‘Son Seals Obituary’ – by Keith Woods, from Tales From The Woods
Blues guitarist and singer Son Seals died in Chicago, Illinois on 20th December 2004 aged 62. Born Frank Seals in Osceola, Arkansas on 14th August 1942, the youngest of 13 children, he gained as his nickname ”Little Son” in deference to his father Jim, who was known locally as “Old Man Son”. Jim Seals had formerly been a professional musician touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an outfit formed for its association with Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. By the early 1940s Jim gave up the road and bought a local juke joint which, as the years progressed, would prove to be hugely popular and a formative musical education for the very young Son Seals. The small lad would witness Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker and Albert King (to name but a few) who would all perform in his father’s establishment. By the age of 13 he sat in with many of the acts and by 18 he was fronting his own band, Son Seals and the Upsetters, making his first professional debut in 1960 alongside Earl Hooker. Soon he was working with Albert King appearing on his classic Stax album ‘Live Wire/Blues Power’ (1968).
Following his father’s death in 1971 he left Arkansas for Chicago where he soon found work with Junior Wells, Buddy Guy and Hound Dog Taylor. Within a couple of years he was signed to Alligator Records and his first album was released, ‘The Son Seals Band’, in 1973. The highly acclaimed ‘Midnight Son’ was released in 1977 and he was soon embarking on a number of successful European tours. Over the years to come everything went right for him, with a string of well received albums; ‘Chicago Fire’ (1989), ‘Bad Axe’ (1984), ‘Living in the Danger Zone’ (1991), ‘Nothing But the Truth’ (1994) and live, ‘Spontaneous Combustion’ (1996). The very late nineties would see a switch of labels to Telarc that produced a couple of albums. He also performed at the White House for President Bill Clinton who had long been a fan. In recent years the onset of diabetes led to the amputation of his left leg forcing him to perform seated though the uncompromising music remained as potent as ever.
Keith Woods
Wikipedia Entry:
Frank “Son” Seals (August 13, 1942 – December 20, 2004) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. In 2009, Seals was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Seals was born in Osceola, Arkansas, where his father, Jim “Son” Seals, owned a small juke joint, called the Dipsy Doodle Club. He began performing professionally by the age of 13, first as a drummer with Robert Nighthawk and later as a guitarist. At age 16, he began to play at the T-99, a local upper-echelon club, with his brother-in-law Walter “Little Walter” Jefferson. He played there with prominent blues musicians, including Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, and Rosco Gordon. Their varying styles contributed to the development of Seals’s own playing techniques. While playing at the T-99, he was also introduced to country-western music by Jimmy Grubbs, who occasionally asked Seals to play the drums or guitar with his group. At the age of 19, Seals formed his own band, Son Seals and the Upsetters, to fill in at the Rebel Club, in Osceola. The band members were Johnny Moore (“Old Man Horse”) on piano; Alvin Goodberry on drums, guitar, bass, or piano; Little Bob Robinson on vocals; and Walter Lee “Skinny Dynamo” Harris on piano. Shortly thereafter, a man from Little Rock, Arkansas, came to find “Little Walter” for a gig at his club, but when Walter turned it down the offer went to Seals.
In 1971, Seals moved to Chicago. His career took off after he was discovered by Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records at the Flamingo Club on Chicago’s South Side. His debut album, The Son Seals Blues Band, was released in 1973. The album included “Your Love Is Like a Cancer” and “Hot Sauce”. It was followed by Midnight Son (1976) and Live and Burning (1978). Seals released several albums in the next two decades, all but one on Alligator Records, including Chicago Fire (1980), Bad Axe (1984), Living in the Danger Zone (1991), Nothing but the Truth (1994) and Live: Spontaneous Combustion (1996). He received W.C. Handy Awards in 1985, 1987, and 2001.
The writer Andrew Vachss, a friend of his, used his influence to promote Seals’s music. Vachss gave Seals several cameo appearances in his novels, and co-wrote songs with him for his album Lettin’ Go, released in 2000. Vachss dedicated his novel Mask Market to Seals’s memory.
In 2002, Seals contributed to the Bo Diddley tribute album, Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute!, performing the song “My Story” (also known as “Story of Bo Diddley”).
Seals had a hard life. He survived all but one of his fourteen siblings. In 1997 he was shot in the jaw by his wife, sustaining injuries which required reconstructive surgery. In 1999 part of his left leg was amputated as a result of complications from diabetes. He lost belongings in a fire that destroyed his home while he was away performing, and several of his prized guitars were stolen from his home. After his health began to decline, Seals toured with accompaniment by several different bands, including those of James Soleberg, Jimmy Vivino, and Big Jim Kohler,.
The band Phish performed Seals’s song “Funky Bitch” and brought him on stage on several occasions. In 1999, Seals performed at Camp Oswego, the only one of Phish’s multi-day summer festivals that included performances by artists other than themselves.
Seals died in 2004, at the age of 62, from complications of diabetes. He was survived by a sister and fourteen children.
In 2009, Seals was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, in the category ‘Performer’.