135 fan
Joe Hill Louis, born Lester Hill on September 23, 1921, in Raines, Tennessee, was an American guitarist and one-man band known for his contributions to the blues genre. He left home at age 14 to work as a servant in Memphis. His music career began in the early 1940s, with his recording debut on Columbia Records in 1949. Throughout the 1950s, Louis released music on various labels, including Modern, Checker, Meteor, Big Town, and Mimosa. Notably, he recorded for Sun Records, both under his own name and as a backing musician. His electric blues single "Gotta Let You Go" b/w "Boogie in the Park" (1950) featured one of the earliest examples of overdriven guitar playing. Louis died on August 5, 1957, in Memphis at age 35 from tetanus.