$10.00
Steve Wilson recorded his new blues CD as a tribute to his blues singing father, Pepper Wilson. He even recorded under his father's name because as Steve puts it, "it was the appropriate thing to do since everything to do with the blues in my music came directly from my father. He sang the blues daily when I was growing up and he was my idol. As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to do everything like him. I imitated his walk, his talk and his singing and somehow it attached itself to me and I sort of grew into a clone of him". While living in Chicago during the early 60's and delivering mail in the Maxwell Street area, Steve got more exposure to the blues by being around the blues greats that lined up on Maxwell Street daily with their old beat up guitars and amps. He bought his first guitar and was soon on his way to a career in show business.
The original Pepper Wilson was quite a songwriter also but most of his material ended up on other bluesmen's songs from the same era as Pepper. As William Mctell put it,"there was a lot of song borrowing back in the 30's. A peddler would drive up with a recording machine looking for somebody to record and he'd record all the songs you knew. If he still had space on his machine and wanted more, you'd remember a verse or two you'd heard some other boy sang and you'd record it and maybe throw in some lines you'd make up on the spot. You never thought nothing of it cause nobody was getting paid back then no way." Of course, such thievery today will get you sued or shot, sometimes both. According to Pepper's son, his dad often named several of the blues hits as originally being his idea including Robert Johnson's classic "32-20"
Pepper and Mississippi's Robert Johnson rambled around together in Arkansas for a while back in the 30's. As was testified in the big trial over Robert's inheritance, Robert once contracted a social disease. Hot Springs,Arkansas is a tourist town famous for it's health resorts and clinics that treated all sorts of different ailments. Many famous celebrities and dignatarys vacationed there including President Roosevelt and Al Capone.The story goes that Pepper had driven up to Hot Springs to pick up a friend that was being discharged from the same hospital where Robert had been receiving treatment and he and Robert struck up a friendship. Robert being broke, followed them back to Gum Springs.With Pepper playing harmonica and Robert playing his guitar,they raised quite a rukus around that neck of the woods for a while and out of that meeting came the song "32-20" which Pepper swore had been his song. The line in that song that speaks of "all the doctors in Hot Springs can't help you," is actually referring to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Steve's song, NO LAWS, is about one of Peppers old hang-outs in Smifton, Arkansas before he gave it all up and became one of the most trusted christians in his church. Incidentally, Pepper Wilson and B.B. King are grandparents to the same granddaughter. Pepper's granddaughter married B.B.'s son, Willie King ,making their offspring B.B.'s granddaughter and Pepper's great granddaughter.Few knew Pepper's given name was Cleveland. He was best known for picking 400lbs of cotton a day during the depression. CLICK ORDERING BUTTON BELOW FOR ORDERING INFORMATION.
Peppper Wilson's Blues
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