"Lyrics" Soundclips
 "Blind Arthur's Breakdown"
"Diddie Wa Diddie"
"Southern Rag"
"That 'll Never Happen No More"
"Too Tight Blues 2"
Blind Blake is often considered the greatest mystery man of blues.
There is almost no information on his life. According to the Paramount
Book of Blues, he was born circa 1890 in Jacksonville, Florida. However,
a Paramount ad for Blake in the Defender names his home as Tampa.
He is also believed to have lived or at least spent some time in the
Georgia Sea Islands due to his knowledge of the geechee dialect
indigenous to these islands. His name is even under speculation.
He is often called Arthur Blake, Blind Arthur Blake, and Arthur Phelps.
It is known that he traveled widely in the early 1920's.
He lived in Atlanta and played in Bristol, Virginia with Piedmont bluesman
Bill Williams and was seen by Josh White in Charleston, West Virginia.
His musical style suggests he might have worked with traveling
medicine shows and jazz bands. His style varied from the songster tradition,
skiffle-jazz, ragtime blues and especially the Piedmont blues.
Blind Blake moved to Chicago around 1926 and was discovered by
the President of Paramount Records, Mayo Williams. He signed with
Paramount Records and recorded the "West Coast Blues".
This song was a hit and established Blind Blake with other blues artist
such as Blind Lemon Jefferson. He continued to record over eighty
songs over the next six years. He cut an album with Papa Charlie Jackson
entitled Papa Charlie and Blake Talk About It. In 1930 and 1931 he worked
with the vaudeville show Happy-Go-Lucky. In 1932, the Paramount Record Company
collapsed ending Blake's recording career.
Blind Blake disappeared into obscurity until his death circa 1933.
Details about his death are speculative also. The date, location,
and circumstances are shrouded in mystery. Fellow bluesmen reported
that Blake had been violently run over by a street car, although
there are no facts to back this story up. Blind Blake was on of the
most innovative ragtime guitarists of that time. His song,
"Diddie Wah Diddie", is often played by Piedmont blues artists now.
Blake combined blues, jazz, ragtime, and songster styles into the
basic form of Piedmont blues.
source http://www.roadhouseblues.com/
biopages/bioBlindBlake.htm
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