Guitarist and harmonica player Will Shade was one of the main players of the very important Memphis Jug Band. (Check it out, it’s great stuff).
Shade’s guitar playing seems very refined and even delicate on “Evergreen Money Blues.” He takes a backseat to Minnie Wallace on “Field Mouse Stomp.” It’s a great record. Here is more on Shade:
Apparently almost as important a part of the Memphis scene as the Mississippi river, Will Shade was born near the end of the 19th century and was one of the founders of a particularly 20th century music combo, the Memphis Jug Band. The original lineup of this important group consisted of Shade on vocals, guitar, and harmonica, plus Ben Ramey, Will Weldon, and a man simply known as Roundhouse in some accounts and Lionhouse in others. Either way, he sounds like he would be an asset to any band when the going gets rough. Shade was also known as Son Brimmer, a nickname he had gotten from his grandmother, Annie Brimmer, who had raised him. The name stuck after it became apparent that bright sunlight bothered the lad; the brim of a hat kept the sun out. Perhaps the fear of sunlight was a warning of the musicians’ lifestyle that was to come, complete with many a late night.Shade first heard what would eventually be known as jug band music on records by a Louisville group called the Dixieland Jug Blowers in 1925. (Continue Reading…)
Add Comment