L. C. Ulmer

L. C. Ulmer
Birth name Lee Chester Ulmer
Born (1928-08-28)August 28, 1928
Stringer, Mississippi, United States
Died February 14, 2016(2016-02-14) (aged 87)
Ellisville, Mississippi, United States
Genres Delta blues
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, one-man band
Instruments Guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, vocals, keyboards, drums, kazoo, harmonica[1]
Years active Early 1940sā€“2016

Lee Chester Ulmer (August 28, 1928 ā€“ February 14, 2016) was an American delta blues musician, known professionally as L. C. Ulmer. He was a regular performer for over half a century, playing at festivals and clubs throughout the United States and elsewhere,[2] but particularly in the Deep South.[3] Ulmer was also featured in the 2008 documentary film, M for Mississippi: A Road Trip through the Birthplace of the Blues.[4] His earliest influences came from the music of Blind Roosevelt Graves. Throughout his life, Ulmer met or played with numerous notable musicians including Elvis Presley, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Brook Benton, Nat King Cole, Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, and Buddy Guy.[3]

Ulmer was a multi-instrumentalist, and often performed in his younger days as a one-man band.[2]

Biography

Lee Chester Ulmer was born in Stringer, Jasper County, United States.[3] He was the son of Luther Ulmer and Mattie Brown,[1] the youngest of 14 children.[5] The family moved to a plantation near Moss Hill, where outside of their work in the fields the whole family played music. Jimmie Rodgers was a notable visitor, who played alongside the family while drinking whiskey from the plantation owner son's own whiskey still. Ulmer had learned to play the guitar by the age of nine, taking delight in listening to records by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, and Peetie Wheatstraw. His main influence for slide guitar techniques came from the work of Blind Roosevelt Graves, who Ulmer saw perform on the streets of Laurel, Mississippi.[2] After starting to play on the streets himself, Ulmer found regular employment in his teenage years building wooden trestles to support a railway line across Lake Pontchartrain. He later worked near Heidelberg, Mississippi, helping in the construction of railways lines to nearby oil wells.[2]

In 1949, Ulmer traveled to Kansas City, Kansas to visit his sister, and his guitar playing experiences included backing J. B. Lenoir at a local venue. Ulmer was later based in Laurel and developed his one-man band show at various local clubs both there and in Meridian, Mississippi.[2] He continued to travel and, in 1955, found work at the Motoaurant on Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona, and played in its own nightclub, 'The Cock 'n' Bull'.[2] It was there that he met Elvis Presley, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Brook Benton, Nat King Cole, Fats Domino, and Louis Armstrong.[5] Further travelling saw Ulmer join the musicians union in Hollywood, California, perform across most major States, and return home to visit his parents, before he relocated back to Laurel where he joined the Bel Air Clowns, playing at local clubs in the early 1960s. Ulmer eventually moved again, this time to Joliet, Illinois, his home for the next 37 years. There he worked in construction, and at his own automotive shop, while performing often as a one-man-band and as a club host. It was here that Ulmer met and worked with Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor, Jimmy Reed and Sonny Thompson amongst many others. He could then play up to 12 musical instruments at one time. Ulmer experimented at this time with various instruments, including an early synthesizer and a Gretsch White Falcon, which he bought new in 1965 for $1,800.[2]

In 2001, Ulmer returned home to the area around Ellisville, Mississippi, when he lived for the remainder of his life.[2] In his latter days using just a guitar as his accompaniment,[3] he performed locally on a regular basis, as well as at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, the Shed Blues Festival in Ocean Springs, the Blues Today Symposium in Oxford and, in 2007, at the Roots and Blues Festival in Parma, Italy. In June the following year, Ulmer made his debut appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival.[2] Ulmer then featured in the 2008 documentary film, M for Mississippi: A Road Trip through the Birthplace of the Blues.[4] Ulmer became a committed vegetarian, and shared his wisdom and recipes with his friends. In 2009, he was named 'Blues Artist of the Year' by the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola, Mississippi.[3] The same year he performed at the 8th annual Ponderosa Stomp,[1] and the Notodden Blues Festival.

Ulmer's 2011 album, Blues Come Yonder, was released by Hill Country Records and had Jimbo Mathus in the backing band.[6] The tracks included eleven self-penned efforts and a cover of Hank Williams', "I Saw the Light".[7] In 2012 and 2013, Ulmer performed at the Muddy Roots Music Festival.

Death

Ulmer died on February 14, 2016, in his home in Ellisville, Mississippi,[1] of natural causes, aged 87.[3]

Discography

Albums

Year Title Label
2011 Blues Come Yonder Hill Country Records

[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California, United States: Praeger Publishers. p. 117. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "L. C. Ulmer: Mississippi Folklife and Folk Artist Directory". Arts.state.ms.us. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Blues legend L. C. Ulmer dies at 87". Hattiesburgamerican.com. 1928-08-28. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  4. 1 2 King, Stephen A. (2011). I'm Feeling the Blues Right Now: Blues Tourism and the Mississippi Delta. Jackson, Mississippi, United States: University Press of Mississippi. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-61703-010-9.
  5. 1 2 Stolle, Roger (2011). Hidden History of Mississippi Blues. Charleston, South Carolina, United States: The History Press. pp. 92/6. ISBN 978-1-60949-219-9.
  6. ā†‘ "Blues Come Yonder - L. C. Ulmer | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  7. 1 2 "Blues Come Yonder - L. C. Ulmer | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-15.

External links

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