On the Chicago blues scene over the years, the major “name” bluesmen and blues women have enjoyed a notoriety befitting their talents and contributions, as they should.  You know the familiar names, especially those that came from the heralded post-war Chess label era; Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Little Walter.  These blues stars set the bar high for the genre, and for the myriad aspirational blues artists seemingly resigned to second-tier and below status.

As the blues moved forward in Chicago, new blues stars emerged, and they created identities and fan bases built upon their unique talents and recordings.  Bluesmen and blues women such as Lonnie Brooks, Magic Slim, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Eddy Clearwater, Son Seals, Hound Dog Taylor, J.B. Hutto, and a whole host of others assured a blues-loving fan base that the music was entering a new period and was alive and thriving.  They all became “name” blues stars along the way in the more modern era.

But during this more contemporary blues age, there still existed many blues artists, like periods before, who endured being on the fringes of the “big time” of Chicago blues, journeymen and journeywomen who continued to ply their musical skills in the blues realm hoping for that one big show, or elusive recording opportunity, where they could showcase their flairs and make the leap up the proverbial blues food chain.  Blues artists with names such as Boston Blackie, Johnny Littlejohn, Lovie Lee, Big Moose Walker, Little Willie Anderson, Jimmie Lee Robinson, Sammy Lawhorn, Lester Davenport, Big Leon Brooks, Good Rockin’ Charles, and many others clamored for what gigs and acclaim they could hustle-up; however, more often than not, despite in many cases being quite gifted blues musicians, these folks were resigned to the fringes of the blues.

However, some of these blues artists were so instrumental in keeping the blues vital as to be protectors of the genre through their mentoring of younger blues musicians, or as consistent, reliable, and touted professional artists within the tight Chicago blues landscape.  One person who comes to mind, as an example, is Sunnyland Slim.  Slim was a Chicago blues patriarch, not just of the Chicago blues piano orbit, but within the whole of the scene.  Much has been conveyed through the years of how Slim would take young blues artists under his wings and assist them in developing not only their musical skills, but also their business understanding of the blues.  Cases in point are how Slim nurtured a young blues piano player named Barrelhouse Chuck into becoming a first-call blues artist, or how Slim encouraged and helped frame Big Time Sarah’s blues music career.

Many of Chicago’s best drummers were never headline status stars; their names didn’t appear in lights, but their rhythmic contributions in assisting the stars in live performance or on recording dates are indisputable.  Blues drummers such as Fred Below, Odie Payne, Odie Payne, Jr., Clifton James, S.P. Leary, Earl Phillips, and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, among others, ensured that the showcased blues stars were framed in the best possible light.

Some blues drummers took it a bit further, and did all they could to help the blues flourish as a true steward of the art form.  One such individual was Chicago’s Kansas City Red.  Many would argue, this author included, that Red played a crucial role in the scope of urban blues development, survival, and growth.

His given name was Arthur Lee Stevenson, and he was born in Drew, Mississippi, in Sunflower County, in the northwestern portion of the state, in early May, 1926.  At 16 years of age, he attempted to enlist in the U.S. armed forces, but was rejected.  Upon this denial, he traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, where he acquired his “Kansas City Red” moniker.  It is said that Red’s first blues inspiration was noted Delta artist David “Honeyboy” Edwards.  While in Kansas City, Red took to following blues slide guitar great Robert Nighthawk wherever he played.  At one performance, Nighthawk’s drummer was unable to fill his obligation to play the show, and despite not having any percussion skills or training, Red admirably completed the gig, and this led to him being Nighthawk’s drummer for four years until 1946. 

Red became a member of a circle of bluesmen who drifted into the sphere of Sonny Boy Williamson II, Rice Miller, and became a key component of the blues band that played regularly on the famed King Biscuit radio show that originated out of Helena, Arkansas. 

But not all was good in Red’s life, as it has been documented that he made a number of poor choices personally that resulted in problems with the law, along with predicaments with women and their resentful male friends, both in the U.S. South and in California.  These unfortunate choices led Red to make a move to southern Illinois in the late 1940s.

While in southern Illinois, Red hooked-up with blues slide guitar giant Earl Hooker, and in 1950, he arrived in Chicago, the place he would personally and professionally call home for the rest of his life. 

Upon arriving in Chicago, Red found a lot of work on the quite fertile blues scene of that time.  He also found many folks and performers like himself who were originally from the Delta region of the U.S.  Blues performers such as Big Walter Horton, the aforementioned David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Johnny Shines, and Sunnyland Slim, among so many others, also hailed from the U.S. South.  In this, Red found comfort and familiarity.

Red performed in the Chicago clubs with the aforesaid Chicago blues artists, plus others such as mandolinist, guitarist, and vocalist Johnny Young, guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Floyd Jones, guitarist and vocalist Eddie Taylor, slide guitarist and vocalist Elmore James, guitarist and vocalist Robert Lockwood, Jr., slide guitarist and vocalist Earl Hooker, and piano man Blind John Davis, again, among countless others.

It has even been recognized that Red counseled and assisted a young blues artist by the name of Jimmy Reed in realizing his blues aspirations by having him gain some early experience his own band.  Red embraced the role as a blues mentor.

But performing the blues was not all that Red was about.  As a person, Red was an individual of contrasts.  Mostly known for being very laidback, he could also be quite cautious.  Whatever that careful nature was attributable to, it is reasonable to surmise that it was due to the way he ingrained the collective circumstances and the lack of fortune within his chosen life’s work.

But all that is not to imply that Red was a somber or unfeeling man.  The case was quite the opposite.  He was very genial and emotionally deep, and much has been conveyed over the years about Red being prone to openly cry when singing one of his compositions that dealt with being incarcerated, as he himself was for a bit in 1980.  This stood in stark contrast to the model of the normally steely exterior of a tough street-wise Chicago bluesman.

Where Red contributed to the blues and blues artists greatly was by his ownership and supervision of various blues joints on Chicago’s west side and south side.  It was Red’s way of giving back to the blues by having places where the music could continue to grow.  Red was said to be a highly-affable club host, one who took time to champion both the blues and the artists making the music, someone who would become one with the audience in walking the floor leading applause for the on-stage band.  He was known to be a highly-entertaining emcee in his clubs, making patrons feel that they were not just at a blues show but at a happening.

Sometimes his clubs, Red would climb the stages and work-up some of what came to be known as his infamous off-the-cuff blues lyrics while keeping time behind the drum kit.  Red was known to run a strict event, and had little tolerance for poor behavior. Red saw all people as one, and had no acceptance for bigotry.  In all these ways, Red saw the blues entertainment experience as one to be thoroughly enjoyed, and also to be a safe, pleasurable escape from urban Chicago pressures.

Red hosted Sunday blues jams at numerous venues in Chicago; this author recalls him leading such at B.L.U.E.S. on N. Halstead.  Like at his clubs, Red’s warmth and accommodation to his fellow blues artists and fans alike won him legions of admirers.  He always seemed to be smiling.

As a drummer, Red had a singular style, and somehow, it was always exciting to witness.  This author would cite it as somewhat “busy”, but that implication should not be taken in a negative way.  Red’s flair was always seeming to be on the abyss of falling into chaos, yet somehow via his unconventional percussion approach, he held the rhythmic cadence in-check.  Though, there were times when Red would suddenly fly into cymbal rackets, but he would then utilize a metrical stanza to bring it all back to where it should be.

Notable blues recordings where Red is featured include Earwig Music’s “Old Friends Together For the First Time”, an outing he shares with Sunnyland Slim, Honeyboy Edwards, Walter Horton, and Floyd Jones, and JSP Records’ “Original Chicago Blues” with Joe Carter, Eddie Taylor, and John Wrencher.  Additional recordings where Red is featured include Barrelhouse Records’ “Sweet Home Chicago Blues” with Easy Baby And His Houserockers, plus Earwig Music’s “Bad Whiskey And Cocaine”, a Honeyboy Edwards outing.  Further, Red can be heard on Wolf Records’ Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis’s release “Chicago Blues Session Vol. 11.”  Also, Red can be heard on Earwig Music’s release “She Got A Thing Goin’ On” with Sunnyland Slim, Bonnie Lee, Big Time Sarah, and Zora Young. 

It seemed for a long while that Red was always everywhere; at B.L.U.E.S., the V And J Lounge, the Delta Fish Market; anywhere the blues was being performed.  There was Red, friendly, enthusiastic, and greeting one and all.  He was a true promoter of the blues.

Red passed on his 65^th birthday.  Thinking back, I suppose the best way to describe Red was to say that he was a true character, in all the positive ways that such a declaration can be made.  He was a bright light for the blues, an engaging man who made it his place to advocate for the blues and its people, whether they were fellow artists or fans.  We may never see another like him in the blues, such was the enormity of his presence, positivity, warmth, and skill set all combined.