Texas Blues Legend Pete Mayes, R.I.P.

The Houston Chronicle and Houston Press newspapers are both reporting on the death of Texas blues legend Pete Mayes at the age of 70. Mayes had suffered from ill health for years, with heart problems and diabetes leading to the loss of his legs and the use of his hands. Still, the bluesman-for-life continued to perform until he was physically unable; when he no longer could hold a guitar he sat in his wheelchair and shouted out the blues music that he loved.

Mayes was enamored of the blues at a young age, and was just 16 years old when he was brought up on a Houston stage by his idol T-Bone Walker. He later joined Walker's band and would become Walker's bandleader. Mayes became a well-known figure on the Texas blues circuit, and released three albums on his own before recording what would become his best-known effort, For Pete's Sake, which was released by the Austin-based Antone's Records. The album won Mayes a W.C. Handy Award and assured his reputation as one of the most overlooked and underrated talents in blues music. A live album, Live! At Double Bayou Dance Hall was released in 2005.

Pete Mayes was born in the Texas community of Double Bayou, a blue-collar African-American and Creole settlement near Anahuac. He inherited the Turtle Bayou Dance Hall from his family, and he hosted a Christmas Day afternoon blues show for 54 years at the club. Due to Mayes' ill health, no show was scheduled for this year.

Mayes never made a living playing the blues, and worked various jobs throughout his life, including ranch hand, hospital orderly, and painter. However, he lived the life he loved, fronting his own Houserockers band for five decades. Mayes also performed behind such legends as Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Junior Parker, and Little Milton.

Mayes may not have been very well known by the worldwide blues community, but in Texas, his legacy cast a long shadow. By his fans, friends, and family, Pete Mayes will be missed.

Photo courtesy Price Grabber