Curtis Jones (pianist)

Curtis Jones (August 18, 1906 – September 11, 1971) was an American blues pianist.

Curtis Jones
Background information
Birth nameCurtis Jones
Born(1906-08-18)August 18, 1906
Naples, United States
DiedSeptember 11, 1971(1971-09-11) (aged 65)
Munich, Germany
GenresPiano blues
Occupation(s)Pianist, singer
InstrumentsPiano, guitar
Years activeLate 1930s–1971
LabelsVocalion, Okeh, Bluebird, Parrot, Bluesville, Delmark, Decca, Blue Horizon[1]

Biography

Jones was born in Naples, Texas, United States, to sharecropping parents,[2] and played guitar whilst young but switched to piano after a move to Dallas. He often played guitar on one or two songs on his albums and at live performances.[3] In 1936 he relocated to Chicago, where he recorded between 1937 and 1941 on Vocalion, Bluebird, and OKeh. Among his best-known tunes from these recordings were the hit "Lonesome Bedroom Blues" and the song "Tin Pan Alley".[3] His "Decoration Blues" though unissued at the time, was recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson I in 1938. World War II interrupted his recording career, which he did not resume until 1953, when a single of his, "Wrong Blues"/"Cool Playing Blues", was released on Parrot, featuring L. C. McKinley on guitar.

Jones's first full-length album appeared in 1960 on Bluesville, by which time he had become a noted performer on the Chicago folk music scene.[3] A solo album was released in 1962, by which time Jones had moved to Europe. He lived there and in Morocco for the rest of his life.[3] He made further albums in the UK, including one in 1968 that featured Alexis Korner on guitar.[3]

One of Jones' songs, "Highway 51", was included on Bob Dylan's 1962 debut album, Bob Dylan.

Jones died of heart failure in Munich in 1971, at the age of 65.[4]

Discography
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References
Footnotes
  1. Olderen, Martin van, Blues and Troubles, Linernotes OL 2824, 1980
  2. Giles Oakley (1997). The Devil's Music. Da Capo Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-306-80743-5.
  3. Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues – From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 128. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  4. Doc Rock. "The 1970s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
Sources
  • Curtis Jones at Allmusic
  • Harry Shapiro Alexis Korner: The Biography, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster, ISBN 0-7475-3163-3
  • Olderen, Martin van, Blues and Troubles, Linernotes OL 2824, 1980
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