Curtis Jones (pianist)
Curtis Jones | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | August 18, 1906 Naples, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | September 11, 1971 (aged 65) Munich, West Germany |
| Genres | Piano blues |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | Late 1930s–1971 |
| Labels |
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Curtis Jones (August 18, 1906 – September 11, 1971)[1] was an American blues pianist.
Biography
[edit]Jones was born in Naples, Texas,[1] to sharecropping parents,[2] and played guitar whilst young but switched to piano after a move to Dallas. He often played guitar on one or two songs on his albums and at live performances.[3] In 1936 he relocated to Chicago, where he recorded between 1937 and 1941 on Vocalion, Bluebird, and OKeh. Among his best-known tunes from these recordings were the hit "Lonesome Bedroom Blues" and the song "Tin Pan Alley".[3] His "Decoration Blues" though unissued at the time, was recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson I in 1938. World War II interrupted his recording career, which he did not resume until 1953, when a single of his, "Wrong Blues"/"Cool Playing Blues", was released on Parrot, featuring L. C. McKinley on guitar.
Jones's first album appeared in 1960 on Bluesville, by which time he had become a noted performer on the Chicago folk music scene.[3] A solo album was released in 1962, by which time Jones had moved to Europe. He lived there and in Morocco for the rest of his life.[3] He made further albums in the UK, including one in 1968 that featured Alexis Korner on guitar.[3]
One of Jones' songs, "Highway 51 Blues", was included on Bob Dylan's 1962 debut album, Bob Dylan.[4]
Jones died of heart failure in Munich, West Germany, in 1971, at the age of 65.[1][5]
Discography
[edit]- Trouble Blues (Bluesville, 1960)
- Lonesome Bedroom Blues (Delmark, 1962)
- Americans in Europe Vol. 2 (Impulse!, 1963)
- In London (Decca, 1964)
- Now Resident in Europe (Blue Horizon, 1968)
- Blues and Trouble (Oldie Blues OL 2824, 1980)
References
[edit]- Footnotes
- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1309. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ Giles Oakley (1997). The Devil's Music. Da Capo Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-306-80743-5.
- ^ a b c d e Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues – From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 128. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ "Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ Doc Rock. "The 1970s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
- Sources
- Curtis Jones at Allmusic
- Harry Shapiro Alexis Korner: The Biography, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster, ISBN 0-7475-3163-3
- Olderen, Martin van, Blues and Troubles, Linernotes OL 2824, 1980
- 1906 births
- 1971 deaths
- American blues pianists
- American male pianists
- Musicians from Texas
- Okeh Records artists
- Bluebird Records artists
- Parrot Records (blues label) artists
- RCA Victor artists
- Vocalion Records artists
- Delmark Records artists
- People from Naples, Texas
- 20th-century American pianists
- 20th-century American male musicians