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A
Brief History of the Legendary
'Kings of the Blues'
_________B.
B. King, Elmore James and Muddy Waters are just a few of the many
great bluesmen who have laid claim to the title 'King of the blues'.
But, ironically perhaps, the greatest of them all and most deserving
of that title were the little known bluesmen from the sleepy town
of Smallsville, Mississippi - THE ROUGEAUX BROTHERS. Though never
receiving the world - wide acclaim and recognition their talent
and musical innovation so richly deserved, they truly are, in the
eyes of those that know and love the devil's music, 'the Kings of
the Blues'.
_________Born
Jason and Robert Rogers, probably between the early and late 1930's,
the brothers early childhood was spent labouring on farms, logging
camps and railroads. Later, when things got rough with the failure
of the corn crop, the great depression and the death of their invalid
parents, the brothers turned to music for comfort and to provide
entertainment for their blind and hyperactive grandparents. Fashioning
a harmonica from a piece of old railway line and a drum from the
hide of a large rat, the brothers took their first tentative steps
into the wonderful world of music. By all accounts their early 'music'
was a rather raw sound which probably prompted their grandparents
decision to leave and take up residence in the nearby, though out
of earshot, doss house run by the local chapter of the klu klux
klan.
_________Changing their names to Jay
and Bobsy Bob they immersed themselves in music. Jay obsessed with
his harmonica, playing with it day and night 'til his lips and tongue
bled - and ,on one occasion, almost bleeding to death. Bobsy Bob
was equally dedicated and would lock himself away for days on end
developing his uniquely powerful vocal style in the acoustically
perfect though stinking family out-house.
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