From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fred McDowell ( , - , ), called "Mississippi Fred McDowell", was a and player.McDowell was born in , near . His parents, who were farmers, died when McDowell was a youth.
He started playing guitar at the age of 14 and played at around Rossville. Wanting a change from ploughing fields, he moved to Memphis in where he worked in a number of jobs and played music for tips. He settled in , , about 40 miles south of Memphis, in or , and worked steadily as a , continuing to perform music at dances, and the like.
Initially he played using a pocket knife and then a slide made from a beef rib bone, later switching to a glass slide for its clearer sound. He played with the slide on his ring finger.
Fred was one of the greatest slide players.
The brought a rising interest in blues music and in the United States, and McDowell was brought to wider public attention, beginning when he was recorded in by . McDowell's recordings were popular, and he performed often at festivals and clubs. McDowell continued to perform blues in the style much as he had for decades, but he sometimes performed on rather than acoustic.
While he famously declared "I do not play no ," McDowell was not averse to associating with many younger rock musicians: He coached on slide guitar technique, and was reportedly flattered by ' rather straightforward, authentic version of his "You Gotta Move" on their 1971 album.
McDowell's 1969 album I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll was his first featuring electric guitar. It features parts of an interview in which he discusses the origins of the blues and the nature of love.
McDowell died of in and is buried at Hammond Hill M.B. Church, between Como and .
News RSS