From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed Jan 30, 2002  8:25 pm
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Roosevelt Sykes
 
ROOSEVELT SYKES (By Dave Penny)

Born 31 January 1906, Elmar, Arkansas
Died 11 July 1983, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Vocalist/pianist/guitarist/composer.
An itinerant bluesman, Sykes travelled all of his life, making temporary
bases of St Louis, Chicago and New Orleans only during intense periods of
recording and popularity. A true "barrel house" bluesman, Sykes recorded
from 1929 under pseudonyms such as Willie Kelly, Dobby Bragg and Joe Evans.
In 1937 he wrote and recorded the original version of "Night Time Is The
Right Time" and by the 1940s, under his real name, he was recording for
Bluebird in a forceful jump style a la Louis Jordan. He had chart successes
with covers of "I Wonder" (# 1 R&B) and "The Honeydripper" (# 3) in
1945 and with his own "Sunny Road" (# 2) the following year. His last crack
at the r&b market, before recording extensively for the 1960s LP market in
the '60s and '70s, was for the tiny House Of Blues label in Memphis.
For more information check out
http://www.blueflamecafe.com/default.htm