Edwards died on Monday from congestive heart failure, said manager Michael Frank, who also played harmonica in Edwards’ trio.

“Honeyboy was the quintessential Delta bluesman,” Frank said.

Edwards was among the last musicians to know and play with legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, who died in 1938, and his career was intertwined with the likes of Charlie Patton, Big Joe Williams, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin’ Wolf, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Big Walter, Little Walter and Muddy Waters.

Edwards, who was born in 1915 in Shaw, Mississippi, earned a 2008 Grammy Award for best traditional blues album for “Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas.” He was awarded a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2010.

Edwards usually performed on acoustic guitar, sitting in a chair on stage, although he was in constant movement.

“He was a very emotional and physical player and singer,” Frank said. “He used his body in his stage performance for effect.

“He had an eccentric style, with unusual timing. He would make changes unpredictably. That was the Honeyboy test. (Musicians who sat in) found out very quickly you can’t just count. He would do some funny turnaround, or funny lick, then look over and just laugh, knowing he was messing with us,” Frank said.

Edwards, who fell ill in April, last toured Europe in 2009, performing 10 shows back to back in England, Frank said. On tour, he played in small clubs, theaters, and music festivals.

In 1942, archivist Alan Lomax recorded Edwards in Clarksdale, Mississippi, for the Library of Congress, according to his website. Edwards did not record again commercially until 1951, when he made “Who May Your Regular Be” for Arc Records.

Although known more for rearranging other blues artists’ tunes, Edwards wrote several songs including “Long Tall Woman Blues,” “Gamblin’ Man” and “Just Like Jesse James.”

(Reporting by Andrew Stern; Editing by Bill Trott)

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We all know that the rapper TI recently began his 366 day prison sentence in an Arkansas prison. Merged with the brilliance of TI is the darker side of his existence, the part that makes him willing to risk losing his family and freedom in the midst of all of the chaos in the hip hop industry.

In this conversation for “The Bottom Line with Dr. Boyce”, we discuss the broader meaning behind TI’s arrest, as well as how TI’s experience reflects the state of rap music in America. There is also the question of whether or not “keeping it real” is good for business, and whether TI is actually remorseful for his personal choices.

We can broaden the discussion to other issues in hip hop as well: Is it right that Rick Ross has been penalized for not being a criminal? Does TI have a lot in common with Tupac (beyond the fact that they are both talented artists)? If so, how can he be sure to avoid Tupac’s fate? We explore all this and more.

Click to listen!

 

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