Elmore James

Biography

Elmore Brooks , more known under the pseudonym of Elmore James , born the January 27th 1918 in Richland, close to Jackson, the Mississippi, dead the May 24th 1963 with Chicago, was a guitarist and American singer of Blues.

Elmore James started to occur towards the 14 years age.

After five years of rather confidential services in the traditional circuit (for the time) of the festivals and picnics the day, alternating with the badly famed gambling dens and bars the night, it starts a true career when it meets the large Masters of the Delta Blues; inter alia: Robert Johnson and Sony Servant boy Williamson II. It follows them starting from 1937. Alas, Robert dies brutally in August 1938, leaving disabled Elmore.

Sony Boy, perhaps because it is older, goes back from there better and manages to involve it on the roads. They go even until La Nouvelle-Orléans but Elmore prefers to remain in its area of origin and turns with its formation in the small towns of the country of cotton.

After two years in the US Navy and in spite of the first cardiac alarm, it takes again the road.

Sony Boy makes it come in the radio program that it animates with Helena, Arkansas then persuades it to accompany it for a recording with Jackson. With their repertory, many pieces of Robert. The Sony crafty one succeeds in recording Elmore as a soloist, but this one, panicked when he discovers it, flees without same engraving the second face of the 78 turns. The disc however leaves, with an unspecified face B, in August 1951: Dust my Broom is a large success. Many people were unaware of it but it is a piece of Robert Johnson who between thus, 13 years after its death, in the leading bunch of the discs of Rhythm and Blues. The front of introduction to the electric guitar of Dust my Broom has a particular stamp of bells and with the reputation not to have never been able to be imitated since.

Elmore James can leave retouver Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters and invent with them the Chicago Blues. Robert Johnson would not have disavowed this evolution of the music of the Delta. One can think that it would have put at it as much electricity, energy, enthusiasm.

Elmore is besides a second large success with another version of the same piece.

After a few beautiful years in the clubs of Chicago, and a new cardiac alarm, successes are done rarer. Problems with the trade union of the musicians force it to turn over in the South.

It does not benefit from it to remake a health and continuous to turn in the small clubs.

Its career however seems to set out again when it re-records, under better conditions, in New York “It Hurts me too” (certainly its best piece, in any case most representative of its personal style).

Chicago, its clubs, and its musicians accommodate it again. A new heart attack is however fatal for him a few days only after its return.

Discography

2003 : Blue Steel (album-homage of resumptions of Elmore James by John To precede)

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