Lee Baker: A Blues Tragedy
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On Sat, 14 Sep 1996, Curtis Hewston wrote:
> Denise Tapp has asked me to post the following. The family has asked that
> donations in their memory be sent to the listener-supported, independent,
> volunteer radio statio for Memphis and the mid-South:
>
> WEVL-FM 90
> P.O. Box 40952
> Memphis, TN 38174
>
> (901) 528-0560
>
> -----------------
>
> I was just shy of my 11th birthday when I returned home from school one day
> to find my big brother (Steve), Lee Baker and Gene Wilkins at work on a
> blues-rock song called "Cocaine Katy." I was totally thrilled, because Lee
> and Gene were, respectively, the lead guitarist and vocalist of a new band
> in Memphis known as Moloch, named in honor of, as my brother informed me,
> one of the devil's helpers.
>
> Moloch made their big debut at the June 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival,
> an annual event sponsored by Robert Palmer, John Fahey, Bill Barth, Nancy
> Jeffries, Steven Calt, etc. Moloch's first song included veteran folkie and
> songbird Sid Selvidge doing a killer version of "Smokestack Lightin'" and
> sounding every bit like the Wolf himself.
>
> Moloch eventually broke up, after establishing local "groupie misbehavior"
> records which have never been matched ('twas after all, the sixties) and a
> later incarnation, including Jim Dickinson and Jimmy Crosthwaite was formed,
> minus Gene Wilkins, which was known as Mudboy and the Neutrons. Any of
> you who might have read Robert Gordon's "It Came From Memphis" will be
> familiar with these facts.
>
> At the same time, guitarist Lee Baker continued to accompany and care for
> several of the old blues artists, including Bukka White and Furry Lewis. In
> fact, for the last decades of Furry's life, Lee was his principal lifeline.
> In 1971, after accompanying Furry, Bukka, Stackhouse, Hacksaw, Sleepy John
> and others in the River City Blues Festival, Lee married Carol Dowling, who
> became the mother of his three sons. Carol's father was a highly respected
> internist, and he cared for Furry, gratis, until his death. Most of the
> gigs that Furry attended, including the appearance in Burt Reynold's film
> "W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings" were due to Lee's assistance. He was a
> faithful friend.
>
> Over the ensuing years, Lee has been both a mainstay and a power to be
> respected among the Memphis blues community. His guitar artistry has been
> unmatched, as has his support of virtually every good cause to raise its
> head. A "Mudboy" reunion is guaranteed to draw a large crowd of old hippies
> and retro kids, and recent ones have benefited such diverse causes as the
> local Shakespeare Theater and the Sonny Boy Blues Society.
>
> Today, the Calvary Episcopal Church could not accommodate half the friends
> of Lee Baker, who was viciously murdered and then burned with his 75-year-
> old aunt on Tuesday. People who swore that they would never set foot in
> Memphis again were in attendance, as were folks who cut their vacations
> short to return home.
>
> On August 12th, Lee's home near Hughes, Arkansas, was burned to the ground.
> I saw him at the Labor Day Festival on Beale Street, and we talked about the
> memorabilia he had lost. Lee and I sat with Morris Cummings (Blind
> Mississippi Morris) and talked about the diaries he had kept, the family
> photos, Furry's National guitar and the other irreplaceable items that had
> burned. I promised to help him recover copies of some things, such as his
> 1969 and 1971 performances at festivals here, which are part of the Adelphi/
> Genes Blues Vault. (And I made this promise with the sympathetic cooperation
> of the label's owner Gene Rosenthal.) We hugged and parted with the
> understanding that Lee would call me soon so that I could give him the
> single photo in my possession of the grand finale of the 1971 fest and a
> copy of two songs from the 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival--for starters.
>
> What never occurred to most of us after this August 12th fire, was that it
> was a case of arson, deliberately set to conceal a robbery. Lee was holding
> some cash to pay for the printing and pressing of his band's new record, and
> I suspect that the robbers, being lucky once and stupid, grabbed the dough and
> set the house on fire to cover their tracks. A month later, they found his
> temporary residence at his aunt's, for whom he collected rent on a regular
> basis from her tenants in this country outpost, shot both of them and set the
> house on fire, once again, to cover their tracks.
>
> My speculations really don't matter here. What does matter is that one of
> the finest, and largely undiscovered, of blues guitarists and one of the kindest
> and most loving men to ever draw breath, was ruthlessly murdered less than a
> month after losing almost all that he had in the world. He leaves a lovely
> wife, three strong sons and thousands of friends, but his kind will not
> likely be duplicated.
>
> Someday, and I hope that it's soon, you will all have an opportunity to hear
> and enjoy his guitar artistry. When that time comes, please recall the good
> soul of this man and say a little prayer for him.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Denise
guvnorni...@gmail.com
http://wreg.com/2012/06/12/family-dollar-store-fire-set-to-cover-up-burglary/
klemenb...@gmail.com
may I ask if you are in contact with any members of the band. We would like to do a nice article about them.
pointed...@gmail.com
lilsuth...@gmail.com
katiehu...@gmail.com
> And now Martha McKay has been stabbed to death. 😢