Leon "Pee Wee" Whittaker

Leon "Pee Wee" Whittaker
Background information
Birth name	Leon Whittaker
Born	1906 Newellton, Tensas Parish, Louisiana, USA
Origin	Mississippi River delta country
Died	July 22, 1993 (age 87)
Genres	Rock and Roll Rhythm and blues Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Trombonist; String bass; Mandolin; Guitar; Clarinet
Years active	1919–1993

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Leon "Pee Wee" Whittaker (1906 – July 22, 1993) was an African American musician from the Mississippi River delta country of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas who was particularly known as a trombonist of jazz, blues, and rock music. From 1919 until his death, Whittaker performed with minstrel shows, carnival bands, swing orchestras, and rhythm-and-blues groups. He played alongside Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, and Jerry Lee Lewis.^[1]

Biography

Born in Newellton in northern Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, Whittaker was the only child of Tom and Kizzie Whittaker. His parents separated, and Kizzie, herself a talented musician, took Pee Wee on a musical tour until he could enter school. While he was in elementary school, Pee Wee lived with his maternal grandfather, who played the violin. He also studied under a Professor Smith from Alcorn State University (then Alcorn State College) near Lorman, Mississippi. He learned how to read music and to master the clarinet, guitar, string bass, and mandolin, as well as the trombone. ^[2]

Between 1917 and 1918, the Whittakers moved north to Lake Village in southeastern Arkansas. His mother left her musical career when she was called to the Missionary Baptist ministry. After he graduated from high school, Whittaker joined the family band as the mandolin player. A friend and school mate, Louis Jordan, in time became a successful saxophone player, singer, songwriter, and band leader.^[2]

The Whittakers moved thereafter to Greenville, the seat of government of Washington County in western Mississippi. He played string bass in a band led by trombonist Tullus Washington. About 1925, the Washington family moved to Chicago, and the band dissolved. In 1927, Whittaker joined the Harry Walker band and was away from home for some eight years. In 1935, Whittaker left the Walker band and hitchhiked to Monroe in Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana. There he and Jordan joined F. S. Wolcott's Rabbit Foot Minstrels and toured along the Mississippi River from 1935 to 1950.^{[2] [3]}

In the early 1950s, as a result of volatility in the music industry, Whittaker settled in El Dorado in southern Arkansas. There he formed a band that played small circuits. In 1954, Whittaker and his whole band moved to Ferriday in Concordia Parish. From 1955 to 1963, Whittaker played with Doc Morris and his band, who were associated with a small circus based in Michigan. They traveled into Canada and Great Britain.^[2] Whittaker retired from the circuit in 1963 and spent his last years in Ferriday, a majority African American community, where he performed with the Natchez blues band, Hezekiah and the Houserockers.^[4] He also played on a Ferriday radio station and at the club known as Haney's Big House.^[5]

He died on July 22, 1993.

Legacy

In 1982, Whittaker was inducted into the Hall of Master Folk Artists at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. In 1990, he received the first "Delta Folklife Festival Living Tradition Award", an honor given to a resident who has contributed to the cultural heritage of the Louisiana Delta region. In March 2002, Whittaker was posthumously inducted, along with the Ferriday cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley, as the first entries in the Delta Music Museum in the downtown historic district of Ferriday. Whittaker was married and had one son.^[5] Whittaker donated a trombone displayed on a wall in the museum.^[6]

References