15 Facts About Will Shade

Will Shade was commonly called Son Brimmer, a nickname from his grandmother Annie Brimmer.

Will Shade had two half brothers, Henry Banks and Robert Banks.

Will Shade credited his mother with teaching him how to play the harmonica, his first instrument.

Will Shade first heard jug band music in 1925, recorded by the Dixieland Jug Blowers, from Louisville, Kentucky.

Will Shade was excited by what he heard and felt that bringing this style of music to his hometown of Memphis could be promising.

Will Shade persuaded a few local musicians, though still reluctant, to join him in creating one of the first jug bands in Memphis.

Will Shade played the guitar, the "bullfiddle", and the harmonica, the instrument on which he was most influential.

Will Shade composed many of the band's songs and sang lead vocal on a handful of their recordings.

All the while, Will Shade was the backbone of the group, as he was the one responsible for finding new members to keep the band going.

Will Shade tried, whenever possible, to copyright his music under his name.

At the band's peak, Will Shade worked on a weekly retainer with Victor Records and was able to buy a house with his wife, the singer Jennie Mae Clayton, and $3000 worth of stock in Victor.

Will Shade lost both the stock and the house shortly after the Great Depression began in 1929.

Will Shade performed as an accompanist on Cannon's "comeback" album, Walk Right In, recorded by Stax Records in 1963.

Will Shade died of pneumonia, at John Gaston Hospital, in Memphis, in 1966, aged 68, and was buried in Shelby County Cemetery.

Will Shade's band was the first jug band to receive this honor.