"Arbee Stidham (February 9, 1917 – April 26, 1988) was an American blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, most successful in the late 1940s and 1950s.
He was born in De Valls Bluff, Arkansas, United States, to a musical family - his father, Luddie Stidham played with Jimmie Lunceford and his uncle with the Memphis Jug Band. Arbie Stidham learned to play harmonica, clarinet and saxophone as a child. Before his teens he had formed his own band, the Southern Syncopators, which backed Bessie Smith on tour in 1930-31, and played on radio and in clubs in Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee.
In the mid-1940s he moved to Chicago and met Lester Melrose, who signed him to RCA Victor in 1947. His biggest hit, "My Heart Belongs to You", was recorded at his first session, and reached # 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart in June 1948. He spent the rest of his career trying to emulate its success, recording for Checker, States, and other independent record labels as a jazz-influenced blues vocalist. After a car accident made it impossible to play the saxophone, he took up the guitar in the 1950s under the tutelage of Big Bill Broonzy, and played it on his early 1960s recordings for Folkways.Stidham continued to record occasionally up to the early 1970s, and also made many music festival and club appearances nationwide and internationally. He lectured on the blues at Cleveland State University in the 1970s, and appeared in the film The Bluesman in 1973. (He was active on the Cleveland club scene, frequently at Euclid Tavern which was also Robert Jr Lockwood's home bar)
He died April 26, 1988 in Cook County, Illinois, aged 71." wiki

18 comments:
Thanks KC
Didn't know about this guy but anything with King Curtis (that I haven't got) is a d/l for me
Cheers
I didn't know about this guy at all, so thanks for the chance to make his acquaintance
Make that another discovery for me. Thanks, KC.
Can you please repost this one, KC ?? Thank you very much!!
There has been so much GREAT music here...along with some informative background info supplied from many sources but most importantly personal perspectives...it's a good idea to make available earlier posts for the newcomers and those that missed the original offerings...and gives us old farts another chance to air our wisdom !?!
Got this when it first appeared. Its one of my favorites from this site. Never knew of the guy before, but damn, its fine old style soul/blues.
Looks like a good one. Thanks
Thank you for the repost, KC!!
KC, many thanks
Many thanks for this beautiful re-up .... That's my real cup !
Thanks KC . . . I need to get around a little more obviously.
could you please repost this one? i'm sufferin' for it
http://www54.zippyshare.com/v/yDhUckp5/file.html
A great post and interesting information. I used to see Robert Lockwood in and around Cleveland in the late '70's but don't remember seeing Arbee. Sorry I missed seeing him live, but his recordings are great! Thanks again.
Thanks King Cake!
Thanks King Cake!
Many thanks!!
HUGE thanks for this re-post KC. I've been pecking away at hearing all of the great Prestige/Bluesville stuff lately. Really looking forward to this one.
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