Eurreal Wilford Montgomery, b. April 18, 1906 in Kentwood, LA, d. September 6, 1985 in Chicago, IL. Impressed by the piano players who visited his parents’ house, including Jelly Roll Morton and Cooney Vaughan, Montgomery began playing at the age of five. At the age of 11 he ran away, and worked as a musician for the rest of his life. He played the southern jukes and lumber camps as a solo blues pianist, singing in his unmistakable voice, nasal and with a strong vibrato, yet somehow pleading and wistful. With Friday Ford and Dehlco Robert he developed ‘The Forty-Fours’ into one of the most complex themes in the repertoire, calling his own version ‘Vicksburg Blues’. In the 20s, Montgomery played jazz in New Orleans with Clarence Desdune and toured Mississippi with Danny Barker; he also worked briefly with Buddy Petit, and on the blues side toured with Big Joe Williams. In 1928, Montgomery headed for Chicago, playing blues at rent parties with Blind Blake among others, and recording as an accompanist in 1930, under his own name in 1931. During the 30s he returned south to Jackson, Mississippi, from where he travelled as leader of the jazz-playing Southland Troubadours until 1939.
He continued to play blues, and on a single day in 1935 recorded no fewer than 18 titles and five accompaniments to other singers for Bluebird Records, including his instrumental masterpieces ‘Shreveport Farewell’ and ‘Farish Street Jive’, the latter a technically daunting blend of boogie and stride. In 1941, Montgomery settled in Chicago. He worked with Kid Ory at Carnegie Hall in 1949, and was for a long time a member of the Franz Jackson Band; he also continued to work solo (including a residency at an Irish tavern in the 60s) and to record, and was on the first releases by Otis Rush and Magic Sam. In 1960, he visited Europe for the first time, and began recording for a white audience. As well as promoting young protegees such as Elaine McFarlane (later ‘Spanky’ of Spanky And Our Gang) and Jeanne Carroll, Montgomery recorded himself at home, issuing material on his FM label, named from the initials of himself and his devoted wife Janet Floberg, whom he married in 1967. With her encouragement and support, he was active in music until not long before his death. Montgomery was a consummate musician, with a huge repertoire and an excellent memory, but his recordings mostly reflect the preferences, first of record companies in the 30s, then of the white audience of the 60s and after; he was a giant of the blues, but it should not be forgotten that he was also a capable pop singer, and an excellent jazz pianist.
Little Brother Montgomery Biography by Bill Dahl
A notable influence on the likes of Sunnyland Slim and Otis Spann, pianist Little Brother Montgomery's lengthy career spanned both the earliest years of blues history and the electrified Chicago scene of the 1950s. By age 11, Montgomery had given up on attending school to instead play in Louisiana juke joints. He came to Chicago as early as 1926 and made his first 78s in 1930 for Paramount, including two enduring signature items, "Vicksburg Blues" and "No Special Rider," recorded in Grafton, WI. Bluebird recorded Montgomery more prolifically in 1935-1936 in New Orleans.
In 1942, Little Brother Montgomery settled down to a life of steady club gigs in Chicago, his repertoire alternating between blues and traditional jazz (he played Carnegie Hall with Kid Ory's Dixieland band in 1949). Otis Rush benefited from his sensitive accompaniment on several of his 1957-1958 Cobra dates, while Buddy Guy recruited him for similar duties when he nailed Montgomery's "First Time I Met the Blues" in a supercharged revival for Chess in 1960. That same year, Montgomery cut a fine album for Bluesville with guitarist Lafayette "Thing" Thomas that remains one of his most satisfying sets.
With his second wife, Janet Floberg, Montgomery formed his own little record company, FM, in 1969. The first 45 on the logo, fittingly enough, was a reprise of "Vicksburg Blues," with a vocal by Chicago chanteuse Jeanne Carroll (her daughter Karen followed in her footsteps around the Windy City).
Little Brother Montgomery Biography by Bill Dahl
A notable influence on the likes of Sunnyland Slim and Otis Spann, pianist Little Brother Montgomery's lengthy career spanned both the earliest years of blues history and the electrified Chicago scene of the 1950s. By age 11, Montgomery had given up on attending school to instead play in Louisiana juke joints. He came to Chicago as early as 1926 and made his first 78s in 1930 for Paramount, including two enduring signature items, "Vicksburg Blues" and "No Special Rider," recorded in Grafton, WI. Bluebird recorded Montgomery more prolifically in 1935-1936 in New Orleans.
In 1942, Little Brother Montgomery settled down to a life of steady club gigs in Chicago, his repertoire alternating between blues and traditional jazz (he played Carnegie Hall with Kid Ory's Dixieland band in 1949). Otis Rush benefited from his sensitive accompaniment on several of his 1957-1958 Cobra dates, while Buddy Guy recruited him for similar duties when he nailed Montgomery's "First Time I Met the Blues" in a supercharged revival for Chess in 1960. That same year, Montgomery cut a fine album for Bluesville with guitarist Lafayette "Thing" Thomas that remains one of his most satisfying sets.
With his second wife, Janet Floberg, Montgomery formed his own little record company, FM, in 1969. The first 45 on the logo, fittingly enough, was a reprise of "Vicksburg Blues," with a vocal by Chicago chanteuse Jeanne Carroll (her daughter Karen followed in her footsteps around the Windy City).