181:, and was raised on a cotton farm as an uneducated field worker. As a young boy, he began helping entertainers and playing in local venues, having taught himself to play the harmonica and other instruments. In the early 1940s, Pugh expanded his touring in Arkansas. His playing was heavily influenced by
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guitarist, who contributed very little to the recordings. A single resulted from the sessions, but other songs were unissued because the guitarist had hindered the recordings. Joe and Waters had previously been working together in a band, and Waters remembered Joe as being a "great harp player". In
236:, which mostly performed at the Tick Tock Lounge. The band stayed together for four years, until Spann left to join Muddy Waters's new band. In 1955, Joe moved back to Arkansas and generally removed himself from the music scene, except for occasional gigs with
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1949, shortly after
Williamson's death, the single, "Memory of Sonny Boy" backed with "A Woman on Every Street", was released (credited to Forest City Joe) but was not commercially successful. Joe briefly moved to
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He returned to
Chicago in 1949, and lived on South Ellis Avenue, where his home became a meeting place for fellow musicians in the area. Joe worked in a band headed by
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170:'s first band and regularly performed in the Chicago area. Despite his meager recording career, Joe was considered one of the top harmonica players of the era.
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However, he died on April 3, 1960, at the age of 33, when his truck flipped over after returning from a dance in
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was released on the DeltaCat label. The album covers all of Joe's material along with that of another musician,
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area. In 1947, Pugh went under the stage name
Forrest City Joe, and relocated to Chicago for performances.
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player. He performed with other major blues acts of the period; he was the harmonica player in
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label. Joe started performing more and was expected to return to
Chicago.
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for the recording, but instead Joe was paired with J. C. Coles, a
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On
December 2, 1948, Joe recorded a single in his only session at
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285:"Best of Blues Vol. 8: Harmonica Player Forest City Joe"
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musician who is mainly remembered for his ability as a
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in small venues. In August 1959, Joe was located by
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593:20th-century African-American male singers
150:(July 10, 1926 ā April 3, 1960), known as
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568:African-American male singer-songwriters
563:People from St. Francis County, Arkansas
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204:). Muddy Waters was intended to be a
411:Chicago Blues: The City and the Music
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496:"Forrest City Joe, Polka Dot Slim,
598:20th-century American male singers
217:to perform on radio programs with
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588:Singer-songwriters from Arkansas
583:Singer-songwriters from Illinois
573:American male singer-songwriters
558:American blues harmonica players
380:The Guinness Who's Who of Blues
183:John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson
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603:20th-century American singers
408:Rowe, Mike (22 August 1981).
444:"Forest City Joe: Biography"
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16:American singer-songwriter
498:Downhome Delta Harmonica
315:"'Forest City Joe' Pugh"
261:Downhome Delta Harmonica
253:Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas
79:Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas
553:Chicago blues musicians
578:American blues singers
385:Guinness Publishing
383:(Second ed.).
319:Badassharmonica.com
414:. Hachette Books.
387:. pp. 296/7.
349:Weeniecampbell.com
198:Aristocrat Records
158:, was an American
504:Bluebeatmusic.com
471:"Forest City Joe"
345:"Forest City Joe"
289:Harmonicaland.com
257:compilation album
173:Pugh was born in
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107:Harmonica, vocals
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206:session musician
187:Big Joe Williams
175:Hughes, Arkansas
152:Forrest City Joe
117:Early 1940sā1960
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62:Hughes, Arkansas
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229:'s Three Aces.
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148:Joe Bennie Pugh
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81:, United States
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64:, United States
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507:. Retrieved
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375:Colin Larkin
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297:. Retrieved
293:the original
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238:Willie Cobbs
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219:Howlin' Wolf
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179:Forrest City
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168:Muddy Waters
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113:Years active
74:(1960-04-03)
548:1960 deaths
543:1926 births
528:Discography
475:Discogs.com
227:Willie Love
223:Rice Miller
104:Instruments
96:Occupations
537:Categories
271:References
242:Alan Lomax
234:Otis Spann
129:Aristocrat
55:1926-07-10
30:Birth name
509:March 28,
480:March 25,
455:March 25,
427:March 29,
354:March 25,
324:March 25,
299:March 25,
259:entitled
191:St. Louis
164:harmonica
449:AllMusic
246:Atlantic
134:Atlantic
99:Musician
215:Memphis
200:(later
177:, near
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122:Labels
86:Genres
160:blues
90:Blues
511:2015
482:2015
457:2015
429:2015
416:ISBN
389:ISBN
356:2015
326:2015
301:2015
221:and
210:jazz
69:Died
49:Born
154:or
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