Henry Townsend RIP

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One of the last of the Delta greats, Henry "Mule" Townsend, passed away on Sunday. He was on the way to a gig in Wisconsin. Townsend was born circa 1909 in Shelby, Mississippi, but lived most his life in St. Louis, Missouri. He was one of the most recorded bluesmen in the '30s--and may have been the only bluesman to record in every decade since the '20s--working as leader and as session man with Walter Davis, Roosevelt Sykes, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Robert McCoy, Big Joe Williams and others. He was great on both guitar and piano. "Cairo Blues" is his signature song.

― Roy Kasten (Roy Kasten), Tuesday, 26 September 2006 14:55 (nineteen years ago)

Aw man.

Just saw him back in June at the Chicago Blues Fest. That was the first time I'd seen him on piano. He was a fixture there year after year; I'll treasure the times I got to see him play.

RIP

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Tuesday, 26 September 2006 15:15 (nineteen years ago)

i had no idea he was still alive!

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 26 September 2006 18:55 (nineteen years ago)

He didn't perform a lot in the last few years, mostly big festival dates, but he was sharp and lucid and more than capable of rocking it till the end.

Good in-his-own-words bio here:

http://www.stl-music.com/henrytownsend/bindex.htm

His 97th or 96th (Henry himself wasn't absolutely sure what year he was born) birthday was coming up in October. BB's Jazz Blues & Soups in St. Louis always had a great party for him. We'll miss the hell out of Henry this year.

― Roy Kasten (Roy Kasten), Tuesday, 26 September 2006 19:05 (nineteen years ago)

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