Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir: Blog

             
Lizzie Douglas (a.k.a. Memphis Minnie) was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter born in Algiers, Louisiana. She was born on June 3, 1897 in Algiers, LA, a city located near the mouth of the Mississippi River, across from the old slave docks in New Orleans.
 
Minnie was the first of thirteen children born to Abe and Gertrude Douglas, who were Baptist sharecroppers. In 1904 Minnie moved with her family to Walls, Mississippi, located just south of Memphis. Soon after the move, Minnie's parents gave her a guitar for her birthday. She quickly learned how to play her guitar and began entertaining at parties in her neighborhood, picking up the nickname "Kid Douglas." When she got a little older, "Kid" often snuck into Memphis, where she sang and played in parks and on the street corners around town for tips, meeting other musicians and getting her first taste of the early Memphis blues scene.She  also went by the names [...]