Pee Wee Crayton

Pee Wee Crayton
Birth name Connie Curtis Crayton
Born (1914-12-18)December 18, 1914
Rockdale, Texas, United States
Died June 25, 1985(1985-06-25) (aged 70)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres Rhythm and blues, blues
Occupation(s) Guitarist, singer
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1940s–1985
Labels Various

Connie Curtis Crayton (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985),[1] known as Pee Wee Crayton, was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer.

Career

Born in Rockdale, Texas, United States,[2] Crayton began playing guitar seriously after moving to California in 1935, later settling in San Francisco.[3] While there he absorbed the music of T-Bone Walker, but developed his own unique approach. His aggressive playing contrasted with his smooth vocal style, and was copied by many later blues guitarists.

In 1948 he signed a recording contract with Modern Records.[3] One of his first recordings was the instrumental, "Blues After Hours", which reached #1 in the Billboard R&B chart late that year.[4][3] Its B-side, the pop ballad "I'm Still in Love With You", and the quicker "Texas Hop", are good examples of his work.[5]

He went on to record for many other record labels in the 1950s including Imperial in New Orleans, Louisiana, Vee-Jay in Chicago and Jamie in Philadelphia. It is thought he was the first blues guitarist to use a Fender Stratocaster, given to him by Leo Fender. His album Things I Used To Do was released by Vanguard Records in 1971. He continued to tour and record in the following years.[3]

A longtime resident of Los Angeles, California, Crayton died there of a heart attack in 1985,[1] and was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Discography

Original 10" shellac (78rpm) and 7" vinyl (45rpm) releases

LP and CD releases/compilations of note

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Doc Rock. "The 1980s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  2. ↑ Archived 13 February 2011 at WebCite
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bill Dahl. "Pee Wee Crayton | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  4. ↑ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. pp. 13 & 14. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  5. ↑ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. pp. 104–05. ISBN 978-1-85868-255-6.

External links

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