"Even in old age, he retains a playful and cherubic
quality though the hard lessons are likewise drawn on his face: the poverty and
racism which caused the needless early deaths of both his father and mother
from lack of medical attention; the senseless shooting death of his sister
Blanche by her husband (the man who had been responsible for first introducing
Honeyboy to a guitar); the flood of 1927 which could have killed them all if
not for the Red Cross; and the long economic blight of the Great Depression."
- John Anthony Brisbin from the Earwig CD Delta Bluesman.
"My sisters, when I was trying to walk, said 'Aw, look at Honey'". The name
stuck.
The Heineken Soul And Blues Festival this year celebrates the
return of Delta Bluesman David 'Honeyboy' Edwards . He'll perform on The
Molson Place Stage Saturday at 2pm and take part in workshops. John Valenteyn
provides this profile:
It's sometimes easy to think that the blues of Robert Johnson or
Charlie Patton is long gone, except for the 78's that remain. What
gets lost in this kind of thinking is how much of this music is still with us
if we know where to look. David 'Honeyboy' Edwards is 81 years old, as of April
28, and while he's not as active as he once was, he's not very far from his
prime. His recent recordings for Earwig and Blue Suit show us
much the same person who recorded for The Library Of Congress in 1942
(also now on Earwig).
David Edwards grew up in Shaw, Mississippi, in the Delta, and spent
much of his teens with boyhood friends Tommy McLennan and Robert
Petway. He fell in with Big Joe Williams and from then on, lived the
itinerant bluesman's life. He met and knew most of the players you can think of
and is often asked about Robert Johnson.Where upon he tells the story of
how he was at the same party at which Johnson was poisoned and could very well
have had a drink from the same bottle except that no one was trying to kill
him! He left the party early to go back to Greenville and heard later
about Johnson's awful fate. Tommy McLennan & Robert Petway got a chance to
record for Bluebird but when Lester Melrose found them, Honeyboy
was on the road. In 1942, he was recorded by Alan Lomax for The Library
Of Congress, so we now have some idea of what he sounded like at the time. He
continued to travel, even playing in various bands, including one that did show
tunes(!) in Memphis and a steady club gig in Houston that he says
he probably should have stayed at but he felt the urge to travel once again. By
the mid 40's, he had an electric guitar so he could play louder, and hence
make more money.
There were some recordings made in Houston in the early '50's, only one of
which saw the light of day, recordings for Sun Records in Memphis that
were not released and when he got to Chicago, a session for Chess that
no one heard until 1971! From 1955 on, Honeyboy played the clubs in the
Southside and Westside with Lester Davenport, Floyd Jones &
other players who could follow the irregular timing of the Delta. Big Joe
Williams led Pete Welding to Honeyboy in 1964, and more recordings, and
work, followed. By 1978, the Honeyboy Edwards Blues Band was formed to play at
various Northside clubs with Kansas City Red, Floyd Jones and
Manager/harmonica player Michael Frank, leading eventually to a show at
Carnegie Hall. Michael's Earwig Records organised the Old Friends album
and tour of Honeyboy, Sunnyland Slim, Big Walter Horton, Red
& Floyd Jones. The group toured Canada from Summerfolk in Owen
Sound to points west.
Michael, Janice Martinson and Living Blues' John Anthony Brisbin
are also helping with Honeyboy's autobiography. Robert Palmer in the
liner notes to Honeyboy's Folkways LP writes that Honeyboy filters all
the music he hears, from whatever source, through his Delta upbringing and it
all comes out sounding like Honeyboy - his style was already well-formed before
he heard anyone else's. When the book comes out, we should have a much better
idea of that process. Current writers have relied on recordings and guesswork
to try to explain how this happens.
Honeyboy appears regularly at the Chicago Blues Festival - most
recently reminiscing about Tommy Johnson with musicologist Dr. David
Evans this past month - your chance to hear him will come at the Soul 'n'
Blues Fest. A Bibliography and Annotated Discography are available at the TBS
website (http://www.io.org/~tbs).
John Valenteyn
David 'Honeyboy' Edwards by Pete Welding, Blues Unlimited #54 June 1968,
reprinted in Nothing But The Blues.
David 'Honeyboy' Edwards-The Living Blues Interview, Living Blues #4, Winter
1970.
Honeyboy Edwards Remembers Tommy McLennan, Living Blues #104, July/August
1992.
David 'Honeyboy' Edwards-Mississsippi Delta Bluesman-Liner Notes by Robert
Palmer.
Old Friends-Together For The First Time-Liner Notes by Jim O'Neal.
David 'Honeyboy' Edwards-Delta Bluesman-Liner Notes by John Anthony Brisbin.
* The Library of Congress recordings are on Delta Bluesman
Earwig 4922CD along with excellent solo and band performances recorded in
1991. If you can only afford one album, this is it.
*White Windows Honeyboy Edwards Blue Suit Records 102 CD (1989)
Solo recordings.
*Old Friends Together For The First Time Earwig 4902CD (1981). The CD
contains 6 more songs than the LP, one of which is also on Delta
Bluesman.
*David 'Honeyboy' Edwards Mississippi Delta Bluesman Folkways FS
3539. A solo album done in New York while Honeyboy was there for a series of
shows at the Alternative Center for International Arts in 1979. Not yet on
CD.
*Really Chicago's Blues Adelphi AD 1005S (1969). Informal, acoustic
settings featuring Honeyboy, Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim, John Lee
Granderson, Big Joe Williams, Big Walter Horton & Backwards Sam
Firk. A double LP containing 4 Honeyboy songs.
*Pete Welding recorded quite a bit but only one song was issued-'Highway
61' on Milestone LP 3002 (1964)
*The early 50's recordings are scattered: the Houston 78 'Build A Cave'/'Who
May Your Regular Be?' is ARC 102. 'Build A Cave' was re-issued on Arhoolie
Blues Classics 23 (vinyl), 2 more remain unissued.
The song he recorded for Sam Philips, 'Sweet Home Chicago' was/is available on
Charly's Sun Blues Box (105), an alternate take remains unissued.
From the Chess session, 'Drop Down Mama' was issued on Chess LP 411, now MCA
Chess CHD-93002, 3 titles remain unissued.
Corrections or additions welcome.
Bibliography:
Discography: