An
associate of Robert Johnson,
Calvin Frazier never attained the notoriety of other Johnson
protégés like Johnny Shines, Robert Jr. Lockwood or Honeyboy Edwards,
but his scant recorded legacy reveals a performer whose take on
prewar-era blues is as unique and distinctive as any in the canon. Born
February 16, 1915 in Osceola, Arkansas, Frazier began his career
performing alongside his brothers, and in the company of Shines, he
traveled to Helena, Arkansas in 1930; there they met Johnson, and
together the three men slowly journeyed north to Detroit, where they
sang hymns on area gospel broadcasts. Upon returning south, Frazier and
Johnson also joined with drummer Peck Curtis in a string-band combo.
However, in 1935 Frazier was wounded in a Memphis shootout which left
another man dead; he fled back to Detroit, marrying Shines' cousin and
settling into a life of quiet anonymity. Apart from gigs supporting the
likes of Big Maceo Merriweather, Rice Miller and Baby Boy Warren, he
resurfaced in 1938 long enough to cut a session for folklorist Alan
Lomax; while the spectra of Johnson undeniably haunts renditions of
songs including "Lily Mae" (a rewrite of "Honeymoon Blues") and "Highway
51" (lifted from "Dust My Broom"), Frazier's incomprehensible vocals,
menacingly surreal lyrics and exquisite slide guitar are the hallmarks
of a total original. He did not record again until a 1951 date with T.J.
Fowler's jump band, and entered the studio one last time in 1954 with
Warren and Miller; Frazier continued performing in the
Detroit area to
little notice until his death on September 23, 1972. ~ Jason Ankeny,
Rovi
An
associate of