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Kansas Joe- When the levee breaks
July 19, 2006 07:57 PM PDT
Joe McCoy (May 11, 1905–January 28, 1950) was an African American blues musician. Joe McCoy played music under a variety of stage names but is best known as "Kansas Joe McCoy." Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he was the older brother of blues accompanist Papa Charlie McCoy. As a young man, he was drawn to the music scene in Memphis, Tennessee where he played guitar and sang vocals during the 1920s. He teamed up with future wife Lizzie Douglas, a brilliant guitarist known as Memphis Minnie, and their 1929 recording of a song called "Bumble Bee" on the Columbia Records label was a hit. In 1930, the couple moved to Chicago where they were an important part of the burgeoning blues scene. Following their divorce, McCoy teamed up with his brother to form a band known as the "Harlem Hamfats" that performed and recorded during the second half of the 1930s. At the outbreak of World War II Charlie McCoy entered the military but a heart condition kept Joe McCoy from service. Out on his own, he created a band known as "Big Joe and His Rhythm" that performed together throughout most of the 1940s. In 1950, at the age of 44, Joe McCoy died of heart disease only a few months before his brother Charlie. They are buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. |
Podcast SummarySupporting the classic Blues and the modern day heros of music. Join me as we go back into time and relive the the era that set the nation and time to what it is today.While we showcase The old time greats and current sounds of today. Join me as we bring the past to the present. About backalleyblues
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