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Biography
Use dmy dates|date=August 2011For|the calypso performer|Blake Alphonso HiggsInfobox musical artist | name = Blind Blake| image = Blind Blake.jpg| caption = The only known photograph of Blind Blake, circa 1927| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Arthur Blake| Born = 1896| Died = December 1, 1934 (aged 38)| origin = Jacksonville, Florida , United States (uncertain)| instrument = Guitar, Vocals| genre = Piedmont blues , ragtime , country blues | years_active =| label =| associated_acts = Irene Scruggs | notable_instruments = "Blind" Blake (born Arthur Blake ; 1896, Newport News, Virginia & ndash; December 1, 1934, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ) http://www.bluesandrhythm.co.uk/documents/BR263-Blind-Blake.pdf Alex van der Tuuk, Bob Eagle, Rob Ford, Eric LeBlanc and Angela Mack: ''In Search of Blind Blake - Arthur Blake's death certificate unearthed .- Blues & Rhythm 263 (October 2011), pp. 8-10 was an United States|American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.
Biography
Blind Blake recorded about 80 tracks for Paramount Records from 1926 to 1932.cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues – From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | edition= | publisher=Carlton Books Limited | location= Dubai | pages= 93–94 | isbn= 1-85868-255-X He was one of the most accomplished guitarists of his genre with a surprisingly diverse range of material. He is best known for his distinct guitar sound that was comparable in sound and style to a ragtime piano. http://www.gracyk.com/blake1.shtml The King Of Ragtime Guitar: Blind Blake & His Piano-Sounding Guitar by Jas Obrecht
Little is known about his life. His birthplace was listed as Jacksonville, Florida , by Paramount Records but that is not firmly established. On one sound recording and reproduction|recording he slipped into a Geechee dialect, prompting speculation that he was from the Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia coastal region. Nothing is definitely known of his death and even his name is not certain. According to one source, his real name was Arthur Phelps , although concrete evidence for this claim is lacking.Balfour, Alan. CD liner notes. Blind Blake, Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order, Volume 4, August 1929 to June 1932 . DOCD–5027. Document Records, 1991. The "Phelps" name theory was entirely based on a response given by Blind Willie McTell in an interview conducted in 1955 in Atlanta, where Blake has never been reported; nor did McTell ever reside in Chicago. Recent research has discovered that many of Blind Blake's recordings were copyrighted under the name 'Arthur Blake', and in his two-part recording with Papa Charlie Jackson , "Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It", the following dialogue is heard:
There is only one surviving photograph of him in existence.
His first recordings were made in 1926 and his Gramophone record|records sold very well. His first solo record was "Early Morning Blues" with "West Coast Blues" on the A-side and B-side|B-side . Both are considered excellent examples of his ragtime-based guitar style and are prototypes for the burgeoning Piedmont blues . Blake made his last recordings in 1932, the end of his career aided by Paramount's bankruptcy. It is often said that the later recordings have much less sparkle. Stefan Grossman and Gayle Dean Wardlow think its possible that only one side of Blake's last gramophone record|record is actually by him.Jas Obrecht 1993 "Champagne Charlie Is My Name" does not actually sound like Blake's playing or singing. Allegedly, Blind Blake was drinking heavily in his final years. It is likely that this led to his early death at only 38 years old. The exact circumstances of his death are not known; Reverend Gary Davis said in an interview that he had heard Blake was killed by a Tram|streetcar .cite news | url = http://guitarvideos.com/interviews/davis/index.html | title = Reverend Gary Davis Interview | accessdate =4 August 2006 | publisher=Stefan Grossman
A death certificate for "Arthur Blake" is listed by the Milwaukee County Courthouse (John La Fave, Register of Deeds, 901 N. 9th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin). It indicated the cause of death as pulmonary tuberculosis . Arthur Blake's grave is in Glendale, Wisconsin , listed as Evergreen Cemetery (now Glen Oaks Cemetery) in a single grave #72, Range #115. It is unmarked (no headstone).
On a few records where white people|white jazz guitarist Eddie Lang sat in with African American groups, the record label|record companies listed Lang as "Blind Blake". Most of those recordings, principally with Lonnie Johnson , gave Lang the name "Blind Willy Dunn".
There is also a different artist who recorded multiple LPs under the name "Blind Blake". Blake Alphonso Higgs|Alphonso "Blind Blake" Higgs was one of the most popular singers in The Bahamas in the 1950s, leading the house band at the Royal Victoria Hotel. His records were spread all over the U.S. by tourist Fan (aficionado)|fan s, and several of his songs became folk music|folk Jazz standard|standard s.
Persondata | NAME = Blake, Blind | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States|American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist | DATE OF BIRTH = 1896 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = December 1, 1934 | PLACE OF DEATH = Milwaukee, Wisconsin , United States DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Blind Category:1896 births Category:1934 deaths Category:Acoustic blues musicians Category:Piedmont blues musicians Category:Country blues musicians Category:Delta blues musicians Category:Chicago blues musicians Category:Ragtime musicians Category:Songster musicians Category:African American musicians Category:Country blues singers Category:American blues guitarists Category:American male singers Category:Blind musicians Category:King Records artists Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:Blind bluesmen
