Blind Simmie Dooley
Encyclopedia
Simeon "Blind Simmie" Dooley (July 3, 1881 - January 17, 1961) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 country blues
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...

 singer and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

.

Biography

Dooley was born in Hartwell, Georgia
Hartwell, Georgia
Hartwell is a city in Hart County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,188 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Hart County.-Geography:Hartwell is located at . It sits upon the southern border of Lake Hartwell...

.

Dooley met Pink Anderson
Pink Anderson
"Pink" Anderson was a blues singer and guitarist, born in Laurens, South Carolina.-Life and career:After being raised in Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina, he joined Dr...

 in 1916 and taught him to play guitar. The two played on the street and at parties when Anderson was not traveling with Dr. Kerr's Medicine Show. In 1928 Dooley and Anderson went to Atlanta to record four pieces for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

. Two were published in the same year, the other two the following year. The records sold well. Anderson was invited to make further recordings without Dooley, however Anderson refused to be without Dooley.

Dooley died from heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...

 in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...

, at the age of 79.

Musical style

Blind Gary Davis described Dooley, along with Blind Blake
Blind Blake
"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...

and Blind Willie Davis, as one of the biggest pre-war country blues guitarists.

External links

  • [ allmusic page on Simmie Dooley]
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