Newton County Blues

Photo by Mark Hilton

(A couple of years ago in my post about Lake, MS blues man Johnny Littlejohn, I promised to do this post, so here goes….)

In late 2018, the Mississippi Blues Trail installed a blues marker in Newton, MS at the old railroad depot.  The Newton County Blues Marker was the 202nd marker placed and it really hit home for me because I call Newton County my home.  Sadly, I don't really think a lot of local residents realize that this county has a pretty cool background in the development of the blues....actually, I'm pretty sure that 90% of Newton County residents are not even aware of this blog.  Today, we are going to look at some of the people, places, and events that inspired the placement of this marker.

The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, development, and influence of the blues in the state of Mississippi and beyond.  There are over 200 markers already placed, most within the state, but there are markers in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and New York as well as Memphis, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and even several spread throughout Europe.  

The marker lists musicians and influencers from the area including Andrew Brown (1937-1985), who was born in Newton County, even though he claimed Jackson as his hometown.  I've been told he was born outside of Decatur by a few people and in Newton from others.  I know he was related to one of my high school classmates in Decatur.  Brown was a talented musician and singer with a strong, resonant voice that was a solid fit in the blues and soul genres.  He moved to Chicago as a pre-teen and learned some guitar from Earl Hooker.  He was able to wax a few tracks in the 60's for labels like U.S.A. (check out "You Better Stop" below) and 4 Brothers.  

I first heard Brown when I picked up Volume 4 of the Living Chicago Blues anthology set, which was released in 1980.  That exposure allowed him to make two albums, both released on European labels and produced by Dick Shurman.  They are both excellent and Brown seemed ready to earn some well-deserved recognition.  Sadly, he  passed away from lung cancer shortly after the second album was released.  The majority of Brown's recordings (minus the 3 Alligator sides) are available in the box set Big Brown's Blues, also released in Europe by Black Magic Records.  It is well worth a listen.  Andrew Brown is one of my favorite blues artists and it's a shame he never got the attention he deserved.  Hopefully, he will someday.

Another Chicago-based blues man from Newton County was bass player and singer Kenneth Kidd, who was born Kennis Kidd in Decatur in 1933.  He began playing music, first trying to play guitar but soon switching to bass.  He recorded a few very good 45's in the 60's (as Prez Kenneth), including "Devil Dealing," which was later retitled "I Am The Man Downstairs," and served as a prototype of sorts for G.L. Crockett's "It's A Man Down There."  Those are considered to be collector's items in blues circles today.  He later formed his own label, Kenneth Records, but only recorded sporadically, once in the mid-70's with another Mississippi/Chicago transplant, Hip Linkchain, and a few sides of his own, one of which later appeared on the compilation Chicago Blues:  Rockin' After Midnight on St. George Records in the late 90's.  He passed away in 1995.  He continued throughout his life playing the various clubs in Chicago, backing many of the blues greats who came through town. 

Drummer Willie Nix (his legal last name was Nicks) was born in Union, MS in 1918, though he always claimed he was born in Memphis....census records indicate otherwise.  He began performing as a tap dancer at age 12 and toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels as a dancing comedian in the late 30's, performing on streets and parks around Memphis throughout the 40's.  He later performed with Robert Lockwood Jr on a radio show in Little Rock, AR and later worked with Sonny Boy Williamson II, Willie Love, and Willie Wilkins as the Four Aces around the south.  He also worked with B.B. King and Joe Hill Louis on Memphis radio stations and made his first recordings for RPM in Memphis and Checker (a Chess Records subsidiary), subsequently signing with Sun Records in 1953 and later for Chance Records and Sabre Records in Chicago.  He worked with Elmore  James, Big Walter Horton, Ike Turner, Johnny Shines, and Memphis Slim before heading back to Memphis, where he ended up serving time in prison.  As his health declined once released from prison, his behavior became erratic, so he didn't record any more and performed only occasionally.  He settled down in Leland, MS and passed away there in 1991.  Though he didn't record very much, what he did record was very good, even though he didn't enjoy much success.

Lamar Williams was born in Decatur in 1949.  He grew up around Gulfport and sang with his father's gospel group before teaming up with his friend Johnnie Lee Johnson (A.K.A. Jaimoe) to play in various soul bands on the Gulf Coast.  He later joined Jaimoe in the Allman Brothers as bass player after Berry Oakley's death in 1972, playing on most of the tracks of their album Brothers and Sisters and all of Win, Lose or Draw, and the live album Wipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas.  His bass playing was different from Gordy's, with more of a funky feel.  After the group disbanded temporarily in the mid 70's, Williams joined fellow Allman Brothers Chuck Leavell formed the band Sea Level, where he stayed until 1980.  Williams and Jaimoe joined their longtime friend Wayne Sharp in his band The SharpShooter Band, but Williams died from cancer in 1983.  He had served in Vietnam and believed that exposure to Agent Orange caused his illness.  His son, Lamar Williams, Jr. is a singer in the Allman tribute band Trouble No More, and has appeared on a couple of North Mississippi Allstars albums.

There's also a photo on the back side of the marker about Leamon Boler.  He was a trumpet player with Earl Bostic in the 1940's and Cousin Joe on some blues recordings, and later led his own  group, Leamon Boler and His Lemon Drops, recording sides like "Boler's Boogie" and "Just Plain Blues" for Bermar Records.  There's not many details about his life other than he was born in Newton County in 1923 and died in Detroit in 2007.  Sorry, I wasn't able to find a video on YouTube of any of his songs or a picture of him.

Also mentioned on the marker were several other contributors to the blues born in Newton County. Charles Evers was born in Decatur in 1922. The brother of Medgar Evers, he enjoyed a wide-ranging career as a politician (longtime mayor of Fayette, MS), civil rights figure (filed director for the NAACP), and a businessman. He worked as a DJ at WHOC in Philadelphia, MS, the first black DJ in the state and later served as station manager for WMPR in Jackson, MS.  He died in Brandon, MS in 2020 at the age of 97.

Henry C. Spier owned a record store in Jackson, MS and served as a "talent scout" for several record companies in the 1920's and 1930's, helping launch the careers of Tommy Johnson, Charlie Patton, Son House, Skip James, Robert Johnson, Bo Carter, Willie Brown, the Mississippi Sheiks, Ishmon Bracey, and many others. Spier was born in the Prospect community in 1895 and died in Pearl, MS in 1972.

Photo by Craig Baird

The marker also acknowledges the much-missed Chunky Rhythm & Blues Festival, which ran for about six or seven years, beginning in 1985.  This was the first blues festival that your humble correspondent ever attended, back in 1987.  The setting was a big field a few miles north of Chunky, MS.  It served as a natural amphitheater and was held on the third weekend in July.  It was, in part, funded by the University of Mississippi, which also funds Living Blues magazine.  It was a great event, always attracted a big crowd, and you could take a lawn chair and buy the beverage of your choice, multiple food items, and just sit back and enjoy the blues.  There were a number of great acts that played there during its brief lifetime.....some of the ones I got to see were Chick Willis, the Kinsey Report, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets with Sam Myers, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Mack, Lucky Peterson, Tinsley Ellis, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Omar and the Howlers, Lonnie Brooks, and Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials.  As you can see, Alligator Records sent quite a few bands to Chunky. It was a great experience every year that I attended.  

I'm not sure what happened to the festival.....I heard that the university withdrew its funding and so it was unable to carry on, but I never got that verified by anyone.  It actually moved to nearby Meridian, MS for at least one year, but I think it was sparsely attended, out in the sun near a lake and the heat was brutal.  Anyway, the key figure behind the festival was Ted Richardson (it was held on his property in Chunky) and he was recognized by the Newton County Board of Supervisors for his contributions to the local economy.  I sure wish it was still there.  The sign stood at the edge of the road until a few years ago.

Newton County, MS produced quite a few blues artists and contributors and while they may not be names that are on every blues fan's lips, all of these people did their part to help keep these blues alive for us fans to enjoy today.