Musician. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, he was delta blues guitar, mandolin player and songwriter. He began playing in the early 1920s, in the Mississippi area with his band, The Mississippi Hot Footers and later joined Bo Carters' Mississippi Mud Steppers. In 1928, he first recorded in Memphis in 1928, in an all-star session that saw him backing Rosie Mae Moore, Tommy Johnson and Ishman Bracey. Later that year, he played on the first recording of "Corrine Corrina" with Bo Chatmon and Walter Vincson. In addition, he recorded his own written versions of "The Jackson Stomp", "The Lonesome Train, That Took My Girl From Town" and "The Vicksburg Stomp". By the mid-1930s, he followed his brother guitar play Joe McCoy to Chicago, joined the Harlem Hamfats, where he blended his mandolin style with their swing rhythms and jazz horns. He also contributed mandolin to recordings by Sonny Boy Williamson, Peetie Wheatstraw, Big Bill Broonzy and Will Weldon. He again teamed up with his brother in Big Joe's Washboard Band and Big Joe and His Rhythm in the early 1940's. In the late 1940s, he was institutionalized with neurosyphilis and died six months later in Chicago, Illinois.
Musician. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, he was delta blues guitar, mandolin player and songwriter. He began playing in the early 1920s, in the Mississippi area with his band, The Mississippi Hot Footers and later joined Bo Carters' Mississippi Mud Steppers. In 1928, he first recorded in Memphis in 1928, in an all-star session that saw him backing Rosie Mae Moore, Tommy Johnson and Ishman Bracey. Later that year, he played on the first recording of "Corrine Corrina" with Bo Chatmon and Walter Vincson. In addition, he recorded his own written versions of "The Jackson Stomp", "The Lonesome Train, That Took My Girl From Town" and "The Vicksburg Stomp". By the mid-1930s, he followed his brother guitar play Joe McCoy to Chicago, joined the Harlem Hamfats, where he blended his mandolin style with their swing rhythms and jazz horns. He also contributed mandolin to recordings by Sonny Boy Williamson, Peetie Wheatstraw, Big Bill Broonzy and Will Weldon. He again teamed up with his brother in Big Joe's Washboard Band and Big Joe and His Rhythm in the early 1940's. In the late 1940s, he was institutionalized with neurosyphilis and died six months later in Chicago, Illinois.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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