St. Louis and America celebrate as local blues legend turns 96
By Kevin Belford
For the St. Louis American
This is not another report about a once well-known but forgotten bluesman who lived out his later years unrecognized. Nor is there reason to complain that St. Louis doesn’t appreciate its cultural history. This story is different.
This story is about the 96th birthday of St. Louis blues musician Henry Townsend and the party given for him on Saturday at BB’s Jazz Blues and Soups.
The legendary guitarist and pianist Henry Townsend has been performing and recording since 1929. From his childhood days in St. Louis as a shoeshiner to his receiving the key to the city in 1999, Townsend has been beloved by the musical fans of St. Louis as an original roots musician. His collaborations and friendships with many of the legendary musicians and entrepreneurs shaped the blues scene of St. Louis. He has received the National Heritage Award, the NEA’s highest honor given to an American traditional artist.
The party last Saturday night was a non-stop stream of entertainment that included “younger” blues legends like Leroy Pierson, Sharon Foehner and Tom Hall. Spencer Bohren, a lap steel player and evacuee from New Orleans, on tour while his city rebuilds, made a special trip to attend Townsend’s party.
Entertainers and audience members came from around the country, including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Nashville, Oakland and Washington D.C. Special appearances by Snooky Pryor’s son Earl and Big George Brock kept the excitement going, and a set of traditional St. Louis piano blues by Silvercloud moved the show into a suitably traditional mood.
Seeing Silvercloud once again do what he does would have been the highlight of any evening, but this was no ordinary evening. The stepson of the legendary Robert Johnson, Robert Lockwood Jr., took a seat with his guitar and played classic blues for a standing-room-only audience.
Lockwood’s birthday wishes were special in that he and Townsend are among the last living originators of the music. Homesick James, Snooky Pryor, Pinetop Perkins, Honeyboy Edwards, Lockwood and Townsend compose the last of the original performers of the pre-war blues. Townsend is the eldest and has the longest recording career, having recorded in each of the nine decades since his first 78 rpm appeared. His recordings have been made in every format – shellac and vinyl records, audio tape, film, videotape, digital CD, DVD and MP3.
Before midnight, Townsend wheelchaired to the edge of the stage and was assisted up the three steps and onto the piano stool. Humbly and with his sense of humor, he thanked everyone. As his fingers touched the keyboard, he said, “I want you to know how much it means to me. I came all the way up the three steps for you.”
With Lockwood on guitar, Ron Edwards on slide and John May on bass, Townsend played for the better part of an hour, mostly on piano but switching once to guitar. He sang familiar blues themes and created songs as he went. Using feeling instead of format, his songs evolved as he played. “Ad-libbing,” Townsend calls it. “I don’t know what I’m going to do until I do it.”
Born in Shelby, Mississippi in 1909, Townsend moved to St. Louis in 1921 and joined the budding music scene which included Lonnie Johnson, Clifford Gibson, Roosevelt Sykes and Charley Jordan. In 1928, he began accompanying a number of blues pianists, including Sykes, Peetie Wheatstraw, Henry Brown and Walter Davis. The following year, he recorded his first sides for Columbia Records.
In the 1930s, Townsend was in a select club that developed the pre-war blues of St. Louis. These musicians included Wheatstraw, Jordan, Sykes, Davis, Teddy Darby, Big Joe Williams, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Robert Nighthawk. By 1935, Townsend had contributed to over 35 recordings. Into the 1970s, Townsend held workingman jobs and performed when asked. The audiences changed over the years but never really disappeared.
At 96 years old, Townsend has not lost his raw blues feeling. He performs about six times a year now, including at St. Louis’ Big Muddy Blues Festival. This October has been especially busy with a gig in Dallas at the Palace Theater and a recording session in Memphis with Steven Seagal (yes, action hero Steven Seagal) to be released next year.
So there is reason to celebrate – Henry Townsend for his 96th birthday and St. Louis for knowing something good while they still got it.
