Stick McGhee
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Granville "Stick" Henely McGhee (March 23, 1917 – August 15, 1961) was an American guitarist (Brownie McGhee's younger brother) best known for his blues song "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", one of the earliest prototypical rock and roll songs, which Jerry Lee Lewis and Mike Bloomfield's Electric Flag (as "Wine") covered. The song lent its name to the alcoholic fruit drink "spodi"; the spo-dee-o-dee was a scat substitute for the original motherfucker.
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[edit] Career
He earned his nickname 'Stick', from pushing his polio-stricken older brother Brownie through the streets of Kingsport, on a cart that he propelled with a stick.
McGhee grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee and first recorded "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" - which his future record label, Atlantic Records, said he adapted from a drinking song he heard in the Army - in 1947 to little fanfare. The track was credited as being written by McGhee and J. Mayo Williams. A re-make in 1949 (as Stick McGhee and his Buddies) became a R&B hit.
His crisp guitar work may be heard on on some of Sonny Terry's 1947 Capitol sessions.[1]
1951's "Tennessee Waltz Blues" was another hit, as were several following singles, including "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," "Jungle Juice", "Double Crossin' Liquor" "Six to Eight" and "Head Happy with Wine".
'Stick' McGhee died of lung cancer in 1961 in New York[2], and he was interred at the Long Island National Cemetery.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited, p. 143. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ All Music Guide biography
