#Geoff gillum texas whiskey jacks full#

With his characteristic high, reedy harmonica sound, he appeared on many of the highly popular 'Bluebird beat' recordings produced by Lester Melrose in the 1930s and 1940s, under his own name and as a sideman. The duo started working club dates around the city and, by 1934, Gillum started recording for ARC and Bluebird Records. He moved to Chicago in 1923, meeting up with guitarist Big Bill Broonzy. After running away from home at the age of 7, Bill Gillum spent the next few years in Charleston, Mississippi, working and playing for tips on local street corners.

#Geoff gillum texas whiskey jacks full#

Read Full Bio William McKinley Gillum (11 September 1904 - 29 March 1966), known as Jazz Gillum, was an American blues harmonica player. His daughter, Ardella Williams, is a blues singer in Chicago.William McKinley Gillum (11 September 1904 - 29 March 1966), known as Jazz Gillum, was an American blues harmonica player. He is buried at Restvale Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois. On March 29, 1966, Gillum was shot in the head during a street argument and was pronounced dead on arrival at Garfield Park Hospital, in Chicago. His last recordings were on a couple of 1961 albums with Memphis Slim and the singer and guitarist Arbee Stidham, for Folkways Records. Īfter the Bluebird label folded in the late 1940s, he made few recordings. Gillum recorded an early version of ' Look on Yonder Wall' (1946) with Big Maceo on piano, which was later popularized by Elmore James. He joined the United States Army in 1942 and served until 1945. Gillum's records were some of the earliest featuring blues with electric guitar accompaniment, when the 16-year-old jazz guitarist George Barnes played on several songs on Gillum's 1938 session that produced 'Reefer Headed Woman' and others. (The song had first been recorded a few months earlier by Charlie Segar, with a different melody and a 12-bar blues arrangement.) Gillum's version of the song was covered by Broonzy a few months later, and his version has become the standard arrangement of this now-classic blues song. In 1940, he was the first to record the blues classic ' Key to the Highway' (featuring Broonzy on guitar), utilizing the now-standard melody and eight-bar blues arrangement. Gillum's recordings, under his own name and as a sideman, were included on many of the highly popular 'Bluebird beat' recordings produced by Lester Melrose in the 1930s and 1940s. By 1934 Gillum was recording for ARC Records and Bluebird Records. The duo started working at nightclubs around the city. He moved to Chicago in 1923, where he met the guitarist Big Bill Broonzy. He ran away from home at age seven and for the next few years lived in Charleston, Mississippi, working and playing for tips on street corners. Gillum was born in Indianola, Mississippi. William McKinley ' Jazz' Gillum (Septem or 1904 – March 29, 1966) was an American blues harmonica player.