snooks eaglin

Biography

Fird “Snooks” Eaglin Jr. was an American guitarist and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana, widely celebrated for his encyclopedic repertoire and idiosyncratic, virtuosic guitar style. Born on January 21 (most sources say 1936, some 1937), he lost his sight in early childhood after complications from illness and surgery, and spent part of his youth at a school for the blind, where music became central to his life. He taught himself guitar largely by ear from radio and records, and by his early teens he was performing in local churches and entering talent contests, earning attention when he won a WNOE radio competition at around age 11 with a flashy rendition of “Twelfth Street Rag.”

In the early 1950s Eaglin turned professional, joining the Flamingos, a New Orleans R&B band led by a young Allen Toussaint, where he covered both lead and bass parts on guitar and began to move in the same circles as key figures in the city’s rhythm-and-blues scene. Over the next decade he recorded gospel and R&B singles, accompanied artists such as James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, and cut country‑blues‑oriented solo sessions after folklorist Harry Oster discovered him playing on the streets of New Orleans; these acoustic recordings, later issued by labels like Folkways and Prestige/Bluesville, introduced him to blues audiences outside Louisiana. In later years he became a mainstay of the New Orleans club circuit and Jazz Fest, recorded electric albums for Imperial in the early 1960s and for Black Top Records from the late 1980s onward, and appeared on influential local projects including Professor Longhair and Wild Magnolias recordings. By the time of his death in 2009, he was regarded as one of New Orleans’ most distinctive guitar voices, nicknamed the “Human Jukebox” for a song list he claimed ran into the thousands and revered for a style that blended blues, R&B, jazz, funk, country, and pop into a uniquely fluid and rhythmic approach.

Eaglin’s legacy rests on several pillars: his technical command of the guitar, his ability to move effortlessly between genres, and his role as a bridge between street performances, classic New Orleans R&B, and the folk‑blues revival. His recordings such as “New Orleans Street Singer,” “Baby, You Can Get Your Gun,” and “Out of Nowhere,” along with his work as a sideman, showcase a player who could simultaneously suggest bass, chords, and melody lines, often reharmonizing familiar tunes on the fly. Beyond his discography, musicians and local audiences remember him as a fearless improviser and charismatic club performer whose playing influenced later generations of New Orleans guitarists and helped keep the city’s blues and R&B traditions in the international spotlight.

Fun Facts

• He was nicknamed the "Human Jukebox" and claimed to know around 2,500 songs, routinely taking audience requests and jumping between blues, country, rock, and pop without a written set list.
• At an early WNOE radio talent contest he won first prize with a dazzling solo guitar version of "Twelfth Street Rag," using this success as a springboard to become a full‑time musician while still in his teens.
• During field recordings and club dates he sometimes played even when his guitar was missing strings, yet observers commented that his sound and fluency hardly seemed affected.
• Onstage he could suggest bass lines, chordal accompaniment, and lead melodies at the same time, leading some fellow musicians to remark that it sounded like two or three guitarists playing at once.

Associated Acts

• The Wild Magnolias
• The New Orleans Project - guitar

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Local Baptist church musicians and radio performers - Formative musical environment where he absorbed gospel, blues, country, and R&B by ear as a child and teenager, shaping his repertoire and ear‑training rather than formal instruction. (Early church performances and informal interpretations of standards and radio hits rather than specific credited recordings.) [1940s–early 1950s]
• New Orleans R&B and jazz tradition (e.g., Ray Charles, local bandleaders) - Stylistic influences on his vocal phrasing and genre‑blending approach; his singing was often compared to Ray Charles, while his guitar drew on the city’s R&B and jazz guitar language. (Reflected across his New Orleans Street Singer material and later Black Top albums rather than in one specific collaboration.) [1950s–1960s]

Key Collaborators

• Allen Toussaint and the Flamingos - Eaglin played guitar in the Flamingos, a local seven‑piece R&B band founded by teenage pianist and future producer Allen Toussaint. (Local club performances and early R&B gigs; the group functioned mainly as a live band rather than a heavily documented recording act.) [Early–mid 1950s]
• James "Sugar Boy" Crawford - Eaglin’s first recording session credit was as a guitarist backing Crawford, a prominent New Orleans R&B singer and songwriter. (Early 1950s singles sessions (often cited as his first studio work) where he played electric guitar in Crawford’s band.) [1953 and mid‑1950s]
• Harry Oster and accompanying musicians (Lucius Bridges, Percy Randolph) - Oster recorded Eaglin extensively as an acoustic street singer, sometimes with washboard and harmonica accompaniment, helping document his country‑blues side. (Sessions later issued as albums such as "New Orleans Street Singer" and related Folkways/Folk‑Lyric/Prestige-Bluesville releases.) [1958–early 1960s]
• Imperial Records studio band (including James Booker and Smokey Johnson) - During his Imperial tenure, he fronted an electric band with Booker on piano and Johnson on drums, cutting R&B‑leaning sides. (Material later compiled on "The Complete Imperial Recordings" and related releases.) [Circa 1960–1963]
• Professor Longhair - Eaglin played guitar on important sessions for the iconic New Orleans pianist and composer, contributing to key later‑career recordings. (Early 1970s Professor Longhair studio projects, where his guitar underpinned Longhair’s rhumba‑boogie piano style.) [Early 1970s]
• The Wild Magnolias (Big Chief Bo Dollis, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Willie Tee, and band) - Guitarist in ensembles that fused Mardi Gras Indian chants with funk and R&B grooves, helping define the recorded sound of Mardi Gras Indian funk. (Seminal Wild Magnolias albums and related sessions where his guitar lines interact with Indian percussion and funk rhythm sections.) [Early–mid 1970s]
• Aurellia (Aurelius) Turbinton’s New Orleans Project - Member of a band organized by saxophonist Turbinton that blended New Orleans funk, Indian rhythms, and R&B vocals. (Live performances and recordings under the New Orleans Project banner with Earl Turbinton, Julius Farmer, Larry Panna, and Alfred "Uganda" Roberts.) [1970s]
• Black Top Records roster and producers - Cut a run of acclaimed electric albums for the New Orleans–based Black Top label, often working with local session musicians and producer/keyboardist Ron Levy. ("Baby, You Can Get Your Gun," "Out of Nowhere," "Teasin’ You," "Soul’s Edge," and "Live in Japan," among others.) [Late 1980s–1990s]

Artists Influenced

• New Orleans blues and R&B guitarists (later generations) - Eaglin’s fluid, bass‑chord‑melody approach, enormous repertoire, and willingness to mix blues, funk, country, and pop became a touchstone for younger local players. (Influence reflected broadly in the city’s live club scene and in stylistic echoes on later New Orleans blues and roots recordings rather than explicit tribute albums.) [1970s onward]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Saint James Infirmary (New Orleans Street Singer)
2. I Got a Woman (New Orleans Street Singer)
3. By the Water (The Imperial Recordings)
4. I've Been Walkin' (The Imperial Recordings)
5. Brown Skin Woman (New Orleans Street Singer)
6. Yours Truly (The Imperial Recordings)
7. Alberta (New Orleans Street Singer)
8. One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer (New Orleans Street Singer)
9. Good News (Snooks Eaglin (The Sonet Blues Story))
10. Funky Malaguena (Snooks Eaglin (The Sonet Blues Story))

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #blues, #folk, #jazz