It’s
been said that Memphis Minnie played guitar like a man. – in 1897 she was
born Lizzie Douglas in
Louisiana and raised in Algiers, across the river from New Orleans. . Her parents nicknamed her Kid, consequently, her early life saw her performing under the, not surprising name Kid Douglas.
Her title Queen of
the Country Blues was no hype. Minnie suggests a timid lady, far
from it, she did everything the boys could do and more, and she did it in a lavish gown with full hair and makeup. She had it all: stellar guitar, and a
powerful voice.
Her recording career reached from the 1920s
heyday of country blues to cutting electric sides in 1950s Chicago. Minnie
helped form the roots of electric Chicago blues, as well as R&B and rock
‘n’ roll, long before she plugged in. Her unique storytelling style of song
writing drew such surprising fans as Country Music Hall of Famer Bob Wills, the
King of Western Swing, who covered her song about a favourite horse, Frankie Jean, right down to copying
Minnie’s whistling. Though she inspired as many men as women, her influence was
particularly strong on female musicians
She
died following a stroke in 1973, Bonnie Raitt paid
for a headstone to be erected at her grave in Walls, Mississippi. She remains
one of the greatest women guitarists and blues singers in American history.