Christene Kitrell Dies

 Blues and jazz singer Christine Kittrell died December 19th of emphysema, she was 72. During the 1940s and 50's, Kittrell toured extensively, sang in the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and recorded on the Tennessee, Republic and Vee-Jay labels. The songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller sought her out and wrote the song "I'm a Woman" for her. In 1952, Little Richard played piano on one of her songs, "Lord Have Mercy." She also performed with B.B. King, Louis Armstrong, Paul Williams, Louis Brooks and Earl Bostic and toured as a backup singer for Johnny Otis. Kittrell spent the past few years working with a beautification group, the Linden Community in Action, and was inducted into the Columbus Senior Musicians Hall of Fame in 1998.

Rufus Thomas Dies

 The world's oldest teenager died December 15th at the age of 84. Rufus Thomas, one of the city's most influential and colorful entertainers, died of apparent heart failure after a brief illness. Mr. Thomas's career spanned more than 70 years in
which he was never far from the pulse of the Memphis musical scene. At WDIA-AM, Mr. Thomas spun blues records at an important time in the popularization of black music. Mr. Thomas even maintained a show for years until recently every Saturday at WDIA. Mr. Thomas also emceed amateur talent contests on Beale Street in the 1940s and '50s at the old Palace Theater, where he helped launch the careers of
B. B. King, Bobby 'Blue' Bland and others who competed for a prize of a few dollars. In 1953, Mr. Thomas gave new label Sun its first big hit, "Bear Cat" - an answer song to Big Mama Thornton's Hound Dog. Mr. Thomas also was there at Satellite when it formed, giving it its first big hit, the 1960 duet with daughter Carla Thomas called "'Cause I Love You." That song sparked a distribution deal with Atlantic that soon gave the world the label under its better-known name, Stax. At Stax, Mr. Thomas had some of the label's most memorable songs, a string of novelty classics that included "Walking the Dog", "Do the Funky Chicken", "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog?", "(Do the) Push and Pull" and "Do the Funky Penguin." Mr. Thomas also recorded for Alligator, Ecko and in 1999 for High Stacks. In his later years, Mr. Thomas appeared in virtually every documentary made about any aspect of Memphis music.

James Crutchfield Dies

 James Crutchfield, once called the "king of barrelhouse blues" in St. Louis died Friday (Dec. 7, 2001) of complications from heart disease at St. Louis University Hospital. He was 89 and lived in St. Louis. Before coming to St. Louis, Mr. Crutchfield played in Memphis, Tenn., with the late guitarist Elmore James. In 1948, he moved to St. Louis and found work as a cook, at a car wash and shining shoes. When his musical talent was discovered by local blues lovers, he landed a gig as a house pianist and vocalist at the old Left Bank Club in Gaslight Square. When Gaslight Square faded, Mr. Crutchfield's blues career hit a lull. He retired and found a job hauling bald tires for scrap rubber. In his early 70s, Mr. Crutchfield was rediscovered by a Dutch record company. He also played with guitarist Bennie Smith here and was featured on a recording on the Delmark label called "Biddle Street Barrelhousin'." Soon, he was embarking on a European tour. He later returned to St. Louis and performed regularly at the Venice Cafe and many other bars in the Soulard area.

Panama Francis Dies

 American popular music lost one of the great drummers, session men and all-
around characters David Albert (Panama) Francis died in Florida at the age of 82. Starting when he was a teenager in the 1930s, Francis drummed for six years with Lucky Millinder and five years with Cab Calloway, among many other bandleaders. In the late '70s he formed the New York-based Savoy Sultans. They cut six albums, two of which got Grammy nominations. He drummed on more records than he or anyone ever counted — including the Four Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Walk Like a Man," Neil Sedaka's "Calendar Girl," Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash," LaVern Baker's "Jim Dandy," Johnny Mathis' "Chances Are" and the Platters' hits "Only You," "The Great Pretender," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes."

Tommy Johnson Gets Headstone

 The great Tommy Johnson finally has a headstone, 45 years after his death, although it is not yet marking his grave. In the meantime, the Mount Zion Foundation commissioned a headstone. The stone was unveiled Oct. 20 at a ceremony at Railroad Park in downtown Crystal Springs. There were remarks from Johnson scholar David Evans, Johnson niece Vera Johnson Collins and others. Some local musicians, supposedly with ties to Johnson, played afterward. The stone will be displayed in the Crystal Springs Public Library pending the cemetery cleanup. Collins vows that the cemetery will be cleaned up by sometime next year. She plans to move from Columbus, Ohio, back to Mississippi to continue to spearhead this project. She also wants to get a grave marker for her father, Mager Johnson, who also was a blues singer.

Dave Myers Dies

 Chicago blues guitarist and bassist Dave Myers, 74, died Monday, Sept. 3, in Chicago from diabetes-related complications. Hailed as one of the creators of the classic Chicago blues bass sound, Mr. Myers released only one solo album, making his name and reputation more as a talented accompanist and premier session player for renowned artists, including Little Walter Jacobs, Otis Rush and Earl Hooker. Mr. Myers moved to Chicago in 1941 and with his brother, Louis, formed a groundbreaking band known as The Three Aces, Chicago's first electric blues band. With harmonica player Junior Wells, the trio--later renamed The Aces--played Chicago blues hot spots, including the Checkerboard Lounge and Theresa's in the late 1940s. Drummer Fred Below joined the band in 1950. Mr. Myers was the last surviving member.