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Rosco Gordon

 


Rosco Gordon | All about Blues Music | tc331

Blues singer, composer and pianist Rosco Gordon was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 10, 1928. He was a pioneer of the Memphis Blues style, which inspired reggae and ska music. With Johnny Ace, B B King and Bobby Bland he was one of the "Beale Streeters". 

His first recordings were made at Sam Phillips’ Sun studio and were leased to Chess for national distribution. Phillips sold some of the master tapes to RPM Records as well as to Chess, which resulted in an eventual legal case. Gordon’s last hit “Just a little bit” was in 1960 and two years later Gordon left the music business, setting himself up with a laundry in New York. Gordon’s name was spelled as “Roscoe” on some Chess labels. 

Rosco Gordon died in Queens, New York, on July 11, 2002 from a heart attack, just weeks after appearing in a television documentary about blues musicians.

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