From:   "Dik de Heer"  
Date:  Sat Mar 23, 2002  2:23 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Louisiana Red

LOUISIANA RED

Born Iverson Minter, 23 March 1932, Bessemer, Alabama

Louisiana Red is one of a handful of blues musicians of his generation who
are still performing, and one of the great international blues ambassadors.
He's a master guitarist who plays acoustic, electric and slide accompanied
by intense, expressive vocals. His playing encompasses the Delta to Chicago
migration in a way that is powerful, raw and personal. The compelling lyrics
he pens and delivers with such honesty set him apart.
His mother died of pneumonia a week after his birth, and his father was killed
when he was five years old, reportedly by the Klu Klux Klan. He eventually
ended up in an orphanage in New Orleans where he stayed for three years
until rescued by his grandmother and taken to her home in Pittsburgh. It was
she who gave him his first guitar a few years later, and he honed his skills
while playing for tips on the streets of Pittsburgh. He recorded under various
pseudonyms before settling on "Louisiana Red," a nickname apparently derived
from his love of Louisiana hot sauce. For several years during its heyday in the
50's, he was part of the Detroit blues scene, playing with the likes of Little
Walter,
Eddie "Guitar" Burns, John Lee Hooker and Eddie Kirkland. He recorded many
times during these years, including some excellent recordings for Atlantic.
His best seller (though it didn't make the charts) was "Red's Dream" on Roulette
in 1963. During the 1980's, when the demand for traditional blues in the U.S.
seemed at an all-time low, Red moved to Germany. It wasn't until the summer
of 1998 that Red returned for a brief tour in the U.S. where his performances
were greeted with great enthusiasm. Louisiana Red's new recording, Millennium
Blues, is his first domestic release since moving to Europe almost 20 years
ago. It has been nominated for four W.C. Handy Awards including Traditional
Blues Male Artist of the Year, Blues Album of the Year and Blues Song of the
Year for "Orphanage Home Blues." Red and his wife Dora continue to make
their home in Germany.

CD recommendation: Lowdown Back Porch Blues. The US CD on Collectables
is a straight reissue of the 1963 Roulette LP, the British release on Sequel has
seven additional tracks.