Louisiana 'Guitar' Red - Nobody Knows... (1995) [CD Rip]

This is a different Louisiana Red, a strong singer and guitarist. He was born in the small town of Litro, Louisiana, just a few minutes outside of Monroe as "Cardell Boyette" in 1928. He came from a musically-talented family of eight children that loved to sing and play the piano as a group whenever they met at family gatherings.

Like so many transplanted African-Americans from Texas and neighboring states, Red had been living in Southern California since the early 1950s. He started out playing piano in some of the Southland's most hottest nightspots with many well-known jazz and blues artists. With the rise of the popularity of the guitar in nightclubs of the '50s, Red took up the instrument.

Red credited T-Bone Walker as his greatest influence, though his style was clearly an amalagam the artists he worked with. By the end of the '60s, Red had a long resume, having played with the likes of Blues stars like Lowell Fulson, Big Joe Turner, Percy Mayfield, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Ray Agee, Smokey Wilson, and Pee Wee Crayton. His credits eventually included tours around the U.S., Europe, and even Israel.