Earring George Mayweather

Earring George Mayweather
Birth name George Mayweather, Jr.
Born (1927-09-27)September 27, 1927
Montgomery County, Alabama, United States
Died February 12, 1995(1995-02-12) (aged 67)
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres Electric blues, Chicago blues
Occupation(s) Harmonicist, songwriter and singer
Instruments Harmonica, vocals
Years active 1950s–1995
Labels Tone Cool Records

Earring George Mayweather (September 27, 1927 – February 12, 1995)[1] was an American electric blues and Chicago blues harmonica player, songwriter and singer. Although he only recorded a single solo album, Mayweather's harmonica work appeared on recordings by J. B. Hutto and Eddie Taylor.

AllMusic commented that his album, Whup It! Whup It! was "an admirable shot at recreating the '50s Chicago harp sound".[2]

Life and career

George Mayweather, Jr. was born in Montgomery County, Alabama, United States.[3] He learned to play the harmonica after receiving the instrument as a Christmas present at the age of six. Inspired by the playing of Sonny Boy Williamson I, Mayweather was mainly self-taught on the rudiments of the instrument; although upon relocation to Chicago, Illinois, in September 1949, aged 20, he befriended Little Walter. This connection gave Mayweather vital further education in the techniques of harmonica playing.[3] He lived in Chicago next-door to J. B. Hutto, and thus teaming up in 1951 with him and the percussionist Eddie "Porkchop" Hines, the trio named the Hawks,[4] played on weekends at the Maxwell Street market.[3] Work opportunites were limited, which led to Mayweather working alternatively with Hutto and in Bo Diddley's backing ensemble. In 1952, once Little Walter had decided to leave Muddy Waters's touring band, Montgomery was offered a job as his replacement. However, Mayweather declined the potentially lucrative posting.[3] By 1954, Mayweather recorded with J. B. Hutto on Chance Records recording sessions, that produced "Dim Lights, "Things Are So Slow"[5] "Combination Boogie", and "Pet Cream Man".[6] He later teamed up Eddie Taylor and jointly recorded a number of tracks including "You’ll Always Have A Home" and "Don’t Knock At My Door".[7] Several of these were released as singles, although they were not commercial successes.[8]

Mayweather continued working locally throughout the 1950s,[3] where he obtained his nickname of 'Earring' from the Chicago DJ, Big Bill Hill.[6]

In the late 1980s, Mayweather relocated to Boston, Massachusetts and gained regular employment at the 1369 Jazz Club.[9]

In 1992, Mayweather recorded his debut solo effort, Whup It! Whup It!.[2] Using musicians from the Magic Rockers band that backed Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, the album comprised mostly Chicago blues standards, made notable by Howlin' Wolf ("Forty Four"), Ray Charles ("What'd I Say"), Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers and Little Walter.[3] There was one original track, "Cheatin' on Me", which was written by Mayweather. AllMusic music journalist, Bill Dahl, noted that the recording of Whup It! Whup It! was "an admirable shot at recreating the '50s Chicago harp sound".[2]

Mayweather died in Boston, in February 1995 from liver cancer, aged 67.[3][9]

Discography

Year Title Record label
1992 Whup It! Whup It! Tone Cool Records

[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 92. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  2. 1 2 3 Bill Dahl. "Whup It! Whup It! - George Mayweather | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "George Mayweather | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  4. ↑ "J.B. Hutto". Guitar-list.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  5. ↑ "Various - Chicago Blues - The Early 1950's (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  6. 1 2 Edward Komara; Peter Lee. The Blues Encyclopedia. Books.google.co.uk. p. 664. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  7. ↑ "Elmore James, Eddie Taylor (2), Jimmy Reed - South Side Blues (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  8. ↑ "An Overdose Of Fingal Cocoa: J.B. Hutto". Overdoseoffingalcocoa.blogspot.com. 1926-04-26. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  9. 1 2 "This Week in Blues Past: Catfish Keith, The GRAMMYS, Screamin' Jay, More! | American Blues Scene Magazine". Americanbluesscene.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  10. ↑ "Whup It! Whup It! - George Mayweather | Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
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