Louisiana Red, another of the original bluesmen, has died of a stroke at age 79. He recorded more than 50 albums and was best known for his song, “Sweet Blood Call.”
His birth name was Iverson Minter. His mother died of pneumonia shortly after his birth and his father was lynched by Ku Klux Klansmen when he was only five. He recorded for Chess Records in 1949 and was then drafted into the army. Later, he played with John Lee Hooker for two years in Detroit and was then signed to Checker, billed as Tommy Tucker.
Red recorded and toured throughout the '60's and '70's recording for Chess, Checker, Atlas, Glover, Roulette, L&R and Tomato and won a WC Handy award in 1983 as Best Traditional Blues Male Artist. Last year, he released "Memphis Mojo" to broad public acclaim. To promote that recording, he toured Europe from his home base in Hanover, Germany, where he had lived since 1981.
In the image above, he was photographed by Frank Beacham performing at B.B. King's club in New York City on Sept. 30, 2005.
