Effort continues to identify unmarked graves of Detroit blues musicians
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| Carl Henry at the gravesite of Mr. Bo. |
When musician Carl Henry went last fall to check out the newly placed headstones on the graves of Detroit blues musicians Uncle Jessie White and Louis "Mr. Bo" Collins at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, he was moved by the experience.
"I just looked at the gravestones and I had to cry," Henry said. "They were such good friends for so long. Uncle Jessie and Mr. Bo were the two guys who helped me get my start playing.
"Uncle Jessie's quote, 'It isn't black and white, it's just the blues,' gave me the title of my latest CD. He told me, 'Don't be afraid. When you go down there (in the city), you'll find as many good people as anywhere else.' I learned a lot about life and living from him, and Mr. Bo was the same way."
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| Uncle Jessie White |
Uncle Jessie and Mr. Bo are two of the Detroit musicians who have had headstones placed on their previously unmarked graves, thanks to the Detroit Blues Society's Headstone Project.
"Pretty much everything I do in music I owe to those guys," Henry said. "To be able to come back and do something for them is a no-brainer. I wish I could have done a lot more for them when they were alive."
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| Mr. Bo |
Henry and his band perform on the "Headstone Project Fundraiser" CD on No Cover records that was recorded live at Callahan's Music Hall in Auburn Hills last year. Other musicians on the CD include The Alligators, Detroit harmonica great Little Sonny Willis, and Roni Collins, who is Mr. Bo's nephew. The CD will be available for purchase at the DBS Headstone Fundraiser concert from 3 to 8 p.m. June 12 at the Hastings Street Ballroom, 715 E. Milwaukee, in Detroit. Performing at the event, which is also a Hastings Street Reunion, will be the Carl Henry Band, The Alligators, Alberta Adams and RJ's Rhythm Rockers, and Emmanuel Young with Howard Glazer and the EL 34s. Admission is free. There will be a 50-50 drawing and raffle items.
"We're hoping that you'll buy a CD," said Mike Boulan of No Cover records. "(No Cover) is not going to receive any money from it. All proceeds are going to the project."
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| Curtis and Clarence Butler |
The effort to put headstones on the unmarked graves started with markers for Eddie "Son" House and Willie D. Warren. The Headstone Project officially began with the placement on the graves of Clarence and Curtis Butler, who performed as The Butler Twins. Lee Herberger, known in Detroit's blues community as Wolfgang Spider, has been instrumental in the project's success.
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| Boogie Woogie Red (Photo by Leni Sinclair) |
"I just became distressed that The Butler Twins didn't have stones," Spider said. "Myself and Motor City Josh and Cathy Davis got together and said, 'We've got to do something about this.' We got the Blues Society involved in it and we raised money for those stones. It was obvious that many more didn't have stones and the Blues Society has been kind enough to keep it going. We owe it to these people."
The next recipient of a headstone will be piano player Vernon "Boogie Woogie Red" Harrison. Boogie Woogie Red, who died in 1992, played with John Lee Hooker for 14 years in the 1940s and '50s and also had a successful solo career, recording two albums for Blind Pig records.
Henry has been involved in the Headstone Project throughout the years, starting with the placing of a stone on the grave of Son House.
"Who would have thought that Son House, the Father of the Blues, would be buried here?" Henry asked. "There are so many great musicians that lie in unmarked graves that it just blows my mind. We realize how big a part of our lives these guys were. Most of them were fantastic people who never had an agenda, except making music to make people smile.
"Musicians are not known for making a fortune doing what we do, so it is totally understandable. They may be doing mine some day."
Detroit Blues Society
Headstone Project
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| Calvin Frazier |
EDDIE JAMES "SON" HOUSE JR.
(March 21, 1902-Oct. 19, 1988)
Buried: Mount Hazel Cemetery, Detroit.
WILLIE D. WARREN
(Sept. 11, 1924-Dec. 30, 2000)
Buried: Gethsemane Cemetery, Detroit
CLARENCE BUTLER
One of The Butler Twins
(Jan. 21, 1942-Dec. 22, 2003)
Buried: Sunset Hills Cemetery, Ypsilanti Township
Headstone placed 2006
CURTIS BUTLER
One of The Butler Twins
(Jan. 21, 1942-April 9, 2004)
Buried: Sunset Hills Cemetery, Ypsilanti Township
Headstone placed 2006
CALVIN FRAZIER
(Feb. 16, 1915-Sept. 23, 1972)
Buried: United Memorial Gardens, Plymouth
Headstone placed in 2009
LOUIS "MR. BO" COLLINS
(April 27, 1932-Sept. 19, 1995)
Buried: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Detroit
Headstone placed in 2010
UNCLE JESSIE WHITE
(Sept. 24, 1920-Jan. 29, 2008)
Buried: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Detroit
Headstone placed in 2010
VERNON HARRISON
"BOOGIE WOOGIE RED"
(Oct, 18, 1925-July 2, 1992)
Buried: Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery, Clinton Township
Headstone expected to be placed in 2011
Note: The Detroit Blues Society assisted in placing headstones on the graves of Son House and Willie D. Warren prior to the Headstone Project.
To contact JB Blues, please email Joe.Ballor@dailytribune.com
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