Wilbert Ellis

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Wilbert Thirkield "Big Chief" Ellis (born November 10, 1914 in Birmingham , Alabama , † December 20, 1977 there ) was an American blues pianist and singer .

Life

He learned to play the piano autodidactically at the age of 11. His childhood nickname "Big Chief" was given by a friend because his mother was a Black Creek Indian. In the late 1920s, he played at local parties and dance events. He left his hometown and moved around the US doing odd jobs. Between 1939 and 1942 he served in the army. At the end of his service, he moved to New York , where he ran a bar that became a meeting place for local blues musicians. One of them, Brownie McGhee , gave him the opportunity to record records after hearing him at the piano for the first time. In the 1950s on some records and played in recordings, including for Brownie McGhee. Ellis became a fixture in the small New York blues scene.

In the end he gave up music because he didn't think he could make a living from it. In 1972 he moved to Washington, DC and bought a liquor store. After returning to the music business, a $ 75 check for a 15-minute gig, he formed the Barrelhouse Rockers with an unknown Piedmont guitarist named John Cephas . The band also included harmonica player Phil Wiggins . In 1977 he went back to Alabama and died shortly before starting his first European tour. John Cephas and Phil Wiggins continued to work as a duo (Cephas & Wiggins).

Discography

  • Big Chief Ellis Featuring Tarheel Slim, Brownie McGhee (1977)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://negroartist.com/writings/Wilbert%20Big%20Chief%20Ellis%20(1914-1977).htm  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / negroartist.com  
  2. ↑ http://negroartist.com/writings/Wilbert%20Big%20Chief%20Ellis%20(1914-1977).htm  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / negroartist.com  
personal data
SURNAME Ellis, Wilbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ellis, Wilbert Thirkield (full name); Ellis, Big Chief (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues singer and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Birmingham , Alabama , USA
DATE OF DEATH 20th December 1977
Place of death Birmingham , Alabama , USA