Tampa Red facts for kids

Hudson Whittaker (born Hudson Woodbridge; January 8, 1903 – March 19, 1981) was a famous musician. He was known as Tampa Red. He played the Chicago blues style of music.

Tampa Red was a master of the slide guitar. His special way of playing influenced many other blues guitarists. These included famous musicians like Muddy Waters and Elmore James. He also wrote many songs. Over his 30-year career, he recorded many types of music. This included pop, R&B, and hokum songs. Some of his most famous songs are "Anna Lou Blues" and "It Hurts Me Too".

Biography

Early life and musical start

Tampa Red was born Hudson Woodbridge in Smithville, Georgia. The exact year he was born is not clear. He sometimes said it was between 1900 and 1908. His birth certificate says January 8, 1904. His parents, John and Elizabeth Woodbridge, died when he was young.

After their death, he moved to Tampa, Florida. He was raised by his aunt and grandmother there. He took their last name, Whittaker. His older brother, Eddie, played the guitar in Tampa. Tampa Red wanted to be like him. He was also inspired by an old street musician named Piccolo Pete. Piccolo Pete taught him his first blues guitar tricks. Red also learned from early recordings of female blues singers. These included Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.

Moving to Chicago and first hits

By 1925, Tampa Red had become very good at playing slide guitar. He moved to Chicago, Illinois. He started his music career playing on the streets. He chose the name "Tampa Red" because of his childhood home. "Red" came from his light-colored skin. His big chance came when he was hired to play with Ma Rainey.

In Chicago, he met Thomas A. Dorsey, also known as Georgia Tom. Dorsey was a talented piano player and songwriter. He helped Red meet J. Mayo Williams, who worked for Paramount Records. Red started recording in 1928. His first song was "Through Train Blues".

His second song, "It's Tight Like That", became a huge hit. The song was a funny style called hokum. It sold one million copies! People even waited outside record stores to buy it. Red and Dorsey wrote the song together. They shared about $4,000 in earnings from it.

Working with Georgia Tom

Tampa Red and Georgia Tom worked together a lot. They recorded almost 90 songs. Sometimes they called themselves the Hokum Boys. With Frankie Jaxon, they were Tampa Red's Hokum Jug Band. They also played on recordings for other singers. These included Ma Rainey and Lil Johnson.

In 1928, Red became the first Black musician to play a National steel-bodied resonator guitar. This guitar was very loud. It helped him create his special bottleneck style. He played single notes, not just chords. This was a new way of playing blues guitar. It was like the guitar solos we hear in rock music today.

Red's National guitar was gold-plated. It was found in Illinois in the 1990s. Later, it was sold to the Experience Music Project in Seattle. People called Red "The Man with the Gold Guitar". In the 1930s, he was known as "The Guitar Wizard". In 1931, he recorded "Depression Blues". This song talked about the hard times people faced during the Great Depression.

Later career and influence

Red and Dorsey stopped working together in 1932. But Red was still very popular. He played with many other musicians. These included Sonny Boy Williamson I and Memphis Minnie. In 1934, he signed with Victor Records. He stayed with them until 1953.

He formed a group called the Chicago Five. They created a sound known as the Bluebird sound. This sound was a step towards later jump blues and rock-and-roll bands. Tampa Red was friends with Big Bill Broonzy and Big Maceo Merriweather. He became successful and had money. His home became a meeting place for blues musicians. He offered them a place to practice, find shows, and stay. Many musicians came to Chicago from the Mississippi Delta.

By the 1940s, Red started playing an electric guitar. In 1942, his song "Let Me Play with Your Poodle" was a hit. It reached number 4 on Billboard magazine's "Harlem Hit Parade". This chart was a early version of the R&B chart. In 1949, his song "When Things Go Wrong with You (It Hurts Me Too)" was another R&B hit. Elmore James later covered this song.

In the late 1950s, people became interested in old blues music again. Tampa Red was "rediscovered," like other early blues artists. He made his last recordings in 1960.

Later life and passing

Tampa Red's wife, Frances Whittaker, passed away on November 21, 1953. In 1974, a blues expert named Jim O'Neal found him living in Chicago. Red was not in good health. His electric guitar was under his bed. His special National steel guitar had been stolen. (It was found later in 1994 and sold to the Experience Music Project).

Red's companion, Effie Tolbert, passed away in December 1974. By January 1975, he was living in a state hospital in Chicago.

Tampa Red spent his final years in a nursing home. He passed away from a heart attack on March 19, 1981. His funeral was held at Biggs & Biggs Funeral Home. He was buried in Mount Glenwood Memory Garden in Willow Springs, Illinois.

Music and recordings

Tampa Red was one of the most active blues recording artists of his time. It is thought that he recorded 335 songs. Most of these were recorded between 1928 and 1942. This makes him the blues artist with the most recordings during that period. Most of his songs were released before Billboard magazine started tracking blues music in 1942. So, we don't have exact sales numbers for many of his early songs. However, he had four songs that reached the top ten on the R&B chart between 1942 and 1951.

Popular songs

Tampa Red recorded different versions of some of his early songs. These are often called "No. 2" or "No. 3". He also recorded songs with other musicians. They were sometimes called the Hokum Boys or Tampa Red's Hokum Jug Band.

He also played on recordings for other artists. These included Big Maceo Merriweather, John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, and Memphis Minnie.

Albums released

Even though he recorded many single songs, Tampa Red only released two albums during his lifetime. These came out later in his career. Many collection albums have been released since he passed away. These albums often have similar songs, but some focus on certain parts of his music style.

See also

In Spanish: Tampa Red para niños