Casey Bill Weldon
Encyclopedia
Casey Bill Weldon was an American
country blues
musician
, born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
who later lived and worked in Chicago
was known as one of the great early pioneers of the slide guitar
. He played upbeat, hokum
and country blues tunes, both as a solo artist and as a member of the Memphis Jug Band
. Playing a National steel guitar flat on his lap Hawaiian style, "Casey Bill" Weldon's was known as the "Hawaiian Guitar Wizard". He was married to Memphis Minnie in the '20s with the two making influential recordings together in the late '20s. Weldon played in medicine shows before beginning his recording career in 1927 for Victor.
In 1927 Weldon made a recording with Charles Polk and other members of what would become the Memphis Jug Band
for Victor Records
. In October of that year, Victor brought them to Atlanta where they recorded several sides, including "Kansas City Blues
". In 1930, the last year of the Memphis Jug Band
's contract with Victor, the band recorded 20 sides. The contract ended after a final recording session in November 1930 in Memphis
just before the financial crash of the 1930s bankrupted Victor. Weldon went on to cut over 60 sides for Victor, Bluebird, and Vocalion. He was also an active session guitarist appearing on records by Teddy Darby
, Bumble Bee Slim
, Peetie Wheatstraw
, and Memphis Minnie
. On Memphis Minnie
's last recording for Bluebird Records
in October 1935, Weldon accompanied her for the first time. He played on two sides, "When the Sun Goes Down, Part 2" and "Hustlin' Woman Blues." He scored solo hits with his two most well known songs, "Somebody Changed the Lock on My Door" and "We Gonna Move (to the Outskirts of Town)."
In October 1927, when the Victor field recording unit visited Atlanta
, Georgia
, he recorded two sides, including a chilling, haunting song
called "Turpentine Blues", which would have left him immortalized if he had never recorded again. He did not enter another recording studio until eight years later, when he laid down many recordings for Vocalion Records
. Weldon also played with Charlie Burse and the Picanniny Jug Band and the Brown Bombers of Swing. Considering the fact that most slide guitarists of the era went unrecorded, Weldon maintains a healthy amount of recorded material for aficionados to appreciate.
After his divorce from Memphis Minnie, he disappeared from the public eye and stopped recording by 1938. His date of death is unknown, though assumed to be sometime in the 1960s.
flat on his lap Hawaiian style. His slide guitar solos were emotional and unique. His style of playing was highly influential on the emerging Chicago Blues
style.
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...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
who later lived and worked in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
was known as one of the great early pioneers of the 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...
. He played upbeat, hokum
Hokum
Hokum is a particular song type of American blues music - a humorous song which uses extended analogies or euphemistic terms to make sexual innuendos...
and country blues tunes, both as a solo artist and as a member of the Memphis Jug Band
Memphis Jug Band
The Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group in the late 1920s and early to mid 1930s. The band featured harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, and guitars, backed by washboards, kazoo, and jugs blown to supply the bass; they played in a variety of musical styles...
. Playing a National steel guitar flat on his lap Hawaiian style, "Casey Bill" Weldon's was known as the "Hawaiian Guitar Wizard". He was married to Memphis Minnie in the '20s with the two making influential recordings together in the late '20s. Weldon played in medicine shows before beginning his recording career in 1927 for Victor.
In 1927 Weldon made a recording with Charles Polk and other members of what would become the Memphis Jug Band
Memphis Jug Band
The Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group in the late 1920s and early to mid 1930s. The band featured harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, and guitars, backed by washboards, kazoo, and jugs blown to supply the bass; they played in a variety of musical styles...
for Victor Records
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
. In October of that year, Victor brought them to Atlanta where they recorded several sides, including "Kansas City Blues
Kansas City Blues
Kansas City Blues may refer to::*Kansas City Blues , a 1902-1954 minor-league baseball team*Kansas City Blues , a Rugby Super League team founded in 1966*Kansas City Blues , a minor-league hockey team...
". In 1930, the last year of the Memphis Jug Band
Memphis Jug Band
The Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group in the late 1920s and early to mid 1930s. The band featured harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, and guitars, backed by washboards, kazoo, and jugs blown to supply the bass; they played in a variety of musical styles...
's contract with Victor, the band recorded 20 sides. The contract ended after a final recording session in November 1930 in Memphis
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....
just before the financial crash of the 1930s bankrupted Victor. Weldon went on to cut over 60 sides for Victor, Bluebird, and Vocalion. He was also an active session guitarist appearing on records by Teddy Darby
Teddy Darby
Theodore Roosevelt Darby, better known as Blind Teddy Darby , was an American blues singer and guitarist....
, Bumble Bee Slim
Bumble Bee Slim
Amos Easton , better known by the stage name Bumble Bee Slim, was an American Piedmont blues musician.-Biography:Easton was born in Brunswick, Georgia, United States...
, Peetie Wheatstraw
Peetie Wheatstraw
Peetie Wheatstraw was the name adopted by the singer William Bunch, an influential figure among 1930s blues singers...
, and Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
. On Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
's last recording for Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...
in October 1935, Weldon accompanied her for the first time. He played on two sides, "When the Sun Goes Down, Part 2" and "Hustlin' Woman Blues." He scored solo hits with his two most well known songs, "Somebody Changed the Lock on My Door" and "We Gonna Move (to the Outskirts of Town)."
In October 1927, when the Victor field recording unit visited Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, he recorded two sides, including a chilling, haunting song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
called "Turpentine Blues", which would have left him immortalized if he had never recorded again. He did not enter another recording studio until eight years later, when he laid down many recordings for Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
. Weldon also played with Charlie Burse and the Picanniny Jug Band and the Brown Bombers of Swing. Considering the fact that most slide guitarists of the era went unrecorded, Weldon maintains a healthy amount of recorded material for aficionados to appreciate.
After his divorce from Memphis Minnie, he disappeared from the public eye and stopped recording by 1938. His date of death is unknown, though assumed to be sometime in the 1960s.
Style
He played a National steel guitarSteel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
flat on his lap Hawaiian style. His slide guitar solos were emotional and unique. His style of playing was highly influential on the emerging Chicago Blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
style.
External links
- Casey Bill Weldon Discography
- Top Ten Blues Recordings
- [ Casey Bill Weldon]
- 25 Great Slide Guitar Artists