John Lee Granderson (11 April 1913, Ellendale, Tennessee,
- 22 August 1979, Chicago, Illinois, was a blues guitarist and singer.
Granderson’s style was established in west Tennessee
blues before World War II. He learned to play the guitar when he was nine years
old. Although not a professional musician, he played mostly in the Memphis area
with Sleepy John Estes, Hammie Nixon, and others. He left his parents around
1927, making his way north to Chicago in 1928.
For many years he worked as a junkman, auto mechanic and
custodian. He performed around Chicago frequently, sometimes with John Lee “Sonny
Boy” Williamson in the 30’s and 40’s.
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| Granderson with Robert Nighthawk |
1940s-1960s: John Lee Granderson, Avery Brady and Arvella
Gray all performed on Maxwell Street. He recorded for Testament in 1962 – 1966 by
himself and as part of the Chicago String band (with Johnny Young, Big John
Wrencher and Carl Martin). Additional recordings were made for Adelphi. Others
that Granderson played with were Robert
Nighthawk, Big Joe Williams, and Daddy Stovepipe. He was most active in the 1960s.
Granderson sang and played guitar close to the style of
the Memphis musicians of his youth . For the most part he ceased performing
publicly in 1975, but he continued composing lyrics until his death. He
suffered a stroke in February 1979 and he died that August of pancreatic cancer
in Chicago, IL 1979, at the age of 66.
