Today is the birthday of Roosevelt Sykes (1906-1983) a.k.a The Honeydripper. An Arkanasa native, he learned to play barrelhouse piano in the work camps along the Mississippi River, which is where he developed the raunchiness (both lyrical and musical) of his boogie-woogie style. “44 Blues” was recorded for Okeh in 1929, the launch of his [...]
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:32AM on January 31, 2013