Furry Lewis

One of the great American blues guitarists, Furry Lewis gained fame in the 1920s and dropped out of the music business for more than three decades but lived long enough to be celebrated in the blues revival led by British rock bands in the 1960s. Known for his agile acoustic bottleneck-guitar style, story-telling lyrics and winning personality, he opened for The Rolling Stones when their 'Tour of the Americas' hit Memphis in 1975 because Keith Richards was such a big fan. He toured with Leon Russell and The Alabama State Troupers, influenced many other rockers and left a canon of recordings that are regarded as blues classics.

Lewis grew up in Memphis where childhood friends gave him the nickname Furry and after learning to play the guitar he worked in local bars; even after he lost a leg in a train accident he began to travel the nation performing in blues clubs. Unable to make a decent living and tired of traveling, he quit playing and worked for the city as a street cleaner until the '60s when his early recordings were rediscovered and he entered the limelight again. At the age of 68 he became a star and went back into the recording studio with a still-strong voice and agile fingers.

He had made his first record, 'Good Looking Girl Blues', when he was 34 in 1927. Other Lewis songs include 'John Henry', 'Kassie Jones' and 'Billy Lyons and Stack-O-Lee', and a collection of his early work was released on an album 'Furry Lewis in His Prime 1927-1928' some 50 years later. Albums he recorded when his career resumed in the '60s and '70s include 'Back On My Feet Again', 'Done Changed My Mind', 'Presenting the Country Blues', 'Fabulous Furry Lewis' and 'Beale Street Blues'.

Lewis joined previous honourees such as Duke Ellington and Elvis Presley when in 1973 he was named an Honorary Colonel of the State of Tennessee. Eight years later, Lewis died in Memphis of complications from pneumonia aged 88.