Nominations For 23rd Annual W.C. Handy Awards Announced

 The Blues Foundation today announced the nominees for the 23rd Annual W.C. Handy Blues Awards to be presented on Thursday, May 23, 2002 at the
Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee. The star-studded ceremony features Blues performances, and will be followed by two-days of Blues music on Beale Street, "the home of the Blues." For a list of the nominees click here.

John Jackson Dies

 John Jackson, who went from gravedigger to one of the pre-eminent blues musicians in the country, died Sunday, January 20th at his home in Fairfax County just outside Washington, D.C. He was 77. He drew inspiration from the family Victrola listening to the records of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Boy Fuller and Blind Blake among others. For most of his life he played for friends and at house parties until he was discovered during the blues revival of the 60’s. Since then he has recorded several albums for Arhoolie, Rounder and most recently for Alligator in 1999.

Blues GRAMMY Nominations Announced

 The 44th annual GRAMMY awards announced their final nominations. The two blues categories include "Best Traditional Blues Album" and "Best Contemporary Blues Album." For a list of the nominees click here.

Nauman Steele Scott III

 Nauman Steele Scott III, co-owner of Black Top Records which gained an international reputation for its blues, rhythm-and-blues and zydeco recordings, died Tuesday. Scott suffered from heart disease. He was 56. Scott owned Black Top Records with his brother Hammond. The label featured such artists as Earl King, Snooks Eaglin and the Neville Brothers. Black Top releases picked up two Grammy nominations and won more than 30 W.C. Handy Blues Awards.

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."