Everett Barksdale

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Everett Barksdale
Born(1910-04-28)April 28, 1910
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedJanuary 29 1986 (aged 75)
Inglewood, California
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1930s–1970s

Everett Barksdale (April 28, 1910 – January 29, 1986)[1] was an American jazz guitarist and session musician.

Biography[edit]

He played bass and banjo before settling on guitar. In the 1930s, Barksdale moved to Chicago, where he was in Erskine Tate's band.[1] He recorded for the first time with violinist Eddie South in 1931, and he remained with South until 1939.[1] He moved to New York City and became a member of the Benny Carter big band.[1] Around the same time, he recorded with Sidney Bechet. During the 1940s, he worked for CBS as a session musician.[2]

As a sideman, Barksdale played guitar in many genres. He worked with vocalists Dean Barlow, Maxine Sullivan, the Blenders, and the Clovers.[3] He played on the hit "Love Is Strange" by Mickey & Sylvia,[3] and was music director for the Ink Spots.[2]

Beginning in 1949, he worked with pianist Art Tatum until Tatum died in 1956.[1] During the 1950s and 1960s, he was a member of the house band at ABC.[2]

He played on recordings by Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Washington, and Sarah Vaughan.[3] Among his other jazz associations were Milt Hinton, Buddy Tate, Clark Terry, and Louis Armstrong.[3] He also played guitar in the studio for pop and soul musicians such as The Drifters (including on "Under the Boardwalk" and "Saturday Night at the Movies") and Ben E. King.[4]

Barksdale retired from active performance in the 1970s and moved to California.[3] He died in Inglewood, California, in 1986.[3]

Discography[edit]

As sideman[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 175. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. ^ a b c Yanow, Scott (2013). The Great Jazz Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-61713-023-6.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Everett Barksdale | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  4. ^ Joel Selvin, Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues. Counterpoint, 2014, pp. 388-391.

External links[edit]