Leroy Foster (musician)
| Leroy Foster | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Baby Face Leroy, Baby Face |
| Born |
February 1, 1923 Algoma, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | May 26, 1958 (aged 35) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Blues |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, drums |
| Years active | 1946–1958 |
| Associated acts | Muddy Waters, Sunnyland Slim, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers |
"Baby Face" Leroy Foster (February 1, 1923 – May 26, 1958) was an American blues singer, drummer and guitarist, active in Chicago from the mid-1940s until the late 1950s. He was a significant figure in the development of the postwar electric Chicago blues sound, notably as a member of the Muddy Waters band during its formative years.
Foster was born in Algoma, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago in the mid-1940s and by 1946 was working with the pianist Sunnyland Slim and the harmonica player John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. He was introduced to the singer and guitarist Muddy Waters by an acquaintance Waters met at a recording session in 1946. Foster was soon playing guitar and drums in Waters’s band, along with the guitar and harmonica player Jimmy Rogers. The band was later joined by Little Walter on harmonica. Calling themselves the Headhunters, the trio was known for going from club to club and “cutting” (i.e., engaging in musical duels with) other bands.
Foster’s first recordings were made with the pianist Lee Brown in 1945 for J. Mayo Williams's Chicago label. In 1946, he took part in on another session with Brown and recorded with James "Beale Street" Clark for Columbia. He accompanied Sunnyland Slim on a 1947 or 1948 session for the Opera label. Further recordings followed, under his own name for and J.O.B. Records and also backing Sunnyland Slim, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and pianist Johnny Jones, before his most notable session, for the Parkway label in 1950.
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