florida'S BLUE'S ARTIST
JOEY GILMORE
Joshua Gilmore Jr.,
Born: June 4, 1944, Ocala, FL Died: July 29, 2024 (age 80 years) known professionally as Joey Gilmore, was an American electric blues and soul blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He shared the stage with James Brown, Etta James, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, and Little Johnny Taylor among others. Gilmore's best known tracks include "Blues All Over You".
DIAMOND TEETH MARY
"Diamond Teeth" Mary McClain (born Mary Smith, August 27, 1902 – April 4, 2000) was an American blues and gospel singer and vaudeville entertainer, whose career as a performer extended from the 1910s to the 1990s. In 1960 she settled in Bradenton, Florida, and in 1964 married her second husband, Clifford McClain, who died in 1983.[2] She began singing gospel music rather than secular blues, giving up her nightclub engagements but becoming a star at local church events.
BO DIDDLEY
Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy Holly,[3] the Beatles, the Rolling Stones,[4] the Animals, George Thorogood, Syd Barrett,[5] and the Clash.[6]
Bo Diddley moved to Florida in the late 1970s, settling in the area of Archer, near Gainesville. He lived there for the remainder of his life, which ended in 2008.
BETTY PADGETT
Betty Padgett has been an active song writer, performer and recording artist for decades. Born in Newport, NJ, and raised in South Florida from sixth grade onward, she followed the well-worn path from church choir to concert stage. Immersing herself in the booming Florida funk scene of the early '70s, she started an all-female group, Betty & the Q's, and signed on in 1971 with a Fort Lauderdale funk outfit, Joey Gilmore & the T.C.B. Express with whom she toured, locally and internationally for seventeen years.
IDA GOODSON
Ida Goodson (November 23, 1909 – January 5, 2000) was an American classic female blues and jazz singer and pianist. Goodson was born in Pensacola, Florida, the youngest of seven sisters, six of whom survived to adulthood. Her father and mother both played the piano. Her father was a deacon at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola.
TAMPA RED
Hudson Whittaker (born Hudson Woodbridge; January 8, 1903[1] – March 19, 1981), known as Tampa Red,. His distinctive single-string slide guitar style, songwriting and bottleneck technique influenced other Chicago blues guitarists such as Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James His best-known recordings include "Anna Lou Blues", "Black Angel Blues", "Crying Won't Help You", "It Hurts Me Too", and "Love Her with a Feeling".
Tampa Red parents died when he was a child, and he moved to Tampa, Florida, where he was raised by his aunt and grandmother and adopted their surname, Whittaker. He emulated his older brother, Eddie, who played the guitar around the Tampa area, and he was especially inspired by an old street musician called Piccolo Pete, who first taught him to play blues licks on the guitar.