DRINK SMALL
(born January 28, 1933)
Drink Small, known as the “Blues Doctor,” is a soul blues and electric blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is known as the “Blues Doctor” and has been influenced by gospel and country music and Blind Boy Fuller.
Small was born in Bishopville, South Carolina. He was self-taught on the guitar and organized a local gospel group, the Six Stars. He had wide-ranging musical influences, including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Merle Travis, John Lee Hooker and Fats Domino.
He was rated as one of the best gospel guitarists in the 1950s, before he turned his attention to secular music later in that decade. In 1959, he released the single "I Love You Alberta" on Sharp Records. Small had a long career, recording spasmodically for small record labels, before issuing six albums between 1990 and 2008. He recorded dirty blues tracks such as "Tittie Man" and "Baby, Leave Your Panties Home", with more righteous offerings such as "The Lord Been Good to Me".
The breadth of Drink Small's repertoire is fascinating in itself, but what's even more impressive is his depth as a performer in any of his chosen genres. His records may suddenly shift from a solo acoustic blues-guitar track to a smooth soul ballad with horns to who-knows-what, yet Small never seems to be caught out of place. He can be gruff and rough, clean and modern, or light and bouncy, altering his voice and guitar to suit the mood. Rated one of America's top gospel guitarists before he turned to blues in the late '50s, the South Carolina "Blues Doctor" for years had only one 45 on the market (Sharp, 1959). His discography has recently begun to grow considerably, finally revealing the extent of his songwriting and performing talents.
Small appeared at the 2005 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He also performed at the first Julius Daniels Memorial Blues Festival in Denmark, South Carolina, in October 2010.
Small was born in Bishopville, South Carolina. He was self-taught on the guitar and organized a local gospel group, the Six Stars. He had wide-ranging musical influences, including Tennessee Ernie Ford, Merle Travis, John Lee Hooker and Fats Domino.
He was rated as one of the best gospel guitarists in the 1950s, before he turned his attention to secular music later in that decade. In 1959, he released the single "I Love You Alberta" on Sharp Records. Small had a long career, recording spasmodically for small record labels, before issuing six albums between 1990 and 2008. He recorded dirty blues tracks such as "Tittie Man" and "Baby, Leave Your Panties Home", with more righteous offerings such as "The Lord Been Good to Me".
The breadth of Drink Small's repertoire is fascinating in itself, but what's even more impressive is his depth as a performer in any of his chosen genres. His records may suddenly shift from a solo acoustic blues-guitar track to a smooth soul ballad with horns to who-knows-what, yet Small never seems to be caught out of place. He can be gruff and rough, clean and modern, or light and bouncy, altering his voice and guitar to suit the mood. Rated one of America's top gospel guitarists before he turned to blues in the late '50s, the South Carolina "Blues Doctor" for years had only one 45 on the market (Sharp, 1959). His discography has recently begun to grow considerably, finally revealing the extent of his songwriting and performing talents.
Small appeared at the 2005 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He also performed at the first Julius Daniels Memorial Blues Festival in Denmark, South Carolina, in October 2010.
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