Jaybird Coleman

Jaybird Coleman
Birth name	Burl C. Coleman
Born	(1896-05-20)May 20, 1896 Gainesville, Alabama, United States
Died	Tuskegee, Alabama, United States
Genres	Country blues
Occupation(s)	Instrumentalist, singer
Instruments	Harmonica, guitar
Years active	1926 - late-1940s
Labels	Gennett Black Patti Silverstone OKeh Columbia
Associated acts	Rabbit Foot Minstrels Bessemer Blues Pickers Birmingham Jug Band

Burl C. "Jaybird" Coleman (May 20, 1896 – January 28, 1950) was an American country blues harmonica player, vocalist, and guitarist. Coleman was a popular musical attraction throughout Alabama and recorded several sides in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Biography

Coleman was born to a family of sharecroppers in Gainesville, Alabama. While he and his three brothers endured hard physical labor, Coleman was exposed to multiple influences from his fellow sharecroppers in singing and discovering traditional folk songs. At age 12, Coleman was first introduced to the harmonica, in large part self-teaching himself, and was encouraged by his parents to hone his skills as an alternative opportunity to their wearying occupation. Early on, Coleman performed locally for small wages at dance halls and parties.

In 1914, upon the outbreak of the First World War, Coleman joined the United States Army and was stationed at Fort McClellan for the entirety of the conflict. At the fort, Coleman developed a reputation for being stubbornly independent, often disobeying the Army's strict code of conduct. As a result, his superior officers would call him "Jaybird", a nickname that was associated with Coleman, and his later stage act, throughout the remainder of his lifetime. It was also during this time, Coleman first performed for large crowds as he entertained his fellow doughboys. After his military discharge from the service, Coleman briefly returned to Gainesville working for a few months as a farm labourer before relocating with his younger brother, Joe, to Bessemer, Alabama, and becoming a full-time musician.

In 1922, Coleman teamed up with singer and guitarist Big Joe Williams in tours across Alabama, before spending two years traveling with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, which was a popular tent show making appearances throughout the South. Returning to Bessemer, Coleman married a popular local singer, and the couple supported themselves by performing as a duo. The Colemans were regularly churchgoes, and we're renowned in the black community for their renditions of gospel tunes. As a blues musician, he was equally popular among both black and white audiences. Occasionally, Coleman would play his harmonica as he strolled through the streets with an accumulating crowd accompanying him.

In 1926, Coleman began recording for Gennett, Silverstone, and Black Patti labels as a solo performer and as a member of the Bessemer Blues Pickers. His records were met with reasonably significant commercial success, however Coleman asserted he was never compensated for his work. Despite his treatment by white-owned record companies, Coleman allowed a charter of the Ku Klux Klan to manage his touring schedule and expand his audience to major southern cities. Typically, Coleman's performances featured little to no accompaniment in a style rooted in the working songs of his childhood. He particularly favored the high-pitch E and D harps, and played them in a heavily-choked cross-harp technique, marked by a rapid hand vibrato. In the 1930s, Coleman was loosely associated with the Birmingham Jug Band, a group he helped form, and recorded with in sessions for OKeh and Columbia Records. In 1930, he recorded "Coffee Grinder Blues" for Columbia, which, as a consequence of a payment feud with the label, was blocked by him for a wider release and remains his rarest record.

Coleman continued to perform on street corners in Alabama throughout the 1930s and 1940s. By the end of the decade, he disappeared from the music scene completely. He died on January 28, 1950 in Tuskegee, Alabama from cancer.

Compilation

• Jaybird Coleman & the Birmingham Jug Band 1927-30 - Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order (Document, 1992)

External links

• Biography on Alabama Music Hall of Fame site
• Profile on Answers.com
• Illustrated Jaybird Coleman discography