Delta Blues History, Part 8
Bukka White
by Don Erickson
Booker T. Washington White, better known as Bukka White, was born November 12, 1909, in Houston, a town in the hills of northeastern Mississippi.
Booker, who would come to detest the nickname of "Bukka" that was bestowed on him later on, learned to play from his father, a railroad worker and part-time musician. By the time Booker was an adolescent, his family had moved to the Delta, where the youngster fell under the spell of Charlie Patton's music.
White, inspired by Patton, played a highly percussive style of guitar with a propulsive, rhythmic drive. He would often use his guitar like a drum while playing. His lyrics described his life in a manner which gave the listener an intimate understanding of his feelings and the events that affected him.
He drifted to the South, playing his brand of Blues mixed with religious songs on a National Steel guitar tuned to open G.
A strong, sturdy man, he also spent time as a ballplayer in the Negro Leagues, and also as a professional boxer.
He was discovered by Ralph Lembo and brought to Memphis in 1930 to record. His sides were released on the Victor label as Washington White.
In 1937, White got into a scrape with two brothers in Mississippi. The brothers were shot dead in what White claimed as self-defense. White was arrested, but jumped bail and traveled to Chicago where he recorded two songs for Vocalion, including his famous "Shake "Em Down".
Booker was captured and sent to the Parchman Farms Penitentiary in the Mississippi Delta. He was able to continue his playing, entertaining his fellow inmates. In fact, Alan Lomax came and recorded two of Booker's songs for the Library of Congress.
White was released from Parchman in early 1940. He headed to Chicago again and recorded 12 songs for the Okeh and Vocalion labels. Lester Melrose, the producer and talent scout who had a monopoly on the Chicago Blues scene, teamed Bukka with the popular Washboard Sam in an attempt to boost sales. Less adaptable to Melrose's formula of taking country artists and urbanizing their sound, White's purer Delta style was out of the mainstream. He returned to Memphis and manual labor as a dealer of second-hand furniture.
Booker White was a first cousin of B.B. King's mother. He would pay a visit to the King's Delta home a couple of times a year. White had a profound effect on the young Riley King, who would go on to become known as the "King of the Blues," B.B. King. Booker would regale Riley with tales of the city life in Memphis and show him some things on guitar. B.B. would go on to become famous playing a much different style than Bukka's but young B.B. was very impressed with his older cousin's style, strength and talent. B.B. would dream of the life of the musician, prompting him to travel to Memphis in 1946 to look up his cousin, spending almost a year with Bukka. B.B. would return to Memphis in 1949 to begin his professional career.
While B.B.'s career of playing his brand of uptown Blues was taking off, Bukka's style of down-home country Blues was going nowhere. But, thanks to people like Bill Barth and John Fahey, Bukka and other folk-blues artists enjoyed a second career during the Blues boom in the early sixties. The fact that Bob Dylan played White's song "Fixin' to Die Blues" on his debut album didn't hurt.
White was recorded in Memphis in 1963. He began playing the usual college campuses and folk clubs. He also performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, and was a part of the American Folk Blues Festival tour of Europe in 1967. In 1973, e appeared at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and recorded an excellent album, Big Daddy, for Biograph.
Bukka passed away from cancer on February 26, 1977. He died in Memphis, 47 years after his first recordings there. His legacy lives on through his recordings and the artists wo were infuenced by him. Booker T. Washington White was a uniquely talented Bluesman that stayed true to his Delta roots. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1990.
Next month the History of Delta BLues will wrap up with a profile of
Big Joe Williams and his 9-string guitar. The next focus will be a
series of articles on the Chicago Blues scene before the arrival of
Muddy Waters and the many artists from the Delta who migrated there in
the 40's and 50's.
Reprinted with permission from the October 1997 issue of the Blues Crier
