Re: [Harp-L] R.I.P. Eddie Kirkland

["Rob Paparozzi" <Chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanx for posting this Bobbie, he lived his title "Gypsy of The 
Blues"......I did a gig with Eddie at Black Eyed Sallys in CT a few years 
ago and we traded some cool Harp stuff on and off Stage...he was a good 
hearted soul.

Steve Cropper loved workin w/ him at STAX in the Mid 60's....check out his 
harp playin' y'all on :
"The Hawg" released as a single in 63....


RIP Eddie Kirk...your muse lives on !

Rob Paparozzi


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bobbie Giordano" <bobbie-g@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 12:50 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] R.I.P. Eddie Kirkland


> I was about to post about something more upbeat, but am instead reporting 
> sad news I received Monday via a blues society mailing list I'm on. 
> Another of those uniquely renowned blues musicians has been lost; singer, 
> guitarist, harp player Eddie Kirkland died Sunday morning as a result of 
> injuries sustained in an auto crash in Tampa, FL.  He was ironically on his 
> way to his final gig on his Florida tour when it happened.  Below is an 
> article link recounting the tragedy.  He was 88.
>
> As I recall, I'd only seen him perform a couple or so times, but I'd love 
> to see him again if I could.  These are comments I posted to the other 
> group a bit earlier:
>
> ================
> What heartbreaking news! I was just watching a YouTube of Eddie's, Slow 
> Drivin', I think it was. Two thirds of the way into it, he breaks a 
> string, but as always, the consummate blues man carries on, not a beat 
> skipped. He was a true gem, a legend. Left it all out on the floor every 
> time I saw him.
>
> I've always imagined a kinship with those like the "Gypsy of the Blues", 
> admiring their grit and determination for taking their musical love on the 
> road, day after day, year after year. In my own little SUV, an ornament 
> dangles from the rearview mirror that says "Life is a Journey", and I've 
> even dubbed my ride "Gypsy". But, those like Kirkland truly are gypsies, 
> driven by heart and soul most of us will never know, much less imagine. 
> And, what's more, they do it to give it all away.
>
> One quote of his I love says it all about the man:
> "If one person appreciates what I'm doing it's just as good as a million. 
> A lot of places we've played, after I paid the band I didn't have a dime. 
> But it was a good show. I was happy. That's it for me. It's my life."
>
> Peace to you, Eddie, on your last long, slow drive, obviously with tons of 
> good company. We'll miss you, but your memory will linger on with fans 
> like me forever. R.I.P. You have definitely earned it.
> ================
>
> Most of the time, he'd play guitar and sing, but he was a harmonica player 
> as well; first in fact.  Check out this YouTube recording: 
> http://tinyurl.com/6jr7afw
> More info on Kirkland from an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 
> is below, and the link for that is here:  http://tinyurl.com/4kkub5q
>
> ================
> Kirkland, who was born on a cotton plantation, moved with his mother to 
> New Orleans when he was a year old. The two later moved to Mobile and 
> southwest Alabama.
>
> "That's where I came to hear the blues . . ., " Kirkland told the AJC in 
> 1989. "My first experience with the blues was when I was a little baby 
> about 2 years old. My mama used to take me to the cotton field and put me 
> at the end of a row in the shade. You'd have people coming down the row, 
> and it was a long field, and you could hear them singing. As a little 
> baby, the music got into me."
>
> His mother gave him a harmonica when he was 4, he said. At 12, he played 
> guitar with the Sugar Girls Medicine Show before heading to Detroit.
>
> In 1949, Kirkland traveled to Macon while on tour with Hooker. The middle 
> Georgia town would later become Kirkland's home.
> ================
>
> One other article link is here:  http://tinyurl.com/4ojnt6b
>
> My most vivid memory of Eddie is from a show he put on at the 
> Bradfordville Blues Club here quite a few years ago.  He always kept on a 
> 'gypsy'-like scarf tied on his head, but by the end of the night he was 
> out of his jacket and shirt and down to a vest.  Sweat had been pouring 
> off him all night, and when I went to give him a hug, he gently warned me, 
> "Darlin', you may not wanna hug me just now," smiling to note how sweaty 
> he'd gotten.  Of course, I winked and hugged him anyway - "It don't bother 
> me!"  And his shoulders felt so slick and cool, not heated at all as I 
> expected.  We talked a bit, mostly about harp, of course.  Although I was 
> sad he didn't play one much that night, it was still a lively, fun show, 
> and I'm glad I got a chance to experience it, and him.
>
> Some, like Eddie Kirkland, have had many years to share themselves with 
> us, but even he was still full of vitality and skill.  So, for me, he and 
> far too many other artists are taken from our world too soon.  My deepest 
> heartfelt thanks to all you other road warriors out there, but seriously, 
> please be extra careful in your travels.  It would be awful to be missing 
> you, too.
>
> Bobbie G