Fred McDowell (January 12, 1904 - July 3, 1972), called "Mississippi Fred McDowell", was a blues singer and guitar player. Image File history File links Fred_McDowell. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Career

McDowell was born in Rossville, Tennessee, near Memphis. His parents, who were farmers, died when McDowell was a youth. He started playing guitar at the age of 14 and played at dances around Rossville. Wanting a change from ploughing fields, he moved to Memphis in 1926 where he worked in a number of jobs and played music for tips. He settled in Como, Mississippi, about 40 miles south of Memphis, in 1940 or 1941, and worked steadily as a farmer, continuing to perform music at dances, picnics and the like. Initially he played slide guitar using a pocket knife and then a slide made from a beef rib bone, later switching to a glass slide for its clearer sound. He played with the slide on his ring finger. Rossville is a town located in Fayette County, Tennessee. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The River City, The Bluff City, M-Town Location Location in Shelby County and the state of Tennessee Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Tennessee Shelby County Mayor W. W. Herenton (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 294. ... For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Como is a town located in Panola County, Mississippi. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his alfalfa field. ... PICNIC is an acronym which stands for Problem In Chair, Not In Computer. It is most commonly used by experts to describe to one another that the problem was not in the computer but was instead caused by the user operating it. ... Example of a bottleneck, with fingerpicks and resonator guitar. ...

The 1950s brought a rising interest in blues music and folk music in the United States, and McDowell was brought to wider public attention, beginning when he was recorded in 1959 by Alan Lomax. McDowell's recordings were popular, and he performed often at festivals and clubs. McDowell continued to perform blues in the North Mississippi blues style much as he had for decades, but he sometimes performed on electric guitar rather than acoustic. While he famously declared "I do not play no rock and roll," McDowell was not averse to associating with many younger rock musicians: He coached Bonnie Raitt on slide guitar technique, and was reportedly flattered by The Rolling Stones' rather straightforward, authentic version of his "You Gotta Move" on their 1971 Sticky Fingers album. The 1950s was the decade spanning from the 1st of January, 1950 to the 31st December, 1959. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and for the common people. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lomax playing guitar, sometime between 1938 and 1950 Alan Lomax (January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an important American folklorist and musicologist. ... Left: Rosa Hurricane, a heavy metal-style solid body guitar. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American Blues-R&B singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. ... Rolling Stones redirects here. ... Sticky Fingers is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1971. ...

McDowell's 1969 album I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll was his first featuring electric guitar. It features parts of an interview in which he discusses the origins of the blues and the nature of love.

McDowell died of cancer in 1972 and is buried at Hammond Hill M.B. Church, between Como and Senatobia, Mississippi. Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Senatobia is a city in Tate County, Mississippi, United States. ...

External links

• Illustrated Fred McDowell discography
• Fred McDowell's Amazon.com pages