drink small

Biography

Drink Small, born January 28, 1933, in Bishopville, South Carolina, to sharecropper parents Alice 'Missie' Small and Arthur Jackson, grew up in a musical family amid the cotton fields. At age eight, a severe accident with a mule-drawn wagon left him with a back injury, ending his fieldwork and redirecting him to music; he taught himself guitar by ear from radio broadcasts, sang in his high school glee club and church, and formed the local gospel group Six Stars while performing with the professional Golden Five at house parties. After briefly studying barbering at Denmark Area Trade School, he abandoned it for music, joining the gospel group The Spiritualaires in 1955 in Columbia, South Carolina, where they recorded on Vee-Jay, performed at the Apollo Theater, and toured with Sam Cooke, The Staple Singers, and The Harmonizing Four.[1][2][3][4]

Transitioning to secular blues in the late 1950s, Small debuted with the 1959 single 'I Love You Alberta' on Sharp Records, drawing from eclectic influences like gospel, Piedmont blues, Delta and Chicago blues, boogie-woogie, R&B, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Merle Travis, John Lee Hooker, Fats Domino, and Blind Boy Fuller, blended with his basso profundo voice and charismatic storytelling stage presence. Known as the Blues Doctor, he built a following among college students in the Carolinas during the 1960s, performing at clubs, roadhouses, and nearly every South Carolina college, while releasing albums on small labels like his own Bishopville Records (started in the 1970s) and writing hundreds of songs, including bawdy tracks like 'Tittie Man.' He toured nationally and internationally, appearing at Chicago Blues Festival, King Biscuit Blues Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and three World's Fairs, issuing six albums from 1990-2008.[1][2][4]

Despite his longevity, Small supplemented music income by selling fishing worms and never achieved financial success solely from performing, famously quipping about his blues stemming from lacking money. Named best gospel guitarist by Metronome in the 1950s and a National Heritage Fellow, he taught music seminars in South Carolina, preserving Piedmont blues heritage until losing his eyesight in 2014, leaving a legacy as a versatile Blues Doctor.[1][4]

Fun Facts

• His real first name is Drink, given by his mother Alice Small for unknown reasons, not a stage name.
• He sold fishing worms from his backyard to supplement his music income and quipped, 'Rich people got the blues because they are trying to keep the money, poor people got the blues because they are trying to get some money, and Drink Small got the blues because I ain't got no money.'
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe once invited him to be her permanent guitar player during his gospel days.
• He is known for 'Drinkisms,' pithy rhymes and life aphorisms shared onstage.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Blind Boy Fuller - stylistic influence on early guitar playing (instrumental songs) [youth, 1940s-1950s]
• Tennessee Ernie Ford - musical inspiration (general influence) [early career]
• Merle Travis - guitar style influence (general influence) [early career]
• John Lee Hooker - blues influence (general influence) [early career]
• Fats Domino - rhythm and blues influence (general influence) [early career]

Key Collaborators

• The Spiritualaires - guitarist in gospel group, toured and recorded together (1956 Vee-Jay single, Apollo Theater, Shirley Caesar Caravan TV) [1955-1950s]
• Golden Five - performed with professional gospel group at house parties (house party performances) [high school-1950s]
• Six Stars - organized and performed in local gospel group (local performances) [high school]
• Sam Cooke - toured with during Spiritualaires era (tour performances) [1950s]
• The Staple Singers - toured with during Spiritualaires era (tour performances) [1950s]
• The Harmonizing Four - toured with during Spiritualaires era (tour performances) [1950s]
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe - invited to be permanent guitar player (none specified, invitation only) [1950s]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia