K. C. Douglas
Encyclopedia
K. C. Douglas was an American
blues
singer and guitarist
.
, Douglas was a rural blues stylist in the San Francisco
/Oakland
area of California
. Douglas was influenced by Tommy Johnson, whose "Canned Heat Blues" he adapted on his album
, Big Road Blues. Douglas produced a blues classic when he recorded
"Mercury Boogie" in 1949. The tune, which paid homage to the American automobile
, was later renamed "Mercury Blues
" and covered
by Steve Miller
, David Lindley
, and Dwight Yoakam
. Alan Jackson
had a number one hit
when he recorded the tune in 1992. Meat Loaf
also covered the song as a bonus hidden track
that appears on his 2003 album Couldn't Have Said It Better
. Rights to the song were purchased by the Ford Motor Company
, which used it for a television commercial for Ford trucks.
In the early 1960s Douglas recorded such song
s as "Born in the Country," "Catfish Blues," "Fanny Lou," "Hear Me Howlin'," "K.C.'s Doctor Blues," and "Wake Up Workin' Woman" for Chris Strachwitz
, mostly released on Strachwitz's Arhoolie Records
and the Prestige Bluesville
label. In 1961, Douglas played guitar on Sidney Maiden's album, Trouble An' Blues, thus reuniting a working partnership for both of them that had started in the 1940s.
Douglas did not reach his peak until the 1970s. He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival
in 1973 and 1974. He formed a quartet and became a frequent performer at coffeehouses, clubs, and bars in the East Bay
/Modesto
/Stockton
area.
Succumbing to a fatal heart attack
in Berkeley, California
in October 1975, Douglas was buried in the Pleasant Green Cemetery in Sharon, Mississippi.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
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...
.
Career
Born in Sharon, MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Douglas was a rural blues stylist in the San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
/Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
area of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Douglas was influenced by Tommy Johnson, whose "Canned Heat Blues" he adapted on his album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Big Road Blues. Douglas produced a blues classic when he recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
"Mercury Boogie" in 1949. The tune, which paid homage to the American automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, was later renamed "Mercury Blues
Mercury Blues
"Mercury Blues" is the title of song written by K. C. Douglas and Robert Geddins in 1949. The song, originally titled "Mercury Boogie," pays homage to the American automobile, which ended production in 2010....
" and covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Steve Miller
Steve Miller (musician)
Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
, David Lindley
David Lindley (musician)
David Perry Lindley is an American musician who is notable for his work with Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, and other rock musicians. He has worked extensively in other genres as well, performing with artists as varied as Curtis Mayfield and Dolly Parton...
, and Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
. Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...
had a number one hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
when he recorded the tune in 1992. Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
also covered the song as a bonus hidden track
Hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
that appears on his 2003 album Couldn't Have Said It Better
Couldn't Have Said It Better
Couldn't Have Said It Better is a 2003 album by Meat Loaf.Only for the third time in his career, Meat Loaf released an album without any songs written by Jim Steinman...
. Rights to the song were purchased by the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, which used it for a television commercial for Ford trucks.
In the early 1960s Douglas recorded such 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...
s as "Born in the Country," "Catfish Blues," "Fanny Lou," "Hear Me Howlin'," "K.C.'s Doctor Blues," and "Wake Up Workin' Woman" for Chris Strachwitz
Chris Strachwitz
Chris Strachwitz is a German-born American record label executive and record producer. He is the founder and president of Arhoolie Records, which he established in 1960 and which became one of the leading labels recording and issuing blues, Cajun, norteño and other forms of roots music from the...
, mostly released on Strachwitz's Arhoolie Records
Arhoolie Records
Arhoolie Records is a small record label run by Chris Strachwitz. The label was founded by Strachwitz in 1960 as a way for him to record and publish previously obscure "down home blues" artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Snooks Eaglin and Bill Gaither...
and the Prestige Bluesville
Bluesville Records
Bluesville Records is a subsidiary of Prestige Records, launched in the 1960s with the primary purpose of documenting the work of the older classic bluesmen passed over by the changing audience...
label. In 1961, Douglas played guitar on Sidney Maiden's album, Trouble An' Blues, thus reuniting a working partnership for both of them that had started in the 1940s.
Douglas did not reach his peak until the 1970s. He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival
San Francisco Blues Festival
Debuting in 1973, the San Francisco Blues Festival is the longest running blues festival in the United States. Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the blues festival to educate the public about the history and evolution of the blues...
in 1973 and 1974. He formed a quartet and became a frequent performer at coffeehouses, clubs, and bars in the East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
/Modesto
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
/Stockton
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
area.
Succumbing to a fatal heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
in October 1975, Douglas was buried in the Pleasant Green Cemetery in Sharon, Mississippi.
Influence
While in his 30s and working at a garage, Douglas taught blues guitar to the young grandson of his employer - Steve WoldSeasick Steve
Steven Gene Wold, commonly known as Seasick Steve, is an American blues musician. He plays guitars, and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work.-Childhood and early life:...
.
Selected discography
| Year | Title | Genre | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | K.C. Douglas: A Dead Beat Guitar and the Mississippi Blues | Blues | Cook Records Cook Records Cook Records was a record label founded by Emory Cook . Cook was an audio engineer and inventor. From 1952 to 1966, Cook used his Sounds of our Times and Cook Laboratories record labels to demonstrate his philosophy about sound, his recording equipment, and his manufacturing techniques.- Recording... /Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways... |
| 1961 | K.C.'s Blues | Blues | Bluesville Records Bluesville Records Bluesville Records is a subsidiary of Prestige Records, launched in the 1960s with the primary purpose of documenting the work of the older classic bluesmen passed over by the changing audience... /Original Blues Classics |
| 1994 | Mercury Blues (reissued) | Blues | Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records is a small record label run by Chris Strachwitz. The label was founded by Strachwitz in 1960 as a way for him to record and publish previously obscure "down home blues" artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Snooks Eaglin and Bill Gaither... |
| 1994 | Big Road Blues (reissued) | Blues | OBC Records |
| 2006 | Classic African-American Ballads | Blues | Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways... |