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stated was "reminiscent of Willie "Smokey" Hogg, an artist who built a reputation on his incapacity to observe the formalities of 12-bar blues." It was this slowly dying East Texas country blues sound that captured the attention of a senior from the Dallas Blues
Society, when he first heard Qualls
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In 1955 he married Ethel Mae Cooper, and together they had eleven children. Qualls's own music career was mainly part-time, as he worked during the day ploughing fields around his lifelong home in Elmo, or else mowing lawns in Dallas.
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play outside his home. Qualls became a somewhat reluctant local star and was amazed at the attention that was subsequently bestowed upon him. Although almost sixty years old at the time, he was persuaded to record an album,
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On
December 7, 2003, Qualls died in a hospital in Dallas of complications from intestinal surgery, at the age of 69. He was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Elmo. He was survived by his wife, Ethel, and nine children.
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guitarist and singer. He found success late in his life after being "discovered" in 1993 by the Dallas Blues
Society. He released his only album in 1994 but toured globally playing at a number of
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magazine noted that Qualls's style often involved playing his guitar flat on his lap and using a
Tabasco sauce bottle as a slide. He also had a faltering style and erratic slide technique that
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or bearing down upon his own material, is a purist's dream-come-true, attacking his 36 year-old guitar with a demon-fire ferociousness first heard in the playing of
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224:. He learned the rudiments of the guitar, which he named Mabelene (variously Mabelline or Maybelline), from his grandmother. Qualls originally played
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259:, which was released in 1994. The collection included cover versions of songs written and originally performed by Hopkins and Jackson, plus
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at his local church. In his youth, he was further instructed in guitar playing by Emmitt
Williams, and he traveled to Dallas to watch
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noted he was a surprise hit. This led to engagements across Europe and the United States, including performances at the
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331:, but generally he hated the urban environment. His rapid rise to fame is chronicled in the book
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Christensen, Thor. "Henry Qualls: East Texas
Country-Blues Singer Found Success Late in Life".
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263:'s "Death Valley Blues". In addition it had Qualls's versions of such diverse songs as "
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As a result of this exposure, Qualls performed at the
Utrecht Blues Festival, where
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as a child, after his mother married
Scottie Moore Qualls. He grew up in
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According to the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc, Qualls was born
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In Search of the Blues: A Journey to the Soul of Black Texas
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In Search of the Blues: A Journey to the Soul of Black Texas
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noted that "Qualls, whether unearthing obscurities from
504:. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 296.
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151:(July 8, 1934 ā December 7, 2003) was an American
594:. University of Texas Press. pp. 138ā140.
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188:and other blues masters long gone to hell."
323:line in Elmo. He occasionally performed in
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208:, a small settlement forty miles east of
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292:Blues Across America ā The Dallas Scene
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16:American blues guitarist and singer
737:20th-century American male singers
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287:". His work also appeared on the
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682:American male singer-songwriters
588:Minutaglio, Bill (March 2010).
560:The Guinness Who's Who of Blues
535:Legacy.com: Dallas Morning News
384:List of country blues musicians
477:"Henry Lee Qualls (1934ā2003)"
1:
717:Singer-songwriters from Texas
389:List of Texas blues musicians
742:African-American songwriters
732:Country musicians from Texas
502:Blues: A Regional Experience
107:Musician, singer, songwriter
712:African-American guitarists
317:King Biscuit Blues Festival
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626:: Songs, Reviews, Credits"
672:American blues guitarists
422:"Henry Qualls: Biography"
321:Texas and Pacific Railway
309:Long Beach Blues Festival
296:Texas Blues Guitar Summit
234:Melvin "Lil' Son" Jackson
687:Electric blues musicians
677:American male guitarists
722:People from Elmo, Texas
531:"Henry Qualls Obituary"
261:Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
222:Wills Point High School
624:Blues from Elmo, Texas
365:Blues from Elmo, Texas
313:Chicago Blues Festival
257:Blues from Elmo, Texas
85:, Texas, United States
727:Guitarists from Texas
692:Texas blues musicians
369:Dallas Blues Society
220:, and later attended
212:. He became known as
206:Kaufman County, Texas
66:Kaufman County, Texas
269:I Shall Not Be Moved
182:Blind Willie Johnson
139:Dallas Blues Society
565:Guinness Publishing
563:(Second ed.).
449:Dallas Morning News
265:Motherless Children
289:compilation albums
218:Cedar Grove, Texas
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230:Lightnin' Hopkins
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277:Bread and Butter
238:Frankie Lee Sims
214:Henry Lee Qualls
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76:December 7, 2003
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44:Henry Lee Qualls
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311:(1996), the
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226:gospel music
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149:Henry Qualls
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127:Years active
78:(2003-12-07)
59:July 8, 1934
23:Henry Qualls
662:2003 deaths
657:1934 births
343:Discography
94:Texas blues
651:Categories
636:2017-01-10
607:2017-01-10
540:2017-01-10
483:2017-01-10
432:2017-01-10
395:References
329:Fort Worth
325:Deep Ellum
315:, and the
304:Juke Blues
174:Jimmy Reed
131:1950sā2003
55:1934-07-08
30:Birth name
186:Son House
161:festivals
630:AllMusic
426:AllMusic
378:See also
273:Newbeats
252:AllMusic
279:", and
271:", the
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236:, and
210:Dallas
136:Labels
120:vocals
116:Guitar
90:Genres
83:Dallas
353:Title
153:Texas
596:ISBN
569:ISBN
506:ISBN
428:.com
361:1994
350:Year
327:and
294:and
283:'s "
267:", "
202:Elmo
166:The
155:and
73:Died
62:Elmo
49:Born
275:' "
200:in
180:or
176:or
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.