1. Burl C "Jaybird" Coleman was an American country blues harmonica player, vocalist, and guitarist.
12 Facts About Jaybird Coleman
1. 2.
Jaybird Coleman was a popular musical attraction throughout Alabama and recorded several sides in the late-1920s and early-1930s.
3.
Jaybird Coleman performed locally for small wages at dance halls and parties.
4.
In 1914, upon the outbreak of the First World War, Jaybird Coleman joined the United States Army and was stationed at Fort McClellan for the entirety of the conflict.
5.
In 1922, Jaybird Coleman teamed up with the singer and guitarist Big Joe Williams in tours across Alabama.
6.
Jaybird Coleman then traveled for two years with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a popular tent show, making appearances throughout the South.
7.
In 1926, Jaybird Coleman began recording for Gennett Records, Silvertone Records, and Black Patti Records as a solo performer and as a member of the Bessemer Blues Pickers.
8.
Jaybird Coleman's records were met with commercial success, but he asserted he was never compensated for his work.
9.
Typically, Jaybird Coleman's performances featured little or no accompaniment in a style rooted in the work songs of his childhood.
10.
Jaybird Coleman particularly favored the high-pitched E and D harps and played them with a heavily choked cross-harp technique, marked by a rapid hand vibrato.
11.
Jaybird Coleman continued to perform on street corners in Alabama throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
12.
Jaybird Coleman died of cancer on January 28,1950, in Tuskegee, Alabama.