Artist:David "Honeyboy" Edwards
Song:Sweet Home Chicago/Dust My Broom
Album:Mississippi Delta Bluesman
David "Honeyboy" Edwards' claim to fame is he was the last surviving bluesman who actually hung out with Robert Johnson and other blues pioneers. So whenever there was a documentary about Johnson, Edwards was usually interviewed. But he didn't record commercially until 1951 and became more active recording and touring in the 90s. Sweet Home Chicago is one of several songs that Edwards claimed he wrote but were stolen from him. He was born June 28, 1915 in Shaw, MS. His father taught him to play guitar. At age 14, Edwards left home to tour with bluesman Big Joe Williams. And he toured for the next 20 years. He became close friends with Johnson and was present when Johnson drank the poisoned whiskey that killed him. That's why Edwards is interviewed frequently. He hung out with guys like Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson and Johnny Shines. He lived the life of a traveling bluesman going from town to town trying to make a buck and not get thrown in jail. Folklorist Alan Lomax recorded Edwards for the Library of Congress in 1942. And he recorded a few songs in the 50s and 60s. The 60s blues revival didn't help him much because he hadn't recorded much. Edwards recorded the album Mississippi Delta Bluesman for Folkways Records in 1979. Smithsonian Folkways released the album on CD in 2001. Edwards recorded more frequently in the 90s because he hired a manager and got a record deal with Earwig Records and got him to tour. I guess all those interviews paid off. He won a Grammy in 2008 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2010. When his health started to fail, Edwards retired and died on Aug. 29, 2011 at age 96. Here's David "Honeyboy" Edwards performing Sweet Home Chicago in Sheffield, England 2009.
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