Little Joe Washington (March 1, 1939 - November 12, 2014) was an American blues guitarist & vocalist. He was one of Third Ward’s legendary blues guitarists, comprising Albert Collins, Johnny Clyde Copeland, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and Joe “Guitar” Hughes, Little Joe displayed a raw and sparkling talent that earned great respect from his peers.
Washington was born in Houston to a mother, young and single, who named him Marion. He grew up in the Third Ward, home of blues giants such as Lightnin Hopkins. Informally adopted, he lived with relatives in a two story structure facing the railroad tracks. The bottom floor functioned as a barbershop and tiny café, a place where his uncle (who played violin and saxophone) often hosted jam sessions. By the age of five, Marion was banging on the upright piano in the corner. By the age of nine he was also blowing on a trumpet and by fifteen he was pounding on drums in a band led by Albert Collins. It wasn’t until he started bending the strings of a guitar and imitating local blues phenomenon Joe “Guitar” Hughes that he became known generally by the moniker Little Joe. He would grow up to live “down” to the nick name as he was a wiry, five feet, five inches tall.
Following a brief apprenticeship in Houston clubs, the wiry guitarist toured with Rosco Gordon’s road band. Later, with Cecil Harvey’s group, he worked the territory from Texas to Nevada. Around the age of twenty he settled, if that’s the word for the wild lifestyle he recalls there in El Paso, where he played the rowdy border town circuit, including a stint at the Lobby Bar in Juarez, Mexico. There he met the group The Champs of Tequila fame who took him to California in 1961 to record on the Donna label the original versions of A Hard Way Four and The Last Tear. In 1963 Little Joe returned to Los Angeles, where he recorded for the Federal label, ultimately releasing tracks such as Someone Loves Me, I Feel All Right as well as Bossa Nova and Grits. From then on his biographical details are scant.
He would return to his hometown of Houston and like so many of his contemporaries was the beneficiary of the 80’s and 90’s blues revival. He found a steady gig at the Reddi Room in The Heights section of the city and at other blues venues that were cropping up in his home town. His stage persona has been described as combustible and erratic which could be a metaphor for his lifestyle which included extended periods of homelessness and drug abuse. He was noted for playing the guitar behind his back, with his crotch, with his teeth (hopefully not in that order) and yes, standing on his head. He might even hurl himself violently off of the stage.
The album was very well received by critics and fans. Stout and Washington followed that album up with another CD, Texas Firing Line. Stout said that he took Washington out of his element all together and put him with some of the best blues musicians in Austin. “I stuck him in a car and drove him straight up to Austin and put him in the studio right away. He was laying down such good music. He just blew me away. In the studio he became a real musician.”
Years of hard living finally was starting to catch up with Washington. Despite continued declining health, Washington continued to perform in recent years at Houston nightclubs such as The Continental Club, The Blue Iguana and Boondocks. Little Joe Washington passed away at Saint Joseph’s Hospital on November 12, 2014.
Legend...that’s hard to say, but there was in fact a diminutive man who walked the streets of Houston by day and performed at its blues haunts by night. Few people, if any knew what possessed Little Joe Washington and what demons drove him to wild excesses on and off the stage. Many Houstonians have their own Little Joe Washington stories; oddly enough most of them are probably true. Washington had been a legend for some time. That status is now secured in perpetuity.
It’s true to say that he knew more than a few dark days in his 75 years, but with surprising tenacity he’d always bounce back to delight audiences with his virtuoso guitar skills, often finishing his set by running around the room and using his hat for a tip jar before disappearing into the night on a rickety bicycle.
(Edited from bio by David Mac @ Blues Junction Records& kenneturner.com)