IM: WHUSDJ
CURRENT SHOW
A Late Cobblestone Walk
Tune into "Dark Side of the Highway" this Sunday (March 4) for a special memorial tribute to legendary bluesman Louisiana Red...
Iverson Minter (aka Louisiana Red), March 23, 1932 - February 25, 2012
Louisiana Red (born Iverson Minter, March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012) was an African American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. He was best known for his song "Sweet Blood Call".
Minter lost his parents early in life; His mother died of pneumonia shortly after his birth, and his father was lynched by the Ku Klux Klan when he was five. He was brought up by a series of relatives in various towns and cities. Red recorded for Chess in 1949, before joining the Army. After leaving the Army, he spent two years in the late 1950s playing with John Lee Hooker in Detroit. He recorded for Checker Records in 1952, billed as Rocky Fuller.
His first album, Lowdown Back Porch Blues, was recorded in New York with Tommy Tucker and released in 1963, with second album Seventh Son released later the same year. Louisiana Red released the single "I'm Too Poor To Die" for the Glover label in 1964. It peaked at number 117 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 30 on the Cashbox chart. Billboard did not print a standard R&B chart during 1964.
He maintained a busy recording and performing schedule through the 1960s and 1970s, having done sessions for Chess, Checker, Atlas, Glover, Roulette, L&R and Tomato amongst others. In 1983 he won a W.C. Handy Award for Best Traditional Blues Male Artist. He lived in Hanover, Germany since 1981.
He has also made film appearances in Rockpalast (1976), Comeback (1982), Ballhaus Barmbek (1988), Red and Blues (2005) and Family Meeting (2008).
In 1994, Louisiana Red fused the blues with the urban Greek music of the bouzouki player, Stelios Vamvakaris, on the album, Blues Meets Rembetika. He continues to tour, including regular returns to the US.
In 2011, Louisiana Red released Memphis Mojo to broad public acclaim.
Michael Messer (Michael Messer Music) 9AM 25/Feb/2012: "I am very sorry to be bringer of such sad news that my dear friend, Louisiana Red, died this morning. He had a stroke on Monday and had been in a coma."