Eddie C. Campbell (born May 6, 1939, Duncan, Mississippi) is an American blues guitarist and singer active in the Chicago blues scene.
His parents, sharecroppers, moved to the Windy City when Eddie C. was six years old. His mother helped him buy his first guitar at age eight. She would take him to the 1125 Club on Madison Street, where he met the legendary Muddy Waters, who told Eddie C. he ![]()
could sit in if he learned to play. After relentless study, Eddie C. learned "Still A Fool", and Muddy allowed him to sit in with the band. Eddie C. Campbell was twelve years old!
could sit in if he learned to play. After relentless study, Eddie C. learned "Still A Fool", and Muddy allowed him to sit in with the band. Eddie C. Campbell was twelve years old! In the mid-50's, when Eddie C. was still in his teens, he was jamming around on the blues scene with Luther Allison and Willie James Lyons, Big Monroe, drummer Willie Buckner, and harp player Pee Wee Madison.
The versatile performer was one of the most flamboyant and popular musicians on the West Side scene, riding around on a purple motorcycle, sporting a red Jazzmaster guitar, learning ![]()
karate and winning sixteen knockouts as an amateur boxer. By the late 50's, Campbell's band was backing up Percy Mayfield, Lowell Fulson, Tyrone Davis, and Little Johnny Taylor, and Eddie C. was performing with Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, and Mighty Joe Young. It was also during this period that he became close friends and running buddies with Magic Sam, who lived two doors down and was to prove influential on Campbell's music.
karate and winning sixteen knockouts as an amateur boxer. By the late 50's, Campbell's band was backing up Percy Mayfield, Lowell Fulson, Tyrone Davis, and Little Johnny Taylor, and Eddie C. was performing with Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, and Mighty Joe Young. It was also during this period that he became close friends and running buddies with Magic Sam, who lived two doors down and was to prove influential on Campbell's music. In 1963 Eddie C. became the band director for Jimmy Reed, a gig he held periodically until Reed's death in 1976. Shortly thereafter, Campbell began to work with Koko Taylor, who recommended him to Willie Dixon. Eddie C. played in Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All-Stars for the next four years.
In 1977, while with Dixon's band, he recorded King of the Jungle, which was released on the Mr. Blues label and reissued on Rooster Blues in 1985. In 1979 he toured Europe for the first time with the American Blues Legends Tour. He moved to Europe in 1984,
![]()
working at first in England, then moving to Holland, and finally to Germany. While he was in Amsterdam, Eddie C. recorded an album entitled Let's Pick It! for the Black Magic label (reissued on Evidence in 1993). While in Europe he also toured in a German stage adaptation of William Faulkner's Requiem For A Nun.
Campbell returned to Chicago in December 1992 so that his son could be born in the United States. He soon resumed work on his latest album, That's When I Know, released on Blind Pig in October 1994. Gonna Be Alright followed in 1999. His shimmering West Side-styled guitar playing and unusually introspective songwriting had been a breath of fresh air on the Windy City circuit. Campbell's latest album is Spider Eating Preacher ![]()
(Delmark, 2012). It was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2013 in the category Traditional Blues Album.
(Delmark, 2012). It was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2013 in the category Traditional Blues Album.In February 2013, Campbell suffered a stroke and a heart attack while on tour in Germany, leaving him paralyzed on the right side of his body. His wife, Barbara Basu, raised enough money to fly him back to Chicago for further medical treatment. By 2015 Eddie although still undergoing therapy began to perform again even without full use of his right hand. (Info mainly from Blind Pig Records.com)