Memphis Minnie - First Lady Of Country Blues 1929-1953 - 2 CD set

2024

Widely perceived as "The First Female Guitar Hero" (although the concept "Guitar Hero" wouldn't exist for forty years) LIZZIE "Memphis Minnie" DOUGLAS was one of the most popular Blues artistes of the 1930s and 40s. She was certainly the foremost female guitarist, the equal of a great many of the male guitarists, famously winning a cutting competition with Big Bill Broonzy in a Chicago club, in the early 30s. Minnie was also "The First Lady of Country Blues", performing in a less readily accessible style than Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter and Bessie Smith, whose fame and popularity were achieved via the vaudeville/jazz "Classic Blues" style. This compilation presents a career overview, covering 1929-53, in particular highlighting her work with her guitar-toting 'husbands', Casey Bill Weldon, Kansas Joe McCoy, and Ernest Lawlars