Stick McGhee
Stick McGhee | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Granville Henry McGhee |
| Born | March 23, 1918 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | August 15, 1961 (aged 43) The Bronx, New York, United States |
| Genres | Jump blues, rhythm and blues, electric blues[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist, singer, songwriter |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1940s–1960 |
| Labels | Various, including Atlantic |
| Formerly of | Brownie McGhee, J. Mayo Williams |
Granville Henry "Stick" McGhee[2] (March 23, 1918 – August 15, 1961)[3] was an American jump blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues song "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", which he wrote with J. Mayo Williams.[4]
Early life
McGhee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee.[1] He received his nickname when he was a child. He used a stick to push a wagon carrying his older brother Brownie McGhee, who had contracted polio.[5] Granville began playing the guitar when he was thirteen years old. After his freshman year he dropped out of high school and worked with his father at the Eastman Kodak subsidiary, Tennessee Eastman Company in Kingsport. In 1940, Granville quit his job and moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, and then to New York City. He entered the military in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.[5] After being discharged in 1946, he settled in New York.[6]
Death
McGhee died of lung cancer in The Bronx, New York, on August 15, 1961, at the age of forty-three.[7] He left his old guitar to Brownie's son before he died.[5]
Discography
![[icon]](/index.php?title=File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2018) |
With Sonny Terry
- Sonny's Story (Bluesville, 1960)
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dahl, Bill. "Sticks McGhee". AllMusic.com. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ↑ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 143. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ↑ Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 52. ISBN 978-0313344237.
- ↑ "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee - Brownie McGhee - Song Info - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 August 2017. Note: According to research presented by Jim Dawson and Steve Propes (What Was the First Rock 'N' Roll Record, (1992). Boston: Faber and Faber, p. 49. ISBN 0571129390), Williams did not co-author the song, but merely purchased half the rights to it for $10, in 1947.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Toshes, Nick (1999). Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll: The Birth of Rock in the Wild Years before Elvis. New York: Da Capo Press.
- ↑ "Sticks McGhee". Earthlink.net. Archived from the original on 2010-03-26. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
- ↑ Doc Rock. "The 1960s". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
External links
- 1918 births
- 1961 deaths
- People from Knoxville, Tennessee
- American blues guitarists
- American male guitarists
- American blues singers
- Songwriters from Tennessee
- Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)
- Burials at Long Island National Cemetery
- Atlantic Records artists
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American guitarists
- Guitarists from Tennessee
- 20th-century American male singers
- American male songwriters
- 20th-century American songwriters