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Artist
Essie The Blues Lady
4+ albums
Blues Hall of Fame
about
If there is ever a competition for a female to be named the B. B. King musical counterpart, if Essie the Blues Lady doesn‘t win that honor, you can be assured that she will be a very strong contender. Born and reared in central Arkansas, Essie spent much of her early childhood slipping and sliding up and down the river banks, fishing and hunting with her family. There was much work and little income, so the family members turned to the wild to supplement their livelihood. While some people have to break away from their normal way of life and make a special effort to grasp what the blues is all about, Essie states “This is not so in my case. I was born into the blues; I was reared on the blues; and I’m a product of the blues. If you’re talking about wearing hand-me-down clothes, cars breaking down, and pinching pennies to get by, you’re talking about the life I've lived.” Despite the shortcomings regarding “style and keeping up with the Joneses”, there were no shortcomings when it came to happiness. When the chores were done and the sun set in the evening, it was “music time.” Essie’s father played several instruments and her mother sang. Essie and her sisters and brothers would listen for hours (and join in, of course). Essie, determined to learn to play, started picking her dad’s guitar when he was at work. He acknowledged her interest and started teaching her tunes he knew by Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Howling Wolf, etc. One of her dad’s friends would show her a few licks
