Snooky Pryor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Snooky Pryor
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Pryor in Edinburgh, June 1993
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Edward Pryor |
| Born | September 15, 1919 or 1921 Lambert, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | October 18, 2006 (aged 85-87) Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States |
| Genres | Chicago blues, Delta blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, carpenter |
| Instruments | Vocals, blues harp, bugle |
| Years active | 1945–2006 |
| Labels | Vee-Jay, Virgin, ABC, Blind Pig, Telarc, Electro-Fi |
| Associated acts | Floyd Jones, Moody Jones, Sunnyland Slim, Eddie Taylor, Johnny "Man" Young, Leroy Foster (musician), Homesick James |
James Edward "Snooky" Pryor (born September 15, 1919 or 1921 – died October 18, 2006) was an American Chicago blues musician. He was famous for playing the harmonica. Snooky Pryor helped create a way of playing the harmonica using an amplifier. He would hold a small microphone and the harmonica together to make the sound louder.
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Snooky Pryor's Music Career
Snooky Pryor was born in Lambert, Mississippi, in the United States. He learned to play the blues harmonica in a style called country blues. This style was inspired by other famous harmonica players like Sonny Boy Williamson I and Sonny Boy Williamson II.
Early Days and Army Service
In the mid-1930s, Snooky played music with friends in Mississippi. One of these friends was Jimmy Rogers, who later became a famous guitarist. Around 1940, Snooky moved to Chicago.
During World War II, Snooky served in the U.S. Army. He used a PA system to play bugle calls. This gave him the idea to try playing his harmonica through an amplifier. After leaving the Army in 1945, he got his own amplifier. He started playing his harmonica at the outdoor Maxwell Street Market in Chicago. He quickly became a well-known musician in the Chicago blues music scene.
First Recordings and Later Life
In 1948, Snooky Pryor made some of the first blues recordings after the war. These included songs like "Telephone Blues" and "Snooky & Moody's Boogie." He recorded these with guitarist Moody Jones. He also recorded "Stockyard Blues" and "Keep What You Got" with singer Floyd Jones.
Snooky Pryor toured a lot in the southern United States during the 1950s. In 1967, he moved to Ullin, Illinois. For a while, he stopped playing music and worked as a carpenter. But blues fans wanted to hear his music again, and he was convinced to start playing. He continued to record music until he passed away in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, at 85 years old.
In 1973, Snooky Pryor went on a tour in Europe called "American Blues Legends '73." He played with Homesick James. They recorded an album together in London. Snooky also recorded his own album called Shake Your Boogie. He appeared on Bob Margolin's album My Blues and My Guitar in 1995.
Some of Snooky Pryor's well-known songs include "Judgement Day" (from 1956), "Crazy 'Bout My Baby" (from 1989), and "Shake My Hand" (from 1999).
Snooky Pryor's son, Richard "Rip Lee" Pryor, is also a blues musician. He plays music in and around Carbondale, Illinois.
Snooky Pryor's Music Recordings
Singles
- "Boogie" / "Telephone Blues" (1948), Planet
- "Boogy Fool" / "Raisin’ Sand" (1949), JOB
- "I’m Getting Tired" / "Going Back on the Road" (1952), JOB
- "Cryin’ Shame" / "Eighty Nine Ten" (1953), JOB
- "Crosstown Blues" / "I Want You For Myself" (1954), Parrot
- "Someone to Love Me" / "Judgement Day" (1956), Vee-Jay
- "Boogie Twist" / "Uncle Sam Don’t Take My Man" (1963), JOB
Albums
- Snooky Pryor (1970), Flyright Records
- Homesick James & Snooky Pryor (1973), Virgin Records
- Do It If You Want To (1973), ABC Records
- Shake Your Boogie (1974), Big Bear Records
- Snooky (1989), Blind Pig Records
- Snooky Pryor (1991), Paula Records
- Johnny Shines and Snooky Pryor: Back to the Country (1991), Blind Pig Records
- Snooky Pryor: Too Cool to Move (1992), Antone's Records
- In This Mess Up to My Chest (1994), Antone's Records
- Mind Your Own Business (1996), Antone's Records
- Snooky Pryor: Shake My Hand (1999), Blind Pig Records
- Double Shot!, with Mel Brown (2000), Electro-Fi Records
- Super Harps II, with Carey Bell, Lazy Lester, Raful Neal (2001), Telarc Records
- Snooky Pryor and His Mississippi Wrecking Crew (2002), Electro-Fi Records
- Mojo Ramble (2003), Electro-Fi Records
See also
In Spanish: Snooky Pryor para niños
- Chicago Blues Festival
- List of Chicago blues musicians
- List of harmonica blues musicians
