In addition to his guitar playing, Blake was also a charismatic singer and skilled lyricist, and several of his songs were no doubt popular with Bronzeville’s late night music scene. Paramount utilized Blake as a go-to session musician for several Paramount performers, but he remained an incredibly prolific solo artist. I made it good.”īlake took up a residence in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, where he would have had easy access to both Paramount’s downtown recording studio and Bronzeville’s array of concert halls and dance clubs. “I got something that’ll make ya feel good!” Blake laughs as he barrels into a killer guitar lick. In this tune, we hear Blake calling out dance steps and cracking jokes to a joyful ragtime beat.

Paramount was able to find a niche in marketing to Black record buyers, and Blind Blake’s 1926 instrumental “West Coast Blues” became a massive hit that catapulted him to the top tier of Paramount artists. These records, cheaply made and recorded on a tight budget, existed solely to encourage sales of the Chair Company’s phonograph cabinets (somewhat like how iTunes was created to encourage sales of iPods). Paramount Records was a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Chair Company in Port Washington. Eventually, a talent scout recommended Blake to Wisconsin’s Paramount Records, where he would become one of the company’s biggest recording stars.

But Blake’s main hub was Jacksonville, Florida, where he kept an apartment and learned to improvise his repertoire to wherever he was playing. Whether or not this is how Arthur got his start, his obvious talents proved adept at earning a living playing live music.Īdditional research suggests that Arthur lived a traveling musician’s life, with stories of him playing around Atlanta, Detroit, and even Bristol, Tennessee. Busking-or playing music on street corners for tips-was often taken up by many a blind musician as an alternative to begging. We don’t know if Blake was born blind, but we do know that his disability would have made his life especially hard in early 20th century America. Though so much of Arthur Blake’s story remains a mystery, recent research suggests that he was born in Newport News, Virginia, to Winter and Alice Blake. On this 87th anniversary of his sad death, the time has come for Milwaukee to acknowledge and embrace Blind Blake as an important part of our city’s history. His guitar playing was breathtaking in its intricacies, earning him the posthumous moniker “King of Ragtime Guitar.” But he was also a brilliant songwriter and dynamic showman, and even his later recordings show him continuously working to innovate. It’s especially heartbreaking to ponder Arthur Blake’s untimely and tragic death given what we know now: Arthur Blake, better known by his stage name Blind Blake, was one of the greatest American musicians of the 20th century. No Milwaukee newspaper made any mention of his death, funeral, or burial. Arthur was buried on December 5, 1934, in an unmarked grave at the far edge of Evergreen Cemetery near Highway 57. With Beatrice unable to afford a proper burial, Milwaukee County provided burial assistance and took some of Arthur’s organs as “donations” to offset the cost. By the time Arthur reached the hospital, he was dead.Ī coroner’s autopsy confirmed that Arthur Blake had died of complications from tuberculosis. Arthur was brought to Milwaukee County Emergency Hospital, just across from the Eagles Club on Wisconsin Avenue. Arthur’s condition was dire-his body was in clear distress, and his skin was turning purple due to lack of oxygen. It was just after midnight when authorities arrived at the Blake home. But the company that employed him had gone out of business, and no one else seemed to have any use for his talents. And it had given Arthur-a blind man-the chance to be self-sufficient when so many other blind people in America eked out a living by begging in the streets. Truth be told, Arthur hadn’t been well ever since he lost his job a few years ago.

After all, doctors cost money, and Arthur and Beatrice were broke. But he hadn’t seen a doctor since he was discharged from the hospital. Arthur had lost a lot of weight in the last year-he was now gaunt and frail, looking far older than his age of 38 years.

He was never the same after his bout with pneumonia a year ago, which had led to him spending three weeks at Milwaukee County General Hospital. Now Arthur was coughing up bright red gobs of blood.Īrthur hadn’t been well for a long time. What started out as a severe cold quickly led to a fever, chills, and significant chest pains. Her husband, Arthur, had been ill for several weeks, and his condition was worsening. On December 1, 1934, Beatrice Blake called for help.

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