When thinking of Black musicians from early in the twentieth century, it's hard not to think of them as being either players of Robert Johnson type Blues, singers of spirituals, or maybe playing some early form of Jazz like ragtime. To think of them as singing something like country music or Stephen Foster standards would come as a surprise to most people.
Well the good folk over at Delmark Records have a surprise for you in the shape of Cowboy Roy Brown. Roy played anything that struck his fancy when he had his guitar in his hands, and also knew the importance of playing songs that were familiar to people.
Cowboy Roy was a street musician who made his living by plying his trade across the mid-west. He was born in 1875, and like so many black musicians of his time first learned music through the church. His was a slightly more direct experience, as his daddy was a preacher. Young Roy and his sister initially learned how to play guitar to accompany their father as he sawed on the violin. Roy also picked up the five-string banjo a few years later, but his first loyalty remained with the guitar.
In 1904 he hit the road and headed to St. Louis to see the World's Fair. From there it was ten years in Kansas City, another ten in Madison, then some years of drifting around from Deadwood to South Dakota, and Wisconsin to Milwaukee, and finally ending up back in St. Louis again as a one man band street performer. On his travels through the cowboy states he continually added to the number of songs he could play.
His band consisted of himself on vocals, a guitar named "Baby" and his Kazoo "Leon". In the 1950s (Do the math. If he was born in 1875 the youngest he could have been when this was recorded was seventy-five.), someone sat him down in front of recording equipment in their home and he recorded the tracks that appear on the disc Street Singer. Every so often Roy will thank the people whose house he is in which is the only clue as to the whereabouts of this recording. The only thing the liner notes say about the recording at all is that it took place some time in the fifties.
Article comments
1 - jackie willams
Hi, I stumbled across your review in a search for my father's and brother's info who are both Roy Brown's. My grandfather was also named Roy Brown.
I am wondering if Cowboy Roy was a relative. We live in Milwaukee and my father was born and raised in Arkansas.
I never had a chance to meet my father, he was estranged to my mom since I was born. However, I connected with my brother last year.
Worth looking into?