Kansas City Red
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May 7, 1926
Kansas City Red | |
|---|---|
| Born | Arthur Lee Stevenson May 7, 1926 Drew, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | May 7, 1991 (aged 65) |
| Genres | Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Blues musician, nightclub owner-manager |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, drums |
| Years active | 1950s–1991 |
| Labels | Earwig, JSP, P-Vine |
Arthur Lee Stevenson (May 7, 1926 – May 7, 1991), known as Kansas City Red, was an American blues drummer and singer who played a major role in the development of urban blues. He performed and recorded with many notable blues artists, such as David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Robert Nighthawk, Sunnyland Slim, and Walter Horton.
Stevenson was born in Drew, Mississippi. After he was rejected for military service in 1942, he took a brief trip to Kansas City and became known Kansas City Red. David "Honeyboy" Edwards was his first musical influence. He started following Robert Nighthawk in the early 1940s, and when Nighthawk's drummer was ill and unable to play a gig, Red offered to fill in, even though he had never played drums. He was Nighthawk's drummer until around 1946.[1] Nighthawk recorded Red's song “The Moon Is Rising”.[2] Red became part of Sonny Boy Williamson II's inner circle, playing on the famed King Biscuit radio show in Helena, Arkansas. He had brushes with the law and trouble with women and jealous boyfriends in the South and in California before moving to southern Illinois.[3]
He moved to Chicago in the 1950s[1] and was a regular performer in Chicago blues clubs, playing with Johnny Shines, Walter Horton, Sunnyland Slim,[2] Earl Hooker, Blind John Davis, Johnny "Man" Young, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Eddie Taylor, Floyd Jones, Elmore James,[2] and Easy Baby (Alex Randall),[4] among others. He briefly played with Honeyboy Edwards, and in the 1950s he formed a band with Earl Hooker.[1] He led his own bands, including one in which Jimmy Reed gained some early professional experience.[2] He owned and operated well-known clubs on Chicago's West Side, such as the Boola Boola, the Shangri-La,[3] and the Club Reno.[1]
