Willie Kent

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Willie Kent (born February 24, 1936 in Inverness , Sunflower County , Mississippi , † March 2, 2006 in Englewood , California ) was an American blues singer , bassist and songwriter.

Life

Willie Kent got his first singing experience in church in his youth. Through the KFFA radio show "King Biscuit Time" he got to appreciate Arthur Crudup , Sonny Boy Williamson II and especially Robert Nighthawk . At age eleven, he heard the performing artists there such as Raymond Hill, in Harlem Inn Jackie Brenston , Howlin 'Wolf , Clayton Love, Ike Turner and Little Milton .

In 1952 he came to Chicago , where he worked and listened to the blues. He bought a guitar and in 1959 he joined the band Ralph and the Red Tops as a driver, manager and occasional singer. One night the group's bassist was too drunk to play, so he played bass, the instrument he played the rest of his life. His work for other musicians reads like a who's who of the blues, playing for Little Walter , Muddy Waters , Howlin 'Wolf , Junior Parker , Arthur Stallworth and the Chicago Playboys, Hip Linkchain and Jimmy Dawkins . He made his first European tour in the 1970s and fronted the house band at Ma Bea's Lounge on Madison Avenue (Sugar Bear & the Beehives, guitar-Willie James Lyons, drums-Robert Plunkett). In 1982 he became a member of Eddie Taylor's Blues Band. After his death he formed his own band, Willie Kent & The Gents. It remained in various occupations until Kent's death.

In 1989, after a bypass operation, he gave up his job and devoted himself entirely to music, as can be seen from his discography. Before 1989, only two albums were released by him.

Awards

  • WC Handy Awards : Best Blues Instrumentalist, Bass (1995, 1997 to 2005)
  • Critic Pick: Most Outstanding Blues Musician, Bass Living Blues Magazin (1995-1999, 2001)
  • Readers 'choice: Album of the Year 2001 Soul Bag Magazine, France, for Comin' Alive
  • Critic's Choice: Album of the Year 2001 Soul Bag Magazine, France, for Comin 'Alive
  • France Blues Award: Best Blues Musician, Bass (2002, 2003)
  • Chicago's 1998 Album of the Year Make Room for the Blues
  • Library of Congress : Best Blues Recording of the Year 1991 for Ain't It Nice

Discography

Albums

  • 1975 - Ghetto (Storyville Records)
  • 1989 - I'm What You Need (Big Boy Records)
  • 1991 - Ain't It Nice (Delmark Records)
  • 1991 - King of Chicago's West Side Blues (Wolf Records)
  • 1993 - Live at BLUES in Chicago (Wolf Records)
  • 1994 - Too Hurt to Cry (Delmark Records)
  • 1996 - Long Way to Ol 'Miss (Delmark Records)
  • 1998 - Everybody Needs Somebody (Wolf Records)
  • 1998 - Make Room for the Blues (Delmark Records)
  • 1998 - Who's Been Talking with Lil 'Ed Williams (Earwig Music Company)
  • 2001 - Comin 'Alive! (Blue Chicago Records)
  • 2004 - Blues and Trouble (Isabel Records)

Guest appearances (selection)

  • John Littlejohn Johnny Littlejohn's Blues Party (1991)
  • Eddie Taylor Bad Boy (1993)
  • Johnny B. Moore Lonesome Blues (1993)
  • Al Miller Wild Cards (1995)
  • Bonnie Lee Sweetheart Of The Blues (1995)
  • Eddie Shaw Home Alone (1995)
  • Johnny B. Moore Live At Blue Chicago (1996)
  • Johnny B. Moore 911 Blues (1997)
  • Freddie Roulette Back In Chicago: Jammin 'With Willie Kent And The Gents (1997)
  • Blues Power, Vol. 1: Wolf Records Presents The Best of Blues (1998)
  • Edward Taylor Lookin For Trouble (1998)
  • Boston Blackie / Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 1 (1998)
  • Chicago Blues Tour (1998)
  • Louisiana Red Millennium Blues (1999)
  • Earwig 20th Anniversary Collection (1999)
  • This Is The Blues Harmonica (2000)
  • Vera Taylor You Better Be Careful (2000)
  • Johnny B. Moore Born In Clarksdale Mississippi (2001)
  • Iceman Robinson I've Never Been Loved (2001)
  • Delmark - 50 Years Of Jazz And Blues: Blues (2003)
  • West Side Chicago Blues (2003)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.williekentblues.com/biography/biography.html
  2. ↑ http://www.williekentblues.com/biography/biography.html
  3. ↑ http://www.williekentblues.com/biography/biography.html
  4. ↑ http://www.williekentblues.com/news/obituary.html
  5. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000960574
  6. ↑ http://www.cduniverse.com/sresult.asp?artistid=78795&HT_Search=artist&HT_Search_Info=Willie+Kent&seeall=1
personal data
SURNAME Kent, Willie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues singer and bassist
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Inverness , Sunflower County , Mississippi
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 2006
Place of death Englewood , California