Aron Burton
Encyclopedia
Aron Burton is an American
electric
and Chicago blues
singer, bass guitarist and songwriter. In a long career as a sideman
he has played with Freddie King
, Albert Collins
and Junior Wells
, and has released a number of solo albums, including Good Blues to You (1999, Delmark
). His own recorded work has been nominated four times for a Blues Music Award in the 'Blues Instrumentalist - Bass' category.
, United States
. He sang in a number of local churches, and was a co-founder with his cousin of the group, the Victory Travelers. Burton relocated to Chicago
, Illinois
, in 1955. His musical career commenced the following year, playing the bass backing for Freddie King
. King purchased Burton's first bass guitar
.
Burton served in the United States Army
between 1961 and 1965, but upon discharge found employment variously playing with Baby Huey & the Babysitters
, Junior Wells
(with whom Burton toured between 1969 and 1972) and Fenton Robinson
. Burton also undertook recording sessions with George "Wild Child" Butler
, Jackie Ross
and Carey Bell
(Heartaches and Pain, 1977). Burton also recorded a solo single
, "Garbage Man", which was released by Cleartone Records.
In 1978, Burton joined his brother, Larry, in Albert Collins
' backing band, the Icebreakers, and Burton appeared on Collins's Grammy Award
nominated album, Ice Pickin'
. He also toured with Collins before leaving his ensemble in the early 1980s. In the meantime, Burton worked as a horticulturist for twenty years in Garfield Park Conservatory, under the auspices of the Chicago Park District
. Burton found further work playing with James Cotton
, Johnny Littlejohn and Fenton Robinson (again), before relocating to Europe for a time in the late 1980s. Whilst there, Burton recorded Usual Dangerous Guy, with Champion Jack Dupree
playing the piano accompaniment.
By the early 1990s, Burton had returned to Chicago, and Earwig Records issued the compilation album
, Past, Present, & Future (1993). It included material recorded between 1986 and 1993, both in Europe and the United States, and established Burton as a frontman rather than supporting musician. Burton appeared at the Chicago Blues Festival
in 1994, where he was joined on stage by Liz Mandville Greeson. She also sang on a couple of tracks of Burton's live album
, Aron Burton Live in 1996, which was recorded at Buddy Guy
's club
, 'Legends'. The following year, Burton and his brother played at the Chicago Blues Festival. This led on to Delmark Records
releasing Good Blues to You in 1999.
Burton co-wrote a track on Too Slim and the Taildraggers
' 2000 album, King Size Troublemakers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
electric
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
and Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
singer, bass guitarist and songwriter. In a long career as a sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
he has played with Freddie King
Freddie King
Freddie King , thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert...
, Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
and Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, and has released a number of solo albums, including Good Blues to You (1999, Delmark
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
). His own recorded work has been nominated four times for a Blues Music Award in the 'Blues Instrumentalist - Bass' category.
Biography
Burton was born in Senatobia, MississippiSenatobia, Mississippi
Senatobia is a city in and the county seat of Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is the 15th largest municipality in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 8,165 at the 2010 census....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He sang in a number of local churches, and was a co-founder with his cousin of the group, the Victory Travelers. Burton relocated to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, in 1955. His musical career commenced the following year, playing the bass backing for Freddie King
Freddie King
Freddie King , thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert...
. King purchased Burton's first bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
.
Burton served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
between 1961 and 1965, but upon discharge found employment variously playing with Baby Huey & the Babysitters
Baby Huey & the Babysitters
Baby Huey & the Babysitters were a soul band hailing from Gary, Indiana and founded in 1963 by organist / trumpeter Melvyn "Deacon" Jones and guitarist Johnny Ross. James Ramey became their front man and adopted the stage name of Baby Huey which was after the Baby Huey duck character...
, Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
(with whom Burton toured between 1969 and 1972) and Fenton Robinson
Fenton Robinson
Fenton Robinson was an American blues singer and exponent of the Chicago blues guitar.-Biography:Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, United States, Robinson left his home at the age of 18 to move to Memphis, Tennessee where he recorded his first single "Tennessee Woman" in 1957. He settled in Chicago...
. Burton also undertook recording sessions with George "Wild Child" Butler
George "Wild Child" Butler
George "Wild Child" Butler was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and vocalist.Butler was born in Hernando, Mississippi, or Autuagaville, Alabama, United States, and began playing blues music in bands from the late 1950s, but it was not until 1966 that he began to receive notice, after...
, Jackie Ross
Jackie Ross
Jackie Ross is an American soul singer.Ross sang gospel music as a child, and performed on a radio show run by her parents, both preachers. After her father died in 1954 she moved to Chicago and was signed to SAR Records by Sam Cooke...
and Carey Bell
Carey Bell
Carey Bell was an American blues musician, who played the harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass for other blues musicians during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s before embarking on a solo career...
(Heartaches and Pain, 1977). Burton also recorded a solo single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Garbage Man", which was released by Cleartone Records.
In 1978, Burton joined his brother, Larry, in Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
' backing band, the Icebreakers, and Burton appeared on Collins's Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominated album, Ice Pickin'
Ice pickin'
Ice Pickin' is a blues album released in 1978 by the blues man Albert Collins.According with the inside cover of the album:- Personnel :*Albert Collins - guitar & vocals*Larry Burton - guitar*Allen Batts - keyboards*Aron Burton - bass...
. He also toured with Collins before leaving his ensemble in the early 1980s. In the meantime, Burton worked as a horticulturist for twenty years in Garfield Park Conservatory, under the auspices of the Chicago Park District
Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...
. Burton found further work playing with James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
, Johnny Littlejohn and Fenton Robinson (again), before relocating to Europe for a time in the late 1980s. Whilst there, Burton recorded Usual Dangerous Guy, with Champion Jack Dupree
Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
playing the piano accompaniment.
By the early 1990s, Burton had returned to Chicago, and Earwig Records issued the compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Past, Present, & Future (1993). It included material recorded between 1986 and 1993, both in Europe and the United States, and established Burton as a frontman rather than supporting musician. Burton appeared at the Chicago Blues Festival
Chicago Blues Festival
The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the City of Chicago Mayor's Office of Special Events, and always occurs in early June...
in 1994, where he was joined on stage by Liz Mandville Greeson. She also sang on a couple of tracks of Burton's live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Aron Burton Live in 1996, which was recorded at Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
's club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
, 'Legends'. The following year, Burton and his brother played at the Chicago Blues Festival. This led on to Delmark Records
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
releasing Good Blues to You in 1999.
Burton co-wrote a track on Too Slim and the Taildraggers
Too Slim and the Taildraggers
Too Slim and the Taildraggers is an American rock band formed in 1986 in Spokane, Washington, United States. The band currently consists of Tim "Too Slim" Langford , Polly O'Keary and Tommy Cook...
' 2000 album, King Size Troublemakers.
Albums
| Year | Title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Past, Present, & Future | Earwig Records |
| 1996 | Aron Burton Live | Earwig Records |
| 1999 | Good Blues to You | Delmark Records Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in... |
| 2001 | The Cologne Sessions | Schubert Records |
Selected work with other musicians
- 1976: Lickin' Gravy - George "Wild Child" ButlerGeorge "Wild Child" ButlerGeorge "Wild Child" Butler was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and vocalist.Butler was born in Hernando, Mississippi, or Autuagaville, Alabama, United States, and began playing blues music in bands from the late 1950s, but it was not until 1966 that he began to receive notice, after...
- 1977: Heartaches and Pain - Carey BellCarey BellCarey Bell was an American blues musician, who played the harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass for other blues musicians during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s before embarking on a solo career...
- 1978: Ice Pickin'Ice pickin'Ice Pickin' is a blues album released in 1978 by the blues man Albert Collins.According with the inside cover of the album:- Personnel :*Albert Collins - guitar & vocals*Larry Burton - guitar*Allen Batts - keyboards*Aron Burton - bass...
- Albert CollinsAlbert CollinsAlbert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia... - 1984: High Compression - James CottonJames CottonJames Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
- 1984: Nightflight - Fenton RobinsonFenton RobinsonFenton Robinson was an American blues singer and exponent of the Chicago blues guitar.-Biography:Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, United States, Robinson left his home at the age of 18 to move to Memphis, Tennessee where he recorded his first single "Tennessee Woman" in 1957. He settled in Chicago...
- 1984: Million Dollar $ecret - Valerie WellingtonValerie WellingtonValerie Wellington was an African American, Chicago blues and electric blues singer and actress. Her 1984 album, Million Dollar $ecret saw her work with Sunnyland Slim, Billy Branch, and Magic Slim. In her early years, Wellington also worked with Lee "Shot" Williams...
- 1991: Daddy, When Is Mama Comin' Home - Big Jack JohnsonBig Jack JohnsonBig Jack Johnson was an American electric blues musician.One commentator noted that Johnson, along with R. L...
- 1992: Delta Bluesman - David "Honeyboy" Edwards
- 1995: Boogie My Blues Away - Eddy ClearwaterEddy ClearwaterEddy "The Chief" Clearwater is the stage name of Edward Harrington ,) an American Chicago blues musician. Blues Revue said Eddy plays “joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning soul fervor and powerful guitar. One of the blues’ finest songwriters.” -Early life:He was born in Macon, Mississippi,...
- 1995: Chicago Blues Session! - Willie MabonWillie MabonWillie Mabon was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist.-Career:Born Willie James Mabon, and brought up in Hollywood, Memphis, Tennessee, he had become known as a singer and pianist by the time he moved to Chicago in 1942. He formed a group, the Blues Rockers, and in 1949 began recording...
- 1995: Dream - John LittlejohnJohn LittlejohnJohn Wesley Funchess known professionally as John Littlejohn, was an American electric blues slide guitarist. He was active on the Chicago blues circuit from the 1950s to the 1980s.-Biography:...
- 1995: You're Gonna Miss Me - Ann SextonAnn SextonAnn Sexton is an American soul singer.Sexton recorded a number of records for John Richbourg during the 1970s...
- 1996: Look at Me - Liz Mandville Greeson
- 1997: Live in Chicago - Big Jack JohnsonBig Jack JohnsonBig Jack Johnson was an American electric blues musician.One commentator noted that Johnson, along with R. L...
- 2000: King Size Troublemakers - Too Slim and the TaildraggersToo Slim and the TaildraggersToo Slim and the Taildraggers is an American rock band formed in 1986 in Spokane, Washington, United States. The band currently consists of Tim "Too Slim" Langford , Polly O'Keary and Tommy Cook...
- 2006: Way Things Go - Cleveland Fats