(Francis Hillman 'Scrapper' Blackwell)
DISCOGRAPHY 1962-2021 (32CD)
Blackwell was born in Syracuse, South Carolina, one of sixteen
children of Payton and Elizabeth Blackwell. He was part Cherokee. He
grew up in and spent most of his life in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was
given the nickname "Scrapper" by his grandmother, because of his fiery
nature. His father played the fiddle, but Blackwell was a self-taught
guitarist, building his first guitar out of a cigar box, wood and
wire. He also learned to play the piano, occasionally performing
professionally. By his teens, Blackwell was a part-time musician,
traveling as far as Chicago.
He was known for being withdrawn and hard to work with, but he
established a rapport with the pianist Leroy Carr, whom he met in
Indianapolis in the mid-1920s, and they had a productive working
relationship. Carr convinced Blackwell to record with him for Vocalion
Records in 1928; the result was "How Long, How Long Blues", the
biggest blues hit of that year.
Blackwell also made solo recordings for Vocalion, including "Kokomo
Blues", which was transformed into "Old Kokomo Blues" by Kokomo Arnold
and later reworked as "Sweet Home Chicago" by Robert Johnson.
Blackwell and Carr toured throughout the American Midwest and South
between 1928 and 1935 as stars of the blues circuit, recording over
100 sides. "Prison Bound Blues" (1928), "Mean Mistreater Mama" (1934),
and "Blues Before Sunrise" (1934) were popular tracks.
Blackwell made several solo excursions. A 1931 visit to Richmond,
Indiana, to record at Gennett studios is noteworthy. Blackwell was
dissatisfied with the lack of credit given his contributions with
Carr; the situation was remedied by Vocalion's Mayo Williams after his
1931 breakaway: in all future recordings, Blackwell and Carr received
equal songwriting credits and equal status in recording contracts.
Blackwell's last recording session with Carr was in February 1935, for
Bluebird Records.
The session ended bitterly, as both musicians left the studio
mid-session and on bad terms, stemming from payment disputes. Two
months later Blackwell received a phone call informing him of Carr's
death due to heavy drinking and nephritis. Blackwell soon recorded a
tribute to his musical partner of seven years ("My Old Pal Blues").
After the death of Carr, Blackwell did a few recordings with piano
player Dot Rice, without much success; the song "No Good Woman Blues"
shows Blackwell as the singer. A short time later Blackwell retired
from the music industry.....
(Wikipedia)
NEW!
1970-The Virtuoso Guitar of Scrapper Blackwell (1928-34) (LP) @320