INDIVIDUAL

Townsend, Henry

Identifier
NFAI.E.00008386
Preferred Name
Townsend, Henry
Library of Congress Naming Authority
Townsend, Henry [info:lc/authorities/names/n85269852]
Entity Date
1909 - 2006
Biography/History

A great blues guitarist and pianist, Henry Townsend grew up near Cairo, Illinois. After moving to St. Louis, he made his first record in 1929. During the 1930s, he played with many of the early blues giants, including Walter Davis, Roosevelt Sykes and Robert Johnson. The author of hundreds of songs and sideman on countless recordings, Townsend became the patriarch of St. Louis blues, was featured in a BBC documentary, and recorded in each of eight decades. Recognized as a "master artist," he received the National Heritage Award in 1985. Blues Unlimited magazine called Henry Townsend "a commanding genius of a musician."

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Henry Townsend was a master in Missouri Folk Arts Program's Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in 1986, 1987, 1995, and 1996.

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