L. C. McKinley | |
---|---|
Birth name | Luke C. McKinley [1] |
Born | Winona, Mississippi, U.S. | October 22, 1918
Died | January 19, 1970 East Chicago, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 51)
Genres | Chicago blues [2] |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist, singer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | Late 1940s–early 1960s |
L. C. McKinley (October 22, 1918 – January 19, 1970) [2] [1] [3] was an American Chicago blues guitarist. He worked with Eddie Boyd and Ernest Cotton. A performer in the Chicago blues scene, McKinley's major output was as a session musician on recordings made mostly in the 1950s. [2]
He also released a number of singles on various record labels. [2] His best-known tracks include "Weeping Willow Blues" and "Nit Wit." His guitar playing was influenced by T-Bone Walker. [4]
He was born Luke C. McKinley [1] in Winona, Mississippi, United States. [2] According to the United States Census in 1940, he was living in Vaiden, Mississippi, with his wife, Bessie, and two sons. [5] He relocated to Chicago in 1941. [2] He began to find work and by 1947 had started to play professionally in the Chicago area. [2] [6] By the early 1950s, he was a regular performer at the 708 Club, where he variously topped the bill or played accompaniment in the first half of 1954 with the Ernest Cotton Trio. [6]
He began working with Eddie Boyd in the early 1950s. In 1952, McKinley and Cotton backed Boyd on the latter's recording of " Five Long Years", [2] which reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart. [7] McKinley also undertook recording sessions with several of Chicago's better-known blues musicians, including Curtis Jones. [2] In 1953 he recorded for Parrot Records, but these recordings were not released. [8] He signed with States Records in January 1954, which issued his "Companion Blues" later that year. [6]
In 1955, McKinley signed a recording contract with Vee-Jay Records, [8] which issued his single "Strange Girl", backed with "She's Five Feet Three", in the same year. [9] Other tracks he recorded in that period, which were unissued at that time, included "Blue Evening", "Down with It", "Rosalie Blues", "Disgusted", and "Tortured Blues". [6] [10] In 1959, Bea & Baby Records released his single "Nit Wit". [6]
McKinley made his last recordings in 1964, which were released on the Sunnyland label in the UK. [4]
After leaving the music industry, he worked as a presser for a dry cleaning company in East Chicago, Indiana. [6]
McKinley died in East Chicago, Indiana, on January 19, 1970, aged 51. [1] His cause of death is unknown.
Year | A-side | B-side | Record label |
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1954 | "Companion Blues" [11] | "Weeping Willow Blues" | States |
1955 | "Strange Girl" [12] | "She's Five Feet Three" [13] | Vee-Jay |
1955 | "Lonely" [14] | "I'm So Satisfied" [15] | Vee-Jay |
1959 | "Nit Wit" [16] | "Sharpest Man in Town" [4] | Bea & Baby |
1964 | "Mind Your Business" [6] | "So Strange" | Sunnyland |
Year | Title | Record label |
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1982 | Chicago Blues in the Groove [17] | P-Vine Records |
2002 | Vee Jay Screaming Blues Guitar [18] | P-Vine Records |
L. C. McKinley.
L. C. McKinley.