Gabriel Brown
| Gabriel Brown | |
|---|---|
| File:Gabriel Brown b1910.jpg
Gabriel Brown, photographed by Carl Van Vechten in 1935
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| Background information | |
| Born | 1910 Florida, United States |
| Died | 1972 Florida, United States |
| Genres | Piedmont blues[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, guitarist, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1935–1952 |
| Labels | Various |
Gabriel Brown (1910 – 1972) was an American Piedmont blues singer and guitarist.[1]
Biography
Brown was born in Florida, probably in Gadsden County,[2] and graduated from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. In 1934, Brown performed at the first National Folk Festival in St. Louis, Missouri. He was musically discovered by folklorist Zora Neale Hurston. She enlisted Alan Lomax who, in June 1935, recorded Brown for the Library of Congress.[1][3]
Similar to Ralph Willis, Alec Seward and Brownie McGhee, Brown then relocated from the Southern United States to New York City.[4] Hurston gave Brown a part in her light opera, Polk County.[3] In 1935 Brown started a four-year tenure with the Federal Arts Theatre, initially under Orson Welles' direction. By the late 1930s, Brown appeared as a singer on Cincinnati radio, and took part in the show St. Louis Woman. He found employment with the civil service, working for the Army Signal Corps in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Brown had Joe Davis as his record producer on his first full recording session in 1943, and the twosome worked together until Brown's final sessions in 1952.[1]
In 1945 Brown sang, "I can't have no luck at all, the jinx is on me."[5]
Several of Brown's recordings were not released during his lifetime, and some of those that were issued were not always promoted tastefully or accurately. In the late 1940s, various tracks were licensed to Coral Records. Eventually Davis worked in A&R for MGM Records, and Brown followed him to that label, where he was promoted as a pop singer. Later compilation albums were released on record labels such as Flyright.[1]
Gabriel Brown died by drowning in Florida in 1972, following a boating accident.[3]
Selected discography
- Gabriel Brown And His Guitar 1943-1945 (Policy Wheel, 1976)
- Gabriel Brown 1944-1952 (Krazy Kat, 1983)
- Gabriel Brown: Mean Old Blues 1943 - 1948 (Flyright, 1996)
- Gabriel Brown (2001) – Catfish Records[6]
See also
References
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External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with hCards
- 1910 births
- 1972 deaths
- People from Florida
- American blues guitarists
- American blues singers
- American male singers
- Songwriters from Florida
- Deaths by drowning
- Piedmont blues musicians
- Blues musicians from Florida
- Accidental deaths in Florida
- 20th-century American singers
