Carl Weathersby
Encyclopedia
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
vocalist, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. Weathersby has worked most notably with Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
and Billy Branch
Billy Branch
Billy Branch is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues and harmonica blues.-Career:...
, and is now a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
artist
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Biography
Weathersby spent his early years in Meadville, MississippiMeadville, Mississippi
Meadville is a town in Franklin County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 519 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County...
, a place he still considers home, although when he was aged eight, his family moved to East Chicago
East Chicago, Indiana
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census.-Geography:East Chicago is located at ....
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
Pre-musician years (1953-1979)
As a teenagerAdolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, Weathersby began to learn the guitar. One day, after practicing "Cross Cut Saw
Crosscut Saw (song)
"Crosscut Saw", or "Cross Cut Saw Blues" as it was first called, is a bawdy blues song "that must have belonged to the general repertoire of the Delta blues". The song was first released in 1941 by Mississippi bluesman Tommy McClennan and has since been interpreted by many blues artists...
" many times through, he decided to show his father. After he finished playing it, his father's friend, a man Weathersby knew as Albert, the diesel mechanic, said, "Man, that ain't the way that song goes, that ain't the way I played it." The mechanic turned out to be Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, the writer of the song, (Tommy McClennan wrote & recorded "Crosscut Saw Blues" in 1941; same song.), who then showed Weathersby how to play it. Despite Weathersby's mistake, King was impressed and would eventually sign Weathersby on to play rhythm guitar with him on tour.
However his career as musician would start many years later. Before then, Weathersby worked many jobs ranging from steel mill worker to prison guard and police man. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1971 to 1977, during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Collaborative years (1979-1995)
It was after the Vietnam War that Weathersby would begin playing rhythm guitar with Albert King. It was only on short road trips between 1979–81, but the experience solidified Weathersby's identity as a blues musician.He then started filling in for the guitarist of the Sons of Blues, Carlos Johnson
Carlos Johnson (blues musician)
Carlos Johnson is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is left-handed, but plays a right-handed instrument upside-down like players such as Otis Rush and Albert King. Johnson is known for his aggressive playing which has attracted audiences in Chicago blue scene since the 1970s...
, who Weathersby described as "a pretty shaky guy, you know. He could show up just as easy as he couldn't show up..." Eventually the band hired Weathersby on as their full-time guitarist, a position he held for the next fifteen years.
Solo years (1995-present)
His position as guitarist for the Sons of Blues earned him a name among the blues fansFan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
of Chicago, it also left him feeling discontent. He was tired of working the hardest out of all the band members, but only playing "second fiddle" to Billy Branch
Billy Branch
Billy Branch is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues and harmonica blues.-Career:...
, the leader of the band.
Because of his growing popularity, Evidence Records was quick to produce Weathersby's first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Don't Lay Your Blues on Me. They have since published all of his subsequent albums, up to Come to Papa. His only live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
In the House was recorded at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and was joined by harp
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player and past bandmate Billy Branch. In The House was released under the Crosscut record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Weathersby has since self produced the album, Hold On.
Solo albums
- 1996: Don't Lay Your Blues On Me, Evidence Records
- 1997: Looking Out My Window, Evidence Records
- 1998: Restless FeelingRestless FeelingRestless Feeling is a blues album by Carl Weathersby. It was released in 1998 on the Evidence Records label # ECD 26099-2. It was produced by John Snyder and recorded May 11-15, 1998 at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana.- Track listing :...
, Evidence Records - 2000: Come To PapaCome to PapaCome To Papa is a blues album by Carl Weathersby. It was released in 2000 on the Evidence Records label # ECD 26108-2. It was produced by John Snyder and recorded December 18–21, 1999 at Sounds Unreel in Memphis, Tennessee.- Track listing :...
, Evidence Records - 2003: Best Of Carl Weathersby, Evidence Records
- 2004: In The House: Live At Lucerne Vol. 5, Crosscut Records
- 2005: Hold On
- 2009: I'm Still Standing Here
Sideman/guest performer
- 1985: Billy BranchBilly BranchBilly Branch is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues and harmonica blues.-Career:...
& The Sons Of Blues - Romancing The Blue Stone, Black & Blue RecordsBlack & Blue RecordsBlack & Blue Records is a French record label specializing in swing jazz and blues.Black & Blue was founded in 1968, and in its early years concentrated on reissuing jazz that had been previously released on American labels. The label recorded Blues and Jazz musicians both in America and France and... - 1985: Buster BentonBuster BentonBuster Benton was an American blues guitarist and singer, who played guitar in Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars, and is best known for his solo rendition of the Dixon-penned song "Spider in My Stew." He was tenacious and in the latter part of his lengthy career, despite the amputation of parts of...
- Blues At The Top, Evidence Records - 1989: Robert Covington - Blues In The Night, Evidence Records
- 1992: Billy Branch & The Sons Of Blues - Mississippi Flashback, GBW Records
- 1994: Hubert SumlinHubert SumlinHubert Sumlin is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic...
& Billy Branch - Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 22, Wolf Records - 1994: Carey BellCarey BellCarey Bell was an American blues musician, who played the harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass for other blues musicians during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s before embarking on a solo career...
- Deep Down, Alligator RecordsAlligator RecordsAlligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record... - 1994: George GruntzGeorge GruntzGeorge Gruntz is a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist and composer most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Phil Woods, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin and Mel Lewis.From 1972 to 1994 he served as artistic director for...
- Beyond Another Wall: Live In China, TCB Music - 1995: Billy Branch - The Blues Keep Following Me Around, Verve RecordsVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
- 1996: Jayne CortezJayne CortezJayne Cortez is an American poet, and performance artist.-Biography:She grew up in California. She is the author of ten books of poems and performer of her poetry with music on nine recordings. Her voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic, dynamic innovations in lyricism, and visceral...
& The Firespitters - Taking The Blues Back Home, Verve Records - 1996: Billy Branch - Satisfy Me, Verve Records
- 1999: Mississippi HeatMississippi HeatMississippi Heat is an American blues band.The group was formed in 1991 in Chicago, Illinois, and was strongly influenced by early electric blues of the 1950s...
- Handyman, Van Der Linden Records - 2001: Rico McFarland - Tired Of Being Alone, Evidence Records
- 2002: Buster Benton - Blues Reference: Blues And Trouble, Black & Blue Records
- 2002: Mississippi Heat - Footprints On The Ceiling, Crosscut Records
- 2003: The Sons Of Blues - Blues Reference: As The Years Go Passing By, Black & Blue Records
- 2004: Trudy Lynn - Blues Power: Trudy's Blues, Isabel Records
- 2004: Charles Wilson - If Heartaches Were Nickels, Delmark RecordsDelmark RecordsDelmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
- 2004: Nora Jean Bruso - Going Back To Mississippi, Severn RecordsSevern RecordsSevern Records is an American independent record label that concentrates on blues music. Since its founding in 1998, Severn has issued more than 50 albums. Its motto is "Roots Music for the 21st Century".-History:...
- 2004: Sam Cockrell & The Groove - I'm In The Business, Boom Boom Records
- 2005: Mississippi Heat - Glad You're Mine, Crosscut Records
- 2005: Biscuit Miller - Come Together, No Label
- 2005: Little MiltonLittle MiltonJames Milton Campbell, Jr. , better known as Little Milton, was an American electric blues, rhythm and blues, and soul singer and guitarist, best known for his hit records "Grits Ain't Groceries" and "We're Gonna Make It."-Biography:Milton was born James Milton Campbell, Jr., in the Mississippi...
- Think Of Me, Telarc - 2008: Mississippi Heat - "Hattiesburg Blues", Delmark Records
- 2005: Bernard AllisonBernard AllisonBernard Allison is a blues guitarist based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.His father, Luther Allison was a Chicago blues musician...
, Larry McCrayLarry McCrayLarry McCray is an American blues guitarist and singer.-Biography:McCray, the second youngest of nine siblings, grew up living on a farm. McCray learned guitar from his sister, Clara. "She used to play real low-down and dirty", McCray recalled years later...
, Carl Weathersby, Lucky PetersonLucky PetersonLucky Peterson is an American musician who plays contemporary blues, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. He plays guitar and keyboards...
- Triple Fret, JSP RecordsJSP RecordsJSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman , releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. The label is based in London, England.JSP now predominantly releases remastered CDs...