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Jimmy McCracklin James David Walker St. Louis Missouri August 13 1921 – San Pablo California December 20 2012 Was An American Pianist Vocalist Harmonica Player And Songwriter. His Style Contained West Coast Blues Jump Blues And Rhythm & Blues. Over A Career That Spanned Seven Decades He Said He Had Written Almost A Thousand Songs And Had Recorded Hundreds Of Them. McCracklin Recorded Over 30 Albums And Earned Four Gold Records. Tom Mazzolini Of The San Francisco Blues Festival Said Of Him "He Was Probably The Most Important Musician To Come Out Of The Bay Area In The Post-World War II Years."
McCracklin Was Born In St. Louis Missouri. He Joined The United States Navy In 1938 Later Settled In Richmond California And Began Playing At The Local Club Savoy Owned By His Sister-In-Law Willie Mae "Granny" Johnson. The Room-Length Bar Served Beer And Wine And Granny Johnson Served Home-Cooked Meals Of Greens Ribs Chicken And Other Southern Cuisine. A House Band Composed Of Bay Area Based Musicians Alternated With And Frequently Backed Performers Such As B. B. King Charles Brown And L. C. Robinson. Later In 1963 He Would Write And Record A Song "Club Savoy" On His I Just Gotta Know Album.
His Recorded A Debut Single For Globe Records "Miss Mattie Left Me" In 1945 And Recorded "Street Loafin' Woman In 1946. McCracklin Recorded For A Number Of Labels In Los Angeles And Oakland Prior To Joining Modern Records In 1949-1950. He Formed A Group Called Jimmy McCracklin And His Blues Blasters In 1946 With Guitarist Lafayette Thomas Who Remained With Group Until The Early 1960s.
His Popularity Increased After Appearing On The TV Pop Dick Clark's American Bandstand In Support Of His Self Written Single "The Walk" 1957 Subsequently Released By Checker Records In 1958. It Went To No. 5 On The Billboard R&B Chart And No. 7 On The Pop Chart After More Than 10 Years Of McCracklin Selling Records In The Black Community On A Series Of Small Labels. Jimmy McCracklin Sings His First Solo Album Was Released In 1962 In The West Coast Blues Style. In 1962 McCracklin Recorded "Just Got To Know" For His Own Art-Tone Label In Oakland After The Record Made No. 2 On The R&B Chart. For A Brief Period In The Early 1970s McCracklin Ran The Continental Club In San Francisco. He Booked Blues Acts Such As T-Bone Walker Irma Thomas Big Joe Turner Big Mama Thornton And Etta James. In 1967 Otis Redding And Carla Thomas Had Success With "Tramp" A Song Credited To McCracklin And Lowell Fulson. Salt-N-Pepa Made A Hip-Hop Hit Out Of The Song In 1987. Oakland Blues 1986 Was An Album Arranged And Directed By McCracklin And Produced By World Pacific. The California Rock-N-Roll "roots Music" Band The Blasters Named Themselves After McCracklin's Backing Band The Blues Blasters. Blasters' Lead Singer Phil Alvin Explained The Origin Of The Band's Name "I Thought Joe Turner’s Backup Band On Atlantic Records – I Had These 78s – I Thought They Were The Blues Blasters. It Ends Up It Was Jimmy McCracklin's. I Just Took The 'Blues' Off And Joe Finally Told Me That’s Jimmy McCracklin’s Name But You Tell ‘im I Gave You Permission To Steal It.
McCracklin Continued To Tour And Produce New Albums In The 1980s And 1990s. Bob Dylan Has Cited McCracklin As A Favorite. He Played At The San Francisco Blues Festival In 1973 1977 1980 1981 1984 And 2007. He Was Given A Pioneer Award By The Rhythm And Blues Foundation In 1990 And The Living Legend And Hall Of Fame Award At The Bay Area Black Music Awards In 2007. McCracklin Continued To Write Record And Perform Into The 21st Century.
He Died In San Pablo California In The San Francisco Bay Area On December 20 2012 After A Long Illness Aged 91. read less