David "Honeyboy" Edwards is the last of the true Mississippi Delta bluesmen, an important artistic bridge between the acoustic blues of Robert Johnson and Charley Patton and the modern day blues scene. Almost 95 years old, Edwards is still rockin' audiences with a handful of tour dates each year, and his 2008 album Roamin' and Ramblin' earned the bluesman a Blues Music Award nomination to follow up his 2007 award as "Acoustic Artist of the Year."
Just as Edwards hasn't slowed down, neither have the accolades coming his way. Edwards was given a Grammy™ Lifetime Achievement Award in February, the Delta blues legend honored alongside artists from others musical genres like Leonard Cohen, Michael Jackson, Loretta Lynn, and others. During the week-long Grammy™ celebration in Los Angeles, Edwards performed on "Mississippi Night" at the Grammy™ Museum with other home state bluesmen like Eddie Cotton and Hubert Sumlin, and later that month he received the Mississippi Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in the Arts.
On March 11, 2010 at B.B. King's Blues Club in New York City, Edwards will be recognized for with a Lifetime Achievement Award from The National GUITAR Museum, the first such institution dedicated entirely to the instrument. After receiving his award, Edwards will perform at the club, located in the heart of Time's Square in Manhattan. "Honeyboy Edwards is the one guitarist today who has been part of the guitar's history longer than anyone else," says HP Newquist, the executive director of The National GUITAR Museum in a press release for the event. "He is a guitarist who was present at the birth of the blues. We're honored to be able to recognize his contribution to the guitar with this award."
Congratulations to Honeyboy Edwards for the awards...he deserves every accolade that he's been given, and much more!
Related Content:
David "Honeyboy" Edwards Profile
Honeyboy Edwards - Roamin' and Ramblin' CD review
Photo by Vince Bucci, courtesy Getty Images
Comments
Lolly Vegas, a co-founder of Redbone who wrote the hit “Come and Get Your Love” for the 1970s band, has died in Los Angeles, a spokesman said on Saturday.
Vegas, 70, who had been battling cancer for several years, died at home Thursday, band spokesman Joe Ortiz said.
Singer/guitarist Vegas, whose real name was Lolly Vasquez, formed Redbone with his brother Patrick in 1969. The band, with members of Latino and native American origin, released its self-titled debut album the following year.
“Come and Get Your Love” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1974.
Vegas is survived by his brother.
Singer Ron Banks, a founding member of R&B group the Dramatics, died Thursday (March 4) at his Detroit home of a reported heart attack. He was 58.
Banks, whose sweet falsetto helped give the Dramatics its signature sound, was a Detroit native who was born May 10, 1951.
Originally a vocal sextet known as the Dynamics in the early ’60s, the group changed its name and became a quintet comprising Banks, William Howard, Larry Demps, Willie Ford and Elbert Wilkins.
The Dramatics scored its first R&B-charting single (No. 43) in 1967 on the Sport label with “All Because of You.” But it wasn’t until four years later that the group broke into national consciousness with the 1971 Stax/Volt hit “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get,” which peaked at No. 3 on the R&B chart and No. 9 on the pop list. It claimed an R&B No. 1 the following year with “In the Rain.”
Between 1972 and 1980, the Dramatics also recorded for ABC and MCA, notching seven more top 10 R&B singles. Those songs include a cover of “Me and Mrs. Jones,” “You’re Fooling You,” “Be My Girl” and “Welcome Back Home.”
Over the ensuing years, the Dramatics underwent several personnel changes, the most notable occurring in 1973 when L.J. Reynolds and Lenny Mayes replaced Howard and Wilkins in 1973.
Banks is survived by his wife, Sandy, and six children.
He’s the fourth Dramatics member to pass away, following the deaths of Wilkins (1992), Howard (2000) and James Mack Brown (2008).
Thanks HoneyBoy for your great achivements!
I was lucky enough to spend the evening at Honeyboy’s house listening to stories about his days as a hobo. Here’s a link to it in case anyone’s interested
http://www.sittingwith.com/archive.html#c47