Blues Musician. Real name William Gaither. A native of Belmont, Kentucky, he is remembered not only as a talented blues guitarist and singer, but also for his association with early blues pianist Leroy Carr, and for his hundreds of sides he recorded for the Decca, Okeh, and Arhoolie Record Labels between 1931 and 1941. Born in 1910 (some sources say 1905 or 1908), he was a close personal friend of Carr's when he began recording with him under the name of Leroy's Buddy in the early 1930s. After's Carr's untimely death at the age of 30 in 1935, Gaither began a partnership as a lyricist with the pianist George "Honey" Hill. At the time he also worked with guitarist Francis "Scrapper" Blackwell. Among Gaither's recordings are, "After The Sun's Gone Down", "Life Of Leroy carr", "Leroy Carr's Blues, and the more popular "Champ Joe Louis", which was recorded on June 23, 1938, the day after the famous rematch between boxers Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. He is considered to be in a group of important but understudied 20th century musicians, and his blues lyrics have been somewhat appreciated as poetry. He was reported to have died in Indianapolis in 1956, but it was discovered later that he had actually died in October 1970. He is buried in the same cemetery as Leroy Carr, Francis "Scrapper" Blackwell, Wes Montgomery, and blues mandolinist James "Yank" Rachell.
Blues Musician. Real name William Gaither. A native of Belmont, Kentucky, he is remembered not only as a talented blues guitarist and singer, but also for his association with early blues pianist Leroy Carr, and for his hundreds of sides he recorded for the Decca, Okeh, and Arhoolie Record Labels between 1931 and 1941. Born in 1910 (some sources say 1905 or 1908), he was a close personal friend of Carr's when he began recording with him under the name of Leroy's Buddy in the early 1930s. After's Carr's untimely death at the age of 30 in 1935, Gaither began a partnership as a lyricist with the pianist George "Honey" Hill. At the time he also worked with guitarist Francis "Scrapper" Blackwell. Among Gaither's recordings are, "After The Sun's Gone Down", "Life Of Leroy carr", "Leroy Carr's Blues, and the more popular "Champ Joe Louis", which was recorded on June 23, 1938, the day after the famous rematch between boxers Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. He is considered to be in a group of important but understudied 20th century musicians, and his blues lyrics have been somewhat appreciated as poetry. He was reported to have died in Indianapolis in 1956, but it was discovered later that he had actually died in October 1970. He is buried in the same cemetery as Leroy Carr, Francis "Scrapper" Blackwell, Wes Montgomery, and blues mandolinist James "Yank" Rachell.
Bio by: The Silent Forgotten
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