Louisiana Red dies at 79; Alabama-born slide guitarist found success in Germany
Notable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Ron Frehm / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (David Longstreath / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (John Duricka / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Lucy Pemoni / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Victoria Will / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Handout)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Andre Luiz / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Ron Edmonds / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Charles Rex Abrogast / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Mario G. Reyes / Rafu Shimpo)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Kaz Tsuruta / Asian Art Museum)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Robert Caplin / For the New York Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Elizabeth Conley / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Eric Gay / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Jim Mone / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Walt Zeboski / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (David Van Der Veen / AFP / Getty Images)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA)
Notable deaths of 2012 ()
Notable deaths of 2012 (Rothschild Photo / KTTV)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Oliver Morris)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Ray Howard / Associated Press)
With his silky voice and and casual style, the baritone most famous for his rendition of “Moon River” was one of America’s top vocalists from the 1950s into the 1970s. He was 84. Full obituary
Notable deaths of 2012
Notable deaths of 2012 (NFL Films)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Carlo Allegri / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (John Marshall Mantel / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (NASA)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Gus Ruelas / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Santi Visalli / Getty Images)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (George E. Joseph)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Louis Stern Fine Arts)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Michael Ochs Archives)
Notable deaths of 2012 (EPA)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Courtesy of Richard Zanuck)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Getty Images)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Jim Hollander / EPA)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Charles Sykes / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Handout)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Handout)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (George Wilhelm / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Diether Endlicher / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Peter Brinsden)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Hassan Ammar / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Ed Rode / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Gilles Petard / Redferns)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Nati Harnik / Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 ()
Notable deaths of 2012 (Gilles Petard / Redferns)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Gilles Petard / Redferns)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Alexander Joe / AFP / Getty Images)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Olivier Ferrand / Capitol Records)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 ()
Notable deaths of 2012 (Robert Willett / MCT)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Jakub Mosur / For The Times)
Notable deaths of 2012 (Warner Bros.)
Notable deaths of 2012 ()
Notable deaths of 2011 (Handout)
Notable deaths of 2011 (MCT)
Notable deaths of 2011 (EPA)
Notable deaths of 2011 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2011 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2011 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2011 (Associated Press)
Notable deaths of 2011 (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)
Notable deaths of 2011 (Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images)
Notable deaths of 2011 (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Like so many other blues musicians, slide guitarist Louisiana Red long struggled to make a living in his native country, so in the early 1980s he moved to Germany where, to his delight, he found audiences far more receptive to his elemental sound.
He would return to the United States periodically for tours, and in 2009, one of the first things he did after again setting foot on his home turf was to send a copy of his latest album to the country’s first African American president, Barack Obama.
“Friends of mine played for him back in Chicago, when he was raising funds for schools,” Red told the Boston Herald at the time. “I’m gonna write, ‘I hope you enjoy these blues. I’m proud of you.’”
Red died Saturday at a hospital in Germany, just a few nights after the president and his wife had hosted B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger and others at the White House for a celebration of the blues. The guitarist died at 79 after slipping into a coma brought on by a thyroid imbalance, according to a spokesman for his U.S. record company, Ruf Records, which released his latest album, “Memphis Mojo,” in September.
Over the years Red received 14 nominations and three awards from the Memphis-based Blues Foundation, including a double win in 2010 for acoustic blues artist of the year and acoustic album of the year for his duet with pianist David Maxwell, “You Got to Move.”
The musician born Iverson Minter in Bessemer, Ala., on March 23, 1932 (some sources list his birth year as 1936), went through a series of stage names when he was establishing himself, but the nickname associated with his passion for oysters doused in Louisiana red pepper sauce is the one that stuck.
Red’s mother died within a week of his birth, and his father was lynched by members of the Ku Klux Klan when he was 5, prompting an aunt to place him in an orphanage. He later lived with his grandmother and an uncle in Pittsburgh.
He landed a deal with Chicago’s influential Chess Records after playing a song over the phone for label co-owner Phil Chess, who sent him a bus ticket for Chicago. The man who picked Red up at the station to drive him to meet Chess was Muddy Waters, who was to become one of the label’s biggest stars.
Waters and some of his band mates, including harmonica player Little Walter and guitarist Jimmy Rogers, played on some of Red’s recordings, and he appeared on records by other blues artists including Waters and John Lee Hooker.
“He’s kind of one of the originators,” Kim Wilson, singer and harmonica player for the Fabulous Thunderbirds, said Monday. “His career took off in the ‘60s, and he had a little bit more of a modern sound than Muddy and the guys from the ‘50s. He was a real pivotal guy for people like me, and he was a very, very good songwriter.
“He’s a blues guy, a real blues guy — not one of these guys who call themselves blues people. That’s an important distinction,” Wilson said. “When guys like that leave the planet, quality control goes out the window.”
Survivors include his wife, Dora.
Must-read stories from the L.A. Times
Get all the day's most vital news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
-
Cleveland rocker Michael Stanley has died at age 72 after battling lung cancer.
-
In a male-dominated field, Zavala founded the Mariachi Rosas del Tepeyac, an all-girls group.
-
Mark Pavelich, a player on the 1980 U.S. gold-medal winning “Miracle on Ice” team has died at a mental illness treatment facility.
-
Walter Gretzky, father of hockey great Wayne Gretzky whose down-to-earth approach to life and family struck a chord with Canadians, dies at 82.