1. Eddie Kirkland was an American electric blues guitarist, harmonicist, singer, and songwriter.
22 Facts About Eddie Kirkland
1. 2.
Eddie Kirkland continued to tour, write and record albums until his death in February 2011.
3.
Eddie Kirkland was born in Kingston, Jamaica to a mother, aged 11, and first heard the blues from "field hollers", and raised in Dothan, Alabama until 1935, when he stowed away in the Sugar Girls Medicine Show tent truck and left town.
4.
Eddie Kirkland was placed on the chorus line with "Diamond Tooth Mary" McLean.
5.
Eddie Kirkland joined the United States Army during World War II.
6.
Eddie Kirkland secured his own series of recordings with Sid Nathan of King Records in 1953, at Fortune Records in 1958 and, by 1961, on his own album It's the Blues Man, with the King Curtis Band for Prestige Records.
7.
Eddie Kirkland wrote and recorded "I Must Have Done Somebody Wrong" for Fortune in 1959.
8.
Eddie Kirkland became Hooker's road manager and the two traveled from Detroit to the Deep South on many tours, the last being in 1962 when Hooker abandoned Eddie Kirkland to go overseas.
9.
Eddie Kirkland found his way to Macon, Georgia and began performing with Otis Redding as his guitarist and band leader.
10.
The record was overshadowed by Rufus Thomas's recordings, and Eddie Kirkland, discouraged by the music industry and his own lack of education to change the situation, turned to his other skill and sought work as an auto mechanic to earn a living for his growing family.
11.
Eddie Kirkland's first sessions were done in a motel room, resulting in the acoustic, solo LP Front and Center; his second was a studio-recorded band album, The Devil and Other Blues Demons.
12.
Eddie Kirkland remained with Lowry, Trix, and was based in the Hudson Valley for twelve years.
13.
Eddie Kirkland plays like a funky pianist, simultaneously covering bass lines, chord kick, and counterpoint.
14.
In 1973, Eddie Kirkland performed at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival.
15.
Eddie Kirkland contributed two songs to long'time friends Foghat's album Last Train Home in 2010.
16.
Well into his eighties, Eddie Kirkland continued to drive himself to gigs along the coast and in Europe, frequently playing with the Wentus Blues Band from Finland.
17.
Eddie Kirkland died in a car accident on February 27,2011, in Crystal River, Florida.
18.
Reportedly Eddie Kirkland attempted to make a U-turn on US 98 and Oak Park Boulevard, putting him directly in the path of a Greyhound bus.
19.
Eddie Kirkland suffered serious injuries and was transported by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital, where he died a short time later.
20.
Eddie Kirkland is the great-grandfather of TV personality Elie Kirkland and Grandfather of Eddie Kirkland Jr.
21.
Eddie Kirkland was survived by his wife, Mary, and nine children.
22.
Eddie Kirkland was predeceased by one child Betty, and his first wife Ida.