Rondo's Blues Deluxe

about

As lead singer for the Soulard Blues Band and later his own group Rondo's Blues Deluxe, Leewright helped reinvigorate St. Louis' live blues scene in the early 1980s. His booming voice and exuberant showmanship made him a popular attraction here for the next 25 years, until mounting health concerns slowed his performance schedule. He died of cardiac arrest at age 65 in the early hours of Friday, September 9. Known for exhorting crowds with the signature phrase "Somebody say yeah," Leewright was a devotee of classic blues in the manner of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. He also admired the uninhibited performances of Joe Cocker and incorporated a bit of all three men's styles into his own work. "For my money, he was the last of the great blues singers," says Steve Waldman, long-time guitarist for Rondo's Blues Deluxe and a friend for more than 30 years. "He did it like nobody else, and he did it 100 percent every night." Blues fans who flocked to see Rondo may have been too busy enjoying his music to give more than passing thought to his background. But for Leewright, questions of race and identity loomed large throughout his life, and the pain they brought him fueled his music. Born December 18, 1945, in Brockton, Massachusetts, as Ronald Paul Norris, Leewright had a birth certificate naming his parents as Anna Norris, née De Cost, and Alfred Norris, a career military man, both white. The truth was more complicated. His biological father actually was Clyde Jones, an African

top songs

albums

Cross-Eyed Cat

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Akella Presents - Black Pure Blues - vol.8 CD2

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Akella present - black pure blues - vol.8 cd1

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Time Blues (Blues Collection Vol.1)

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We Talk Only Blues!

Shack Pappy's

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Blues Forever 12

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Blues and Rock Ballads Vol.10

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VA

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Anthology Of Blues (Vol. 01)

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Blues Collection Vol. 1

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Cross-Eyed Cat - 1992 - 320

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