Tommy Bankhead

Tommy Bankhead (October 24, 1931 – December 16, 2000) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer, who backed musicians such as Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Elmore James (his cousin),^[1] Joe Willie Wilkins, Robert Nighthawk, and Joe Hill Louis.^[2]

Born in Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, United States,^[1] Bankhead later moved to St. Louis, Missouri and made it his home. He also performed sometimes on bass guitar and harmonica, and released a few albums under his own name.^[3] In his later years he toured as Tommy Bankhead and the Blues Eldoradoes.^[4] Bankhead was a fixture in St. Louis blues for over fifty years.

He died in St. Louis in December 2000, from respiratory failure due to emphysema.^[2]

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