Blues Profile
Dave "Honeyboy" Edwards
by Ray Stiles
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1999 KBA Award Winner
Achievement for Blues on the Internet
Presented by the Blues Foundation
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Octogenarian Honeyboy Edwards is one of the few remaining delta bluesmen who traveled the country during the 30’s and 40’s and provides us with a direct link to the origins of Delta blues. Born in Shaw, Mississippi on June 28, 1915, he played with most of the legendary blues performers of that time including close friend Robert Johnson, Son House, Big Joe Williams and Charlie Patton among others. He was also present at the time of Robert Johnson’s death and is not afraid to tell the "real" story behind that event. Honeyboy was just 27 when Alan Lomax caught up with him for some recordings in 1942 for the Library of Congress. These recordings were preserved and re-issued with new material on the 1992 Earwig album "Delta Bluesman." He moved to Chicago in the 1940’s but his music still maintains that raw Delta flavor. Honeyboy has an impish quality about him, a wry sense of humor and a story for just about every blues performer he ever met. During a typical performance, however, Honeyboy lets his guitar do most of the talking. His playing is still full-bodied, aggressive and intense with all the rough edges still in place. His wild, slicing slide-guitar playing, on numbers like "Sweet Home Chicago," is like taking a ride on a southern freight train going around the bend at 90 miles an hour holding on for dear life! He plays in a variety of styles from ragtime to wrenching hard edged delta blues. Dave "Honeyboy" Edwards is a national blues treasure and seeing him play his pure Delta blues is like watching living history unfold before your eyes as its being told by one of the originators of the music. Honeyboy's only weekend performance will be at the Bayfront Blues Saloon (inside) in Superior, WI on Saturday night (9:30 P.M.) after the festival.
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