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Pee Wee Crayton

Pee Wee Crayton
Pee Wee Crayton performing with his guitar at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, Ann Arbor, Michigan, August, 1970.
Crayton at the 1970 Ann Arbor Blues Festival
Background information
Birth nameConnie Curtis Crayton
Born(1914-12-18)December 18, 1914
Rockdale, Texas, U.S.
DiedJune 25, 1985(1985-06-25) (aged 70)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresRhythm and blues, blues
Occupation(s)Guitarist, singer
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1940s–1985
LabelsVarious

Connie Curtis Crayton (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985),[1] known as Pee Wee Crayton, was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer.

Career

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Crayton was born in Rockdale, Texas.[2] He began playing guitar seriously after moving to California in 1935, later settling in Oakland.[3] While there, he absorbed the music of T-Bone Walker but developed his own unique approach. His aggressive playing contrasted with his smooth vocal style and was copied by many later blues guitarists.

In 1948, he signed a recording contract with Modern Records.[3] One of his first recordings was the instrumental "Blues After Hours", which reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart late that year.[3][4] Its B-side, the pop ballad "I'm Still in Love with You", and the quicker "Texas Hop" are good examples of his work.[5]

In 1950, Crayton and his Orchestra performed at the sixth Cavalcade of Jazz concert, held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 25. Featured on the same day were Lionel Hampton, Roy Milton's Orchestra, Dinah Washington, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers, and other artists. 16,000 were reported to be in attendance. The concert ended early because of a fracas while Lionel Hampton played "Flying High".[6]

He went on to record for many other record labels in the 1950s, including Imperial in New Orleans, Vee-Jay in Chicago and Jamie in Philadelphia. It is thought he was the first blues guitarist to use a Fender Stratocaster, playing one given to him by Leo Fender.

His opening guitar riff on the 1954 single "Do Unto Others"[7] was "quoted"[8] by John Lennon in the beginning of the B-side single version[9] of "Revolution" released by The Beatles on Apple Records in 1968.

Crayton’s album Things I Used to Do was released by Vanguard Records in 1971. He continued to tour and record in the following years.[3]

A longtime resident of Los Angeles, California, Crayton died there of a heart attack in 1985.[1] He was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Legacy

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On May 8, 2019, Crayton was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame by long-time friend Doug MacLeod in a ceremony held in Memphis, Tennessee by the Blues Foundation.

Discography

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10" Shellac (78-rpm) and 7" vinyl (45-rpm) records

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LP and CD releases and compilations of note

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Doc Rock. "The 1980s". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  2. ^ "Pee Wee Crayton". Archived from the original on December 14, 2010. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  3. ^ a b c d Dahl, Bill. "Pee Wee Crayton: Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2015-08-30.
  4. ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 13, 14. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  5. ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-1-85868-255-6.
  6. ^ “Cavalcade of Jazz Attended by 16,000” Review Los Angeles Sentinel June 29, 1950
  7. ^ "Pee-Wee Crayton Do Unto Others". YouTube. June 22, 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-12-17. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  8. ^ "100-greatest-beatles-songs". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  9. ^ "The Beatles - Revolution". YouTube. October 20, 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-17. Retrieved 25 July 2019.