Leader of Fairfield Four Passes

  James S. Hill, baritone and leader of the Fairfield Four gospel quartet, passed away in Nashville on July 6. Mr. Hill had been with the group since 1946. When the he group disbanded in the 50's Hill formed the Skylarks and released many sides on the Nashboro label. In the early '80s, the Fairfield Four reformed and began singing again.

Cub Koda Dies

  Cub Koda passed away from complications arising from kidney dialysis on July 1, 2000. He was best known as the leader of Brownsville Station and composer of their hit "Smokin' in the Boys Room." Throughout the '80s and '90s, Koda continued to divide his time equally between touring, recording, and writing. 1993 saw the twin release of Smokin' in the Boy's Room: The Best of Brownsville Station on Rhino and Welcome to My Job, a retrospective of his non-Brownsville material on Blue Wave, followed a year later by Abba Dabba Dabba: A Bananza of Hits on Schoolkids' Records. He released his last record, Noise Monkey's, for J-Bird Records in 2000.

Bobby Forte Dies

  Bobby Forté, whose barking, big-toned tenor sax was featured on many classic Bobby "Blue" Bland and B.B. King records died June 11, 2000 at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Forté was a tenor saxophonist famous among fellow musicians and dedicated fans for his brilliant solos on such Bobby Bland hits as "Cry, Cry, Cry," "I Pity the Fool," "Don’t Cry No More," and "Turn on Your Love Light" and on the B.B. King albums Blues Is King and Lucille.

Robert Johnson Estate Settled by Court

  Bluesman Robert Johnson's royalties will go to a
retired gravel truck driver whose mother had a fling with the musician in 1931, the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled. As the sole heir, the Crystal Springs man is entitled to about $1 million from royalties from record sales. Claud Johnson's mother, the late Virgie Jane Smith Cain, had identified the singer as his father in a 1992 deposition. Her childhood friend, Eula Mae Williams, testified in a 1998 non-jury trial that she watched the couple have sex in 1931. Claud Johnson was born nine months later. The court dismissed complaints about the lack of DNA evidence by two other distant Johnson relatives. The proof "would be nigh impossible to obtain since Johnson's grave site is unknown. As far as we know, Johnson is buried down by the highway side, so "his old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride,'' Supreme Court Justice Mike Mills wrote, quoting a line about the blues guitarist.

Johnny Taylor Dies

  Soul legend  Johnnie Taylor passed away on May 31 of a heart attack. In 1957 Taylor rose to fame taking Sam Cooke's place in the The Soul Stirrers. After leaving gospel Taylor landed at Stax Records. With Stax, he scored with the recordings "I Had A Dream" and "I've Got To Love Somebody's Baby". Two years later, Taylor's style of music easily adapted to the demands of modern soul with his recording of "Who's Making Love", which shot to the top of the R & B charts. That record sold more than two million singles, and established Taylor as one of the nation's premier soul attractions. For the next seven years, Johnnie's name never left the best-seller list including the smash "Disco Lady." Since 1984 Taylor has made his home at Malaco Records.

Winners Annouced For 21st Annual Handy Awards

  The Blues world descended on Memphis, Tennessee on May 25 for the presentation of the prestigious Blues award ceremony. For a complete list of winners click here.

Barkin' Bill Dies

  Chicago blues singer Barkin' Bill Smith has passed away. Influenced by the singers like Joe Williams and Jimmy Witherspoon, he grew up in Mississippi and stopped off to sing in East St. Louis and Detroit before settling in the Windy City. Barkin' Bill Smith finally broke through in 1994 with his own debut album for Delmark.

Clarence Holliman Dies

  Houston legend Clarence Hollimon passed away Easter Sunday due to heart failure. Early in his career, he worked with Clarence Gatemouth Brown as well as Willie Mae Thornton and later did some work with Pianist Charles Brown. Shortly after that, he joined a few prominent Houston musicians in what would become the session band for Duke/Peacock Records. During the peak days of Duke/Peacock, he recorded with Bobby Blue Bland as well O.V. Wright, Junior Parker, and Al Hinton, to name a few. In later years with his wife Carol he formed the Hollimon Express and started performing all around the world. They released a couple of albums for Black Top records. Clarence and Carol just released a new CD called "It's About Time" on JSP Records. The CD was recorded in January of this year and was produced by Jimmy Morello.

Country Kellum Dies

  Alphonso "Country" Kellum, who played guitar in the James Brown band, died March 24th at age 57. Kellum played in Brown's band form 1964 to 1970 and played on such records as "I Got You (I Feel Good)", Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "Cold Sweat" and many others.

Richard Trice Dies

  Bluesman Richard Trice passed away on April 5th. Trice was associated with the Piedmont style of blues and influenced by Blind Boy Fuller. It was Fuller who took Trice and his brother Welly to New York where cut a lone 78 in 1937. He made a handful of recordings for Savoy in the 1940s as "Little Boy Fuller." Trice later turned from blues to gospel, performing mostly at churches.

Diamond Teeth Mary Dies

  Blues singer Mary Smith McClain, better known to
fans as "Diamond Teeth Mary," died April 4th. She was believed to have been 97 or 98. She went from singing at carnivals with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels to the Chicago Blues Festival, New York City's Carnegie Hall and Europe. She sang with such music greats as B.B. King, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. McClain, who once had diamonds set in her teeth, was considered the world's oldest-performing true blues musician, appearing at local clubs until two weeks ago.

King Ernest Dies

  Ernest Baker died in a car accident on March 4. Blues and R&B vocalist, also known as King Ernest, first played in Chicago with blues guitarist Byther Smith's band during the 1960s. He became popular as a local soul artist with a strong, expressive voice and a great live show -- he was at one point considered a dancer rivaling James Brown and Jackie Wilson), and worked with Tyrone Davis and Syl Johnson. He recorded with a number of labels, but never achieved national success. He cut his first full length record, King of Hearts  in 1997 for Evidence Records. Earnest had just completed his new CD project, soon to be released on Fat Possum Record label.

Blues GRAMMY Winners Announced

  The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences has announced its GRAMMY Award winners.  Best Traditional Blues Album went to B.B. King's Blues on the Bayou. Best Contemporary Blues Album went to Robert Cray's Take Your Shoes Off.

Screamin Jay Hawkins Dies

  Screamin' Jay Hawkins, famous for performing his trademark voodoo-inspired blues lying in a coffin, has died in Paris aged 70. Hawkins, who scored his biggest hit in the 1950s with his hollering rendition of  "I Put A Spell On You," died in a hospital after suffering a hemorrhage following an operation on an intestinal obstruction. Hawkins went on to cult fame with hits like "Constipation Blues'' and in later life found a second career as a movie actor after director Jim Jarmusch hired him to star in "Mystery Train'' in 1989. "I came into this world black, naked and ugly. And no matter how much I accumulate here, it's a short journey. I will go out of this world black, naked and ugly. So I enjoy life,'' he told one interviewer.

Wade Walton Dies

  Wade Walton, who mixed a career as a blues musician with work as a barber, died January 10th at a St. Louis hospital. Walton was 77. During his music career, he shared the stage with  blues celebrities such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Ike Turner. In 1958 Walton recorded ''The Blues of Wade Walton: Shake 'em on Down.'' The album was widely distributed in Europe and earned him international attention. Walton was regular performer at the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel
Festival.