Tampa Red - The Guitar Wizard

Tampa Red

As long as I've been listening to the blues, I've rarely listened to any Tampa Red recordings. In retrospect, I'm kind of surprised that I haven't. Granted, I've only recently gone back into the pre-war recordings, and when I did, I focused on the Mississippi Delta variety. I don't think I avoided him intentionally....his music just didn't happen to fall in my particular choices.

Now that doesn't mean that I wasn't familiar with Tampa Red....I've heard his songs from numerous other blues artists over the years. It's safe to say that nearly all blues fans are familiar with Tampa Red's songs - "New Stranger Blues," "Black Angel Blues," "Crying Won't Help You," "It Hurts Me Too," "Love Her With A Feeling," "Things 'Bout Coming My Way," "Anna Lou Blues," "Let Me Play WIth Your Poodle," and "Early In the Morning" were among his hits, and were also recorded by many other blues artists. I just didn't realize when I first heard them that they were written by Tampa Red.

I've always been a huge fan of slide guitar, particularly the work of Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker, Elmore James, and Muddy Waters. Well, Tampa Red was a major influence on all of these guitarists and many more (B.B. King was a huge fan), and these artists' versions of Red's songs might be the versions that you are familiar with. Upon listening to Tampa Red, his influence made complete sense. I can only imagine the impact his single-string slide guitar technique had upon both artists and listeners when his first recordings hit the streets in the late 20's, when it would have been considered a new concept.

Tampa Red with Leroy Carr

Though I hadn't listened to a lot of Tampa Red's music, I had read about him...mainly because I wondered, given his body of work that has been covered by so many blues stars who followed him, why he is not mentioned as much as other blues pioneers. One of the things you read about is that he sort of mixed genres, recording songs that were considered to more pop songs or R&B songs or even hokum. Hokum music is suggestive, or “dirty” blues, which were popular at the time, but are sort of disregarded by some blues scholars as lightweight these days.

Another factor was his use of the kazoo, which he began incorporating into his songs from the mid 30's onward. At the time, with the various styles of music played in the pre-electric era, it made sense to Red to use the kazoo, and it was popular to his listeners as well, but it was often used in lieu of Red's amazing guitar work. Listeners at the time were probably fine with it because, to them, it was fun and entertaining, but for modern listeners, it can be somewhat jarring.

That being said, listening to Tampa Red's sides, recorded from the late 20's through the mid 50's with only a couple of pauses in-between, can be a rewarding experience and for blues fans, it's definitely worth your time. The story of his life is interesting as well.

Tampa Red was born Hudson Woodbridge in Smithville, Georgia....the actual date is a bit of a question mark because he gave varying dates from 1900 to 1908. The date usually recognized is January 8, 1904 because that's what's listed on his death certificate. His parents died when he was very young and he was moved to Tampa, Florida to live with an aunt and grandmother, whose last name was Whittaker, so he adopted their name, Hudson Whittaker.

Whittaker's older brother played the guitar around the Tampa area, so he learned a bit from him, but his primary inspiration was an old street musician named Piccolo Pete, who taught him his first blues licks. He had also heard Hawaiian guitar played and he learned to play it in standard position instead of lap style, using a thumb pick to strike the springs and a bottleneck, which helped him develop his unique slide sound. He also learned from listening to recordings from many of the female blues singers at the time.

Whittaker started playing the vaudeville circuit in the 20's, eventually settling in the Chicago area around 1925, where he adopted the “Tampa Red” moniker referring to his childhood home and his light skin. His playing style was a combination of his country blues roots and a newer, more polished style that would work better in an urban setting and his guitar work was a mix of Mississippi and Hawaii with his precise bottleneck work which sounded like no one else at the time.

In 1928, Red found his ideal partner in “Georgia” Tom Dorsey, a singer/piano man who eventually left the blues and became known as the “Father of Gospel Music.” That career change for Dorsey was several years down the road when the pair recorded “It's Tight Like That” on Vocalion Records in late 1928. The hokum number was a huge smash and eventually sold over seven million copies, which launched Red and Dorsey's recording careers in a big way. He also managed to insert some recordings that highlighted his guitar playing along the way.

Red also formed a Hokum Jug Band, a mix of guitars, piano, bass, washboard, and jug players), but once Dorsey left and the novelty of the hokum craze subsided, he formed Tampa Red's Hot Five, which included clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone, and occasionally the aforementioned kazoo (check out "Anna Lou Blues" below). The audiences apparently like the kazoo, it was a fun sound, and Red must have liked it too, because it became a regular part of his repertoire from 1936 onward.

The mid 30's through early 40's were the period that generated most of Red's greatest songs, such as “Black Angel Blues,” which became “Sweet Black Angel” in B.B. King's hands. Another King, Freddy, covered “Love With A Feeling,” while slide master Robert Nighthawk transformed Red's “Anna Lou” into “Anna Lee” (Nighthawk also covered “Sweet Black Angel”), and Elmore James, another slide master, covered “It Hurts Me Too” and “New Stranger Blues.”

Red cut these sides during his tenure with RCA's Bluebird Records, signing on with the label in 1934. His recordings were so successful that he eventually was responsible for the overall sound of most of the label's releases, dubbed “The Bluebird Beat.” He played on his own sides and appeared on other Bluebird artists recordings as well, notably Big Maceo Merriweather, Sonny Boy Williamson I, and Memphis Minnie. He also began incorporating electric guitar into his music as well. Other notable tracks from this period included “She Wants To Sell My Monkey,” “Let Me Play With Your Poodle,” and “Don't You Lie To Me.”

In 1947, Red moved from Bluebird to RCA's main label, Victor, where he remained until 1953, recording new songs and reworking some of his previous hits for a new audience, even moonlighting for a small independent label, Sabre, using the name Jimmy Eager for several tracks in the fall of 1953.

Red enjoyed much success and prosperity during the 30's and 40's and his house became a center for the blues community in Chicago. Many musicians rehearsed there, set up their gigs, even stayed there when making their way up north. His wife, Frances Whittaker helped him do all of this, offering new arrivals a place to stay and a meal. Sadly, she passed away in late 1953 and her loss devastated Red. He became an alcoholic and developed mental problems, which curtailed his music career and eventually left him destitute.

Red recorded a couple of albums for Bluesville Records in 1960, in hopes of capitalizing on the blues revival, the new interest in blues from a white audience, but returned to obscurity soon afterward. His mental problems worsened. Blues expert Jim O'Neal found him in 1974 on Chicago's South Side, living in poverty with an older lady serving as caregiver (who passed away near the end of the same year), and he ended up in a nursing home, where he died from a heart attack on March 19, 1981 in his late seventies.

Tampa Red recorded over 300 78's during his career, making him one of the most prolific blues artists of his era. He only recorded two albums, the two on Bluesville Records, but there have been numerous albums released that collect his early sides and they're all worth listening. My two choices cover most of his career from beginning to end. It Hurts Me Too – The Essential Recordings, on Indigo Records, covers the period from 1928 to 1942, and I'll Find My Way – Hot Chicago Blues 1947 – 1953 takes in most of the rest of his career.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue #23

Dear readers, it's time once again for Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue.  This makes our 23nd edition.  For a long time, this was one of our favorite themes and it dates back to FBF's early days as a weekly email sent to co-workers.  It serves as a great way to introduce new and old tunes to new and old blues fans.  

For those unfamiliar with the format, we offer a song from the early days of the blues (Something Old), a song from a recent blues artist (Something New), a blues artist covering a rock song or vice versa (Something Borrowed), and finally, someone who epitomizes the blues.....usually a legendary artist (Something Blue).  Here we go......

For Something Old, let's go way back to 1929, with one of T-Bone Walker's first recordings.  Recorded for Columbia Records, "Trinity River Blues" was the B-side of his recording debut ("Wichita Falls Blues" was the A-side).  The 19-year old Walker was billed as "Oak Cliff T-Bone" on this record, Oak Cliff being the community in Dallas where he lived and T-Bone was a variation of his middle name (Aaron Thibeaux Walker).  Walker, playing acoustic guitar, is backed by Douglas Fernell on piano.  The youngster had already been a working performer on the blues circuit since the age of 15.  Of course, he went on to become one of the most influential blues guitarists and performers with incredible recordings in the 40's and 50's with Black  & Blue Records, Imperial Records, and Atlantic Records.

For Something New, meet Kirk Fletcher, guitarist extraordinaire.  Fletcher has been recording since the late 90's as a solo artist, but he also spent four years with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and also appeared on T-Bird front man Kim Wilson's album Smokin' Joint.  he also collaborated with Charlie Musselwhite, the Mannish Boys, Joe Bonamassa, and many others (including an appearance on William Shatner's blues album in 2020).  He returned to his own recordings around 2010.  He also developed into a very good singer and his recordings show he's a fine guitarist who's not afraid to branch out from the blues, mixing in funk, soul, rock, and jazz.  Fletcher recovered from a stroke he suffered a couple of years ago, but his latest release, the dynamic Keep On Pushing (on the VizzTone Label Group), shows that he's still a wonderful guitarist.  FBF recommends that blues fans track down this excellent release as soon as you can.

For Something Borrowed, we go to K.C. Douglas, born in 1913 in Sharon, MS.  He played around the Jackson, MS area in the early 40's with Tommy Johnson and others, but migrated to Vellejo, California in his late 20's to work in the navy shipyards and was soon playing the blues around the San Francisco/Oakland area.  He was strongly influenced by Johnson, recording several of his songs when he had the opportunity.  His first recording, in 1948 as the K.C. Douglas Trio, was "Mercury Boogie," which was later renamed "Mercury Blues."  Most music fans have heard this song played in one genre or another....David Lindley recorded a great version in the early 80's on his El-Rayo-X album.  Others recording it were Steve Miller, Ry Cooder, and Alan Jackson, whose version hit #2 on the country charts in 1992.  Even today, the Ford Motor Company bought the rights to the song and used it in their TV spots.  Douglas, sadly, didn't get to see much success of royalties in his lifetime...he passed away in October of 1975 at the age of 61.

Finally, for Something Blue, we salute the King of the Blues, who was born 100 years ago on September 16.  There's not much that we can say about B.B. King that hasn't already been said.  He was the first blues artist I ever heard and over the years, I've come to appreciate him more and more.  His incredible, distinctive guitar work and his powerful, gospel-influence vocals have inspired countless musicians since his earliest days.  Every blues fan should visit his museum at Indianola, MS (where he's also buried) if you make a trip to the Mississippi delta.  It's well worth your time.  Happy Heavenly Birthday to B.B. King and thank you for all the great music!