 1927 Weaver recorded around 50 more pieces, partly with Sara Martin, partly as a soloist, and on some recordings from 1927 he was accompanied by another guitarist, Walter Beasley , and the singer Helen Humes . Weaver often made use of the bottleneck style, using a pocket knife. His recordings were successful on the record market, but in 1927 he retired from the business to Louisville, where he lived until his death in 1960. Although many interpreters of country blues experienced a renewed interest in their music from the 1950s, Weaver died in oblivion. It was not until 1992 that his complete works appeared on 2 CDs, in the same year his (previously anonymous) grave received a gravestone at the instigation of the Louisville-based Kentucky Blues Society . The KBS has also given the Sylvester Weaver Award every year since 1989 to people who have made outstanding contributions to the blues.

Works

• Complete Recorded Works Vol. 1 (1923-1927) ( Document Records , ed. 1992)
• Complete Recorded Works Vol. 2 (1927) (Document Records, ed. 1992)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Biography on AllMusic.com (Engl.)
2. ↑ Sylvester Weaver Award from KBS