Charlie Burse

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Charlie Burse (August 25, 1901 – December 20, 1965)[1] was an American blues musician, best known for his work with the Memphis Jug Band. His nicknames included "Laughing Charlie," "Uke Kid Burse" and "The Ukulele Kid," but he played several musical instruments, such as the piano and saxophone.[2]

Biography[]

Raised in Sheffield, Alabama,[3] Burse played banjo and guitar, making his first recordings on guitar. He also recorded with the tenor guitar, mandolin, and spoons.[2]

Burse performed as a vocalist and recorded over 60 tracks as a member of Will Shade's Memphis Jug Band, which he joined in 1928 in Memphis, Tennessee. Burse was described as a "smart mouth"[4] and Will Shade remarked that he was "the most irrepressible person I've ever met."[5] Burse and Shade became lifelong friends, and the two would play together long after the Memphis Jug Band made its last commercial recording in 1934.[2]

Burse participated in other projects, being photographed with an outfit called the Schlitz Jug Band (named for a beer brewer sponsor) in the early 1930s, and recording as Charlie Burse and His Memphis Mudcats in 1939.[2] The Memphis Mudcats updated the traditional jug band, adding drums instead of a washboard, bass instead of a jug, and saxophone instead of a harmonica.[6] He achieved a modern, piano-driven sound in 1950 with "Shorty the Barber," one of the first tracks recorded by Sam Phillips at Sun Studios.

Still playing with Shade, Burse was recorded by blues researchers Samuel Charters in 1956 and Alan Lomax in 1959, and appeared on a Memphis TV special called "Blues Street" in 1958. In 1963, Burse and Shade made one of their last recordings, Beale Street Mess-Around.[2] They continued to perform together until Burse's death; often playing on street corners or house parties.[6] Their renown revived toward the end of their lives, triggered by a rediscovery by Charters.[2]

Burse died of heart disease on December 20, 1965, and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.[7] He was survived by his wife Birde (Crawford), children Charlie Jr., Lucille, Connie, and seven grandchildren.[8] On May 8, 2019, Mount Zion Memorial Fund unveiled a new headstone for Burse in a ceremony.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues – A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 142. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Biography by Eugene Chadbourne, AllMusic. Retrieved October 15, 2016
  3. ^ Robert Burse, United States census, 1910; Sheffield, Colbert, Alabama; page 12A, line 41, enumeration district 172. Retrieved on August 29, 2017.
  4. ^ Burse, Perdido (August 17, 2017). "Interview with Perdido Burse" (Interview). Interviewed by Arlo Leach.
  5. ^ Brown, Roger (December 1, 2015). "Interview with Roger Brown" (Interview). Interviewed by Arlo Leach.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Charlie Burse". Archived from the original on August 14, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2006.
  7. ^ "Charlie "Uke" Burse". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved July 1, 2010. Charlie "Uke" Burse - Died 12-20-1965 - Heart disease (Blues) Born 8-25-1901 in Decatur, Alabama, U.S. - (He recorded, "Brand New Day Blues" and "Too Much Beef").
  8. ^ Burse Wesson, Cynthia (June 8, 2017). "Interview with Cynthia Burse Wesson" (Interview). Interviewed by Arlo Leach.
  9. ^ "Headstone Dedication for the Late Memphis Bluesman Charlie Burse". Thedeltareview.com. May 8, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
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