Calvin Frazier
Encyclopedia
Calvin Frazier was an American
Detroit blues
and country blues
guitarist
, singer and songwriter
. Despite leaving a fragmented recording history, both as a singer and guitarist, Frazier was an associate of Robert Johnson, and recorded alongside Johnny Shines
, Sampson Pittman, T.J. Fowler, Alberta Adams
, Jimmy Milner, Baby Boy Warren
, Boogie Woogie Red
, and latterly Washboard Willie
. His early work was recorded by the Library of Congress
(now preserved by the National Recording Registry
) prior to the outbreak of World War II
, although his more commercial period took place between 1949 and 1956.
, Arkansas
, and originally performed with his own brothers. Befriending Johnny Shines
, in 1930 they jointly travelled to Helena, Arkansas
where they met Robert Johnson. The threesome moved on to Detroit, Michigan
, performing hymns on local radio station
s. Frazier and Johnson returned south where they played along with the drummer
, James 'Peck' Curtis.
In 1935 Frazier was involved in dispute in Memphis, Tennessee
where he was wounded and another man was shot dead. Frazier returned to Detroit, and married a cousin of Shines. He played guitar as an accompanist to Big Maceo Merriweather
, Sonny Boy Williamson II
and Baby Boy Warren
before being recorded in 1938 by the folklorist
Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress
. His recordings included "Lily Mae", a revised version of Johnson's "Honeymoon Blues"; and "Highway 51", another variant, this time of Johnson's track, "Dust My Broom
".
His unique style combined slide guitar
work with unusual lyrics, and a vocal phrasing that was difficult to decipher. He released three singles
under his own name in 1949 and 1951 on the Alben and New Song labels
, including "Got Nobody To Tell My Troubles To", which he recorded in Toledo
, Ohio
in 1951. Between 1951 and 1953, Frazier was a recording member of T.J. Fowler's jump blues
combo, then recorded with Warren in 1954, whilst his final sessions in the studio
appear to be in 1956 backing Washboard Willie
. Without any tangible success on record
or otherwise, Frazier nevertheless performed around Detroit until his death.
Calvin Frazier died in Detroit of cancer
in September 1972, at the age of 57.
His most notable work was "This Old World's in a Tangle"; both the title of the first song he recorded, and of the compilation album
issued by Laurie Records
in 1993, which included some of his earliest work. Nine of his full length original recordings were included in the JSP Records
2005 compilation, Detroit Blues: Blues from the Motor City 1938–1954.
In 2009, the Detroit Blues Society instigated an appeal to raise monies to mark Frazier's previously unmarked grave with a headstone. By December that year a granite slabe was in place.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Detroit blues
Detroit blues
Detroit blues is blues music played by musicians resident in Detroit, Michigan, particularly that played in the 1940s and 1950s. Detroit blues originated when Delta blues performers migrated north from the Mississippi Delta and Memphis, Tennessee to work in Detroit's industrial plants in the 1920s...
and 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...
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...
, singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. Despite leaving a fragmented recording history, both as a singer and guitarist, Frazier was an associate of Robert Johnson, and recorded alongside Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines was an American blues singer and guitarist. According to the music journalist Tony Russell, "Shines was that rare being, a blues artist who overcame age and rustiness to make music that stood up beside the work of his youth...
, Sampson Pittman, T.J. Fowler, Alberta Adams
Alberta Adams
Alberta Adams , is an American Detroit blues, jump blues, and Chicago blues singer. Adams was raised in Detroit, Michigan by a relative, and began performing as a tap dancer in the 1930s...
, Jimmy Milner, Baby Boy Warren
Baby Boy Warren
Baby Boy Warren was an American blues singer and guitarist, who was a leading figure on the Detroit blues scene in the 1950s.-Early life:...
, Boogie Woogie Red
Boogie Woogie Red
Boogie Woogie Red was an American Detroit blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, singer and songwriter. He variously worked with Sonny Boy Williamson, Washboard Willie, Baby Boy Warren, Lonnie Johnson, Tampa Red, John Lee Hooker and Memphis Slim.-Biography:He was born Vernon Harrison in Rayville,...
, and latterly Washboard Willie
Washboard Willie
Washboard Willie was an American Detroit blues musician, who specialised in playing the washboard. He recorded tracks including "A Fool On a Mule in the Middle of The Road" plus "Cherry Red Blues", and worked variously with Eddie "Guitar" Burns, Baby Boy Warren, and Boogie Woogie...
. His early work was recorded by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
(now preserved by the National Recording Registry
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, which created the National Recording...
) prior to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, although his more commercial period took place between 1949 and 1956.
Biography
Calvin H. Frazier was born in OsceolaOsceola, Arkansas
-Notable natives & residents:* Bill Alexander, U.S. Representative from First Congressional District, 1969–1993* David Barrett, New York Jets cornerback* Maurice Carthon, former NFL and USFL player and NFL assistant coach...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and originally performed with his own brothers. Befriending Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines was an American blues singer and guitarist. According to the music journalist Tony Russell, "Shines was that rare being, a blues artist who overcame age and rustiness to make music that stood up beside the work of his youth...
, in 1930 they jointly travelled to Helena, Arkansas
Helena, Arkansas
Helena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
where they met Robert Johnson. The threesome moved on to Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, performing hymns on local radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s. Frazier and Johnson returned south where they played along with the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, James 'Peck' Curtis.
In 1935 Frazier was involved in dispute in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
where he was wounded and another man was shot dead. Frazier returned to Detroit, and married a cousin of Shines. He played guitar as an accompanist to Big Maceo Merriweather
Big Maceo Merriweather
Big Maceo Merriweather was an American Chicago blues pianist and singer, active in Chicago in the 1940s.-Career:...
, Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
and Baby Boy Warren
Baby Boy Warren
Baby Boy Warren was an American blues singer and guitarist, who was a leading figure on the Detroit blues scene in the 1950s.-Early life:...
before being recorded in 1938 by the folklorist
Folkloristics
Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore. The term derives from a nineteenth century German designation of folkloristik to distinguish between folklore as the content and folkloristics as its study, much as language is distinguished from linguistics...
Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. His recordings included "Lily Mae", a revised version of Johnson's "Honeymoon Blues"; and "Highway 51", another variant, this time of Johnson's track, "Dust My Broom
Dust My Broom
"Dust My Broom" is a blues standard originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"by Robert Johnson, the Mississippi Delta blues singer and guitarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03475, ARC 7-04-81 and Conqueror 8871...
".
His unique style combined slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
work with unusual lyrics, and a vocal phrasing that was difficult to decipher. He released three singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
under his own name in 1949 and 1951 on the Alben and New Song labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, including "Got Nobody To Tell My Troubles To", which he recorded in Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in 1951. Between 1951 and 1953, Frazier was a recording member of T.J. Fowler's jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
combo, then recorded with Warren in 1954, whilst his final sessions in the studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
appear to be in 1956 backing Washboard Willie
Washboard Willie
Washboard Willie was an American Detroit blues musician, who specialised in playing the washboard. He recorded tracks including "A Fool On a Mule in the Middle of The Road" plus "Cherry Red Blues", and worked variously with Eddie "Guitar" Burns, Baby Boy Warren, and Boogie Woogie...
. Without any tangible success on record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
or otherwise, Frazier nevertheless performed around Detroit until his death.
Calvin Frazier died in Detroit of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in September 1972, at the age of 57.
His most notable work was "This Old World's in a Tangle"; both the title of the first song he recorded, and of the compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
issued by Laurie Records
Laurie Records
Laurie Records was a record label started in 1958 by Gene Schwartz and Allan I. Sussel. Sussel was a multi-millionaire whose earlier record company, Jamie Records , had been unsuccessful. As a result, Sussel joined forces with Schwartz to found Laurie Records, this time named after his other...
in 1993, which included some of his earliest work. Nine of his full length original recordings were included in the JSP Records
JSP Records
JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman , releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. The label is based in London, England.JSP now predominantly releases remastered CDs...
2005 compilation, Detroit Blues: Blues from the Motor City 1938–1954.
In 2009, the Detroit Blues Society instigated an appeal to raise monies to mark Frazier's previously unmarked grave with a headstone. By December that year a granite slabe was in place.