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![]() ![]() Guitar Gabriel - Axel Kustner |
On April 2, 1996 Guitar Gabriel died of natural causes. He was born in 1924, the son of an itinerant bluesman/sharecropper in rural Georgia. Gabriel lived hard, travelled constantly and saw a great deal in his life. Gabe was a profound artist who dedicated his entire life to music. He was the original inspiration to create this foundation. No one spoke more eloquently about the blues than Gabe. Here are a few words he left us with: "When I make other people happy, then I am happy. About music--it keeps you out of violence. Blues is special because it takes a lot of animosity out of your heart. |
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One of the oldest active American bluesmen, 88-year-old Frank Edwards puts on a sharp hat and suit and drives himself down to the Atlanta blues hotspot Blind Willie's almost every night to hang out. Edwards first recorded six sides for OKeh in 1941; he cut another pair for Regal in Atlanta in 1949, and later recorded an album for Trix, Done Some Travelin', in the early 1970s; he also has a track on Volume Two in Southland's National Downhome Blues Festival series. One of his favorite songs is his wry original Chicken Raid, which tells the story of a preacher coming over for Sunday dinner and eating all the food. |
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The daughter of Georgia guitar wizard Curley Weaver, Cora Mae Bryant carries on her father's memory in song, and in the blues "museum" she maintains in her home in Oxford, Georgia. Bryant has been an important figure on the Atlanta blues scene on many different levels, in addition to performing, she came up with the concept for a series of "Giving It Back" festivals at the city's Northside Tavern blues bar to honor her father and his contemporaries. And she is known as a frequent caller to area blues radio shows. She recorded her song McTell, Moss, and Weaver on an album by British guitarist Dave Peabody that was released on the Appaloosa label. |
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Perry, Georgia, guitarist James Davis practices a form of blues he calls "Georgia Drum Beat," an all-instrumental boogie groove he performs with the accompaniment of a drummer each Saturday night at a club called The Turning Point in Warner-Robins. |
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Finger-style guitarist Precious Bryant lives in Waverly Hall, Georgia. She was recorded in 1967 by George Mitchell (two songs were released on Rounder LP 2008) and as part of the National Downhome Blues Festival series (Volume One, Southland SLP-21). More recently, she has performed at the Port Townsend [Wash.] Country Blues Festival and the Blues to Bop Festival in Lugano, Switzerland. |
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Virginia guitarist Carl Hodges recorded for Pete Welding in 1961 (two sides, Blues All Around My Bed and Standing at the Greyhound Bus Station were issued on Savoy LP 181, Milestone LP 3002, and Storyville 842); he was also recorded by folklorist Kip Lornell in 1979 (two sides appear on Global Village's Virginia Traditions: Tidewater Blues CD, Global Village CD 1006). Hodges had quit his music in more recent years, but began playing again after Music Maker provided him with a guitar and booked him some gigs; he has since traveled to Holland to perform at Blues Estafette. |
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Beverly Watkins started young as the rhythm guitarist in Piano Red's popular early '60s outfit Piano Red & The Interns. The Atlanta native recorded with Piano Red on sessions from 1959-'66, including his popular singles Doctor Feelgood and Right String But the Wrong Yo Yo. Grounded in R&B, gospel, and jazz, as well as blues, Watkins is a regular performer at Underground Atlanta, and is known for her extensive bag of guitar tricks. She traveled to Switzerland in 1997 to perform at Blues to Bop in Lugano. |
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Cootie Stark is "the real success story of the foundation," says Timothy Duffy. "I met him in the spring of '97 and that same year he was headlining the Newport R&B Festival with Aretha Franklin, had been to Europe three times, spent the summer in the Hamptons... making lots of money." The blind guitarist and former streetsinger from Greenville, South Carolina, has an enormous repertoire that runs from Gary Davis tunes to soul classics to such unique songs as Jigroo-a New Orleans-style melody he picked up from an early guitar mentor. |
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John Lee Zeigler, from Kathleen, Georgia, is a unique blues stylist who plays the guitar left-handed and upside-down. An example of his music can be heard on the Music Maker compilation Came So Far. He appeared at Blues Estafette in Holland in 1996. |
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Willa Mae Buckner has been know professionally as The World's Only Black Gypsy, The Princess of Ejo, The Wild Enchantress, Snake Lady, and Billie Ray Buckner. She has worked as a chorus girl, blues singer, exotic dancer, and has operated a traveling snake show. In 1973 she moved to Winston-Salem and was a public transit bus driver for ten years, At 75, Buckner lives in her own home with two pythons over 15 feet long named Siam and Pepe. |
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