Jaybird Coleman

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Burl C. "Jaybird" Coleman (May 20, 1896 – January 28, 1950) was an American country blues harmonica player, guitarist and singer. Born in Gainesville, Alabama, Coleman began performing the blues as an entertainer for American soldiers while serving in the U.S. Army. It was during this period that he was given the nickname "Jaybird" due to his independent manner. In the early 1920s, he teamed with fellow bluesman Big Joe Williams as a performer in the Birmingham Jug Band which toured through the American South. Coleman made his first recordings as a solo artist in 1927. His career as a recording artist lasted only until 1930, after which he performed mostly on street corners throughout Alabama. He died of cancer at the age of 53 in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1950. Burl C. Coleman also went by Rabbit's Foot Williams. He was the son of sharecroppers and one of four children. He was born, raised and worked on a farm, and picked up and learned the harmonica at 12 years of age. He served in the US Army at Ft. McClellan in Anniston, Alabama, and began singing blues and entertaining the troops between 1917 and 1919. He was nicknamed "Jaybird" while in the army due to his independent manner. He returned to Gainesville and worked outside music in 1920. He teamed up with Big Joe Williams in the Birmingham Jug Band to tour with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels working shows throughout the South in 1922 through 1924. He settled in Bessemer to work with his wife, Irene, in his local church, at p

top songs

albums

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1927-1930

R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country

1920s Blues Essentials

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a History Of Blues Harmonica 1926-2002

American Primitive Vol. I: Raw Pre-War Gospel (1926-36)

Goodbye, Babylon

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American Primitive Vol. I: Raw Pre-War Gospel

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

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The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of: Super Rarities

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The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (Disc 1)

Harmonica Blues

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Country Southern Blues

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