Jerry McCain, often billed as Jerry "Boogie" McCain (June 18, 1930 – March 28, 2012), was an American electric blues musician, best known as a harmonica player.
Born near Gadsden, Alabama, United States, he was one of five children of a poor family. Jerry began playing his harp and singing along with jukebox records at his father’s barbecue stand, the Green Front Cafe. Many of his siblings also became involved in music. In his teens he earned a regular gig at a local station WETO fronting a jug band, for which Jerry made a homemade bass. The strings were made out of an inner tube.
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| McCain with Christopher Collins 1951 |
Jerry McCain signed with Ernie Young's Nashville-based Excello logo in 1955, cutting "That's What They Want" with his usual sidekick Christopher Collins on guitar. "Run, Uncle John! Run,"
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"Trying to Please," the torrid "My Next Door Neighbor" and "The Jig's Up" ranked with McCain's best 1955-1957 Excello efforts.
"Trying to Please," the torrid "My Next Door Neighbor" and "The Jig's Up" ranked with McCain's best 1955-1957 Excello efforts.The harpist is probably best-known for his two-sided 1960 gem for Rex Records, "She's Tough"/"Steady." The Fabulous Thunderbirds later appropriated the insinuating mid-tempo A-side, while McCain's harp chops were strikingly showcased on the flip. McCain waxed three 45s for OKeh in Nashville in 1962, utilizing Music Row mainstays Floyd Cramer, Grady Martin, and Boots Randolph as his backup for "Red Top" and "Jet Stream." A series of 1965-1968 sides for Stan Lewis' Shreveport-based Jewel Records included a tailor-made tribute to the company, "728 Texas (Where the Action Is)" (Jewel's address).
McCain never lacked self-belief. In his youth he drove round Gadsden in an old Ford truck with the titles from his first record painted on the side, and in later years his voicemail message ran: "You've reached the blues man Jerry 'Boogie' McCain, the baddest harmonica player in the world." He bore a striking resemblance to Sammy Davis Jr, and dressed for the stage in black and bling, sometimes wearing a holstered gun.
Throughout the 1960s McCain gigged around Alabama and Georgia with lesser known bands, but music could not support him so he became a bounty hunter, delivered furniture, and worked at a foundry in Gadsden. Welfare Cadillac Blues (1970), a response to an implicitly racist country song, put his name back on the
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jukeboxes, but soon afterwards his recording career faded. not to be fully revived until many years of obscurity he rejuvenated his fortunes in 1989 by signing with Ichiban Records and releasing Blues 'n' Stuff He followed this three years later with Struttin' My Stuff and Love Desperado.
In 1996 McCain was selected by the Etowah Youth Orchestras as the most well-known musician from Gadsden. He performed the solo harmonica part of the "Concerto for Blues Harmonica and Orchestra" at the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts in New York City in June 1997, with McCain, the EYSO, and Julius Williams conducting.
The City of Gadsden honoured McCain by including his own day at their annual Riverfest Event; a four-day music event. The addition of The Jerry McCain Broad Street Blues Bash rounded out the entertainment and allowed many local citizens to experience McCain.
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He continued to work on his home ground, and in 2007 he received an Alabama folk heritage award. Since 2008 he had appeared several times at First Friday, a monthly Gadsden street festival. Jerry “Boogie” McCain died March 28, 2012 in Gadsden, Alabama, aged 81.
He continued to work on his home ground, and in 2007 he received an Alabama folk heritage award. Since 2008 he had appeared several times at First Friday, a monthly Gadsden street festival. Jerry “Boogie” McCain died March 28, 2012 in Gadsden, Alabama, aged 81.
(Edited from AllMusic, The Guardian & Wikipedia)