Blues singer and guitarist, b. April 17, 1901 in Walnut Bottom, KY, d. December 21, 1963 in St. Louis, MO (pulmonary edema). Gibson moved to St. Louis in the late 1920s and recorded 22 titles between 1929 and 1931. In the 1930s to 1950s Gibson worked as itinerant street musician (with a trained dog) for tips in the St. Louis area. Two private recordings in 1951 and four titles for Bobbin in St. Louis in 1960 completed his oeuvre.
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Clifford "Grandpappy" Gibson, b. April 17, 1901 in Louisville, KY. d. December 21, 1963) in St. Louis, MO, blues singer and guitarist. He is best known for the tracks, "Bad Luck Dice" and "Hard Headed Blues".
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri in the 1920s and lived there for the rest of his life. He played in St. Louis clubs, and in 1929 began recording for the QRS and Victor labels. He is regarded as one of the earliest urban blues performers, with no pronounced rural influences. His guitar playing style resembled that of Lonnie Johnson, with an emphasis on vibrato and improvisation. Among the many themes touched on in his songs, "Don't Put That Thing on Me" is notable for its references to hoodoo, an African American form of folk magic.
Gibson accompanied Jimmie Rodgers on a Victor single, "Let Me Be Your Side Track", in 1931, then spent parts of the next three decades playing in the streets around St. Louis. Gibson resurfaced on recordings in 1960 on the Bobbin label, and worked another three years in St. Louis' Gaslight Square, before his death from pulmonary edema in 1963.
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By Ron Wynn
Though not a particularly great singer, Clifford "Grandpappy" Gibson was an excellent guitarist, among the finest pure players in country blues. Gibson moved from Kentucky to St. Lous in the '20s, where he lived the remainder of his life. He frequently played St. Louis clubs during the '20s and '30s, and began recording for QRS and Victor in 1929. Greatly influenced by Lonnie Johnson, Gibson also accompanied Jimmie Rodgers on a Victor single in 1931, then spent parts of the next three decades playing in the streets around St. Louis. Gibson resurfaced on recordings in 1960 with a Bobbin date, and worked another three years in St. Louis' Gaslight Square before his death in '63.