Carl Weathersby born 24 February 1953

Carlton Weathersby (February 24, 1953 – August 9, 2024) was an American electric blues vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. He worked with Albert King and Billy Branch, among others, and had a career as a solo artist. He was nominated for the W. C. Handy Award for Best New Blues Artist in 1997. 

Weathersby was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He spent his early years in Meadville, Mississippi and when he was eight, his family moved to East Chicago, Indiana. As a teenager, Weathersby began to learn to play the guitar. One day, after practicing "Cross Cut Saw" many times through, he decided to show his father. After he finished playing it, his father's friend, a man Weathersby knew as Albert, the diesel mechanic, said, "Man, that ain't the way that song goes, that ain't the way I played it." The mechanic turned out to be Albert King, who then showed Weathersby how to play it. Despite Weathersby's mistake, King was impressed and eventually hired Weathersby to play rhythm guitar with him on tour. 

However, his career as musician started many years later. Before then, Weathersby worked many jobs, ranging from steel mill worker to prison guard to police officer. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1971 to 1977, during the Vietnam War after which he began playing rhythm guitar with Albert King on short road trips from 1979 to 1981, but the experience solidified Weathersby's identity as a blues musician. For the next 15 years, Carl worked as the bandleader and songwriter for a number of different Chicago based blues bands, most notably Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues. 

His position as guitarist for the Sons of Blues earned him a name among the blues fans of Chicago, it also left him feeling discontented.  In 1995, Carl met Independent producer John Snyder, and they agreed to work together on Carl's first solo recording. Carl decided to break out on his own, and it was the best decision he ever made. The timing was perfect. Because of his growing popularity, Evidence Records released Weathersby's first album, Don't Lay Your Blues on Me, in 1996, which earned Carl a W.C. Handy Award nomination for “Best New Blues Artist”. Carl also received three Living Blues Magazine Critics' Award nominations for his composition "The Blues Follow Me Around."

                                    

With his second CD, “Looking Out My Window”, Carl's national reputation as a solo recording artist and talented songwriter grew. His six original songs along with his covers like John Hiatt's "Feel Like Rain" and Paul De Lay's "Merry Way" reveal a contemporary, original progressive bluesman. “Restless Feeling”, Carl's third CD, illustrated Carl’s own sound and consolidated those earlier successes, capturing the essence of Carl's talents as player, singer, writer, and interpreter, firmly establishing him in the top echelon of blues musicians.

Carl's range as a musician can be heard through his fierce string busting solos and his heartfelt, passionate vocals. This outstanding third solo effort garnered three W.C. Handy Award nominations for Carl from the Blues Foundation (The Grammy's of the Blues). The categories included “Best Blues Instrumentalist-Guitar”, “Blues Artist Most Deserving Wider Recognition”, and “Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year” where he shared company in the nomination category with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Keb Mo. 

Carl's 4th CD “Come To Papa” shows all listeners who Carl really is. This CD also was nominated for two W.C. Handy Awards. This fourth release was at the top of the blues charts in Japan and was #1 in February 2001. In total he put out nine albums between 1996 and 2019 played on more than 33 albums, a mixture of live and studio recordings between his solo career and with groups such as the Sons of Blues and the Chicago-based blues band Mississippi Heat. He was also a regular in the lineup of the Chicago Blues Festival and was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in October 2017. 

His live album, In the House, (2004) was recorded at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland, when he was joined by the harmonica player and past band mate Billy Branch. In The House was released under the Cross Cut record label. Weathersby has since self produced the album, Hold On (2005). His final release, 2019’s “Live at Rosa’s Lounge,” was recorded at the Logan Square venue, where he returned for another performance in 2021. A few years prior, he had a recurring stint at Kingston Mines in Lincoln Park. 

He performed as the headline artist twice a week at the Kingston Mines in Chicago, Illinois. In his later years, Mr. Weathersby struggled with the effects of diabetes, and a GoFundMe for his medical costs raised more than $16,000 in 2019. He died on August 9, 2024, at the age of 71. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Chicago Sun Times)