Furry Lewis--- King of Blue.

Beale Street, Memphis, Tennessee. Just the name of it raises images of musicians ranging from W.C. Handy to B.B. King. Jug bands playing in the park, smoky Blues clubs and long-gone speakeasies, card houses and brothels. A cultural center for African American life-styles throughout much of the 20th Century, located smack dab in the middle of the Country's most musically fertile region: The Mississippi River Valley. But, perhaps nobody knew Beale Street better than Walter "Furry" Lewis, a Blues musician who's life revolved along the street, with and without his instrument. A man who would encounter fame more than once during his lifetime, and who would became one of Memphis' most-favored musical sons.

He was exposed to many of the best-known Blues musicians of the time; people such as, Memphis Minnie, Texas Alexander, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and often he would play alongside noted guitarist Jim Jackson.

In 1927, Furry Lewis made two trips to Chicago alongside his old friend Jim Jackson, with the purpose of cutting records for Vocalion. The sessions produced five sides in April and another six later in October of that year. Over the next two years, a total of 23 sides in all were recorded by Lewis for both the Vocalion and Victor labels and Furry began to receive regional recognition. Among the recordings he created during this period were many that are considered the definitive Blues recordings of such tunes as "Kassie Jones," "Stack-O-Lee," and "John Henry;" as well as signature numbers like "Judge Harsh Blues" and "I Will Turn Your Money Green" (the latter which included the classic line, "Been down so long, it looks like up to me").

Furry became a popular attraction at Folk and Blues Festivals and college campus appearances throughout the 1960s. But, despite this new-found resurgence of fame, he received very little monetary gain and often found himself having to place his guitar in hock to survive day-to-day. But, money was never that important to Furry Lewis; he found his joy in performing.

By 1970, Furry had become a celebrity in yet another musical realm as he found himself playing with some of the era's top Rock musicians. He opened shows for The Rolling Stones, including one before 53,000 in his hometown of Memphis; he toured with Leon Russell, and also as a member of the Alabama State Troupers with Don Nix and Jeanie Greene.

He began to lose his eyesight due to cataracts in his final years. He came down with a case of pneumonia in 1981, which led to his death on September 14th of that year at the age of 88. He is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in South Memphis, where his grave bears two headstones. A large one, purchased by fans, towers over the original marker that bears simply the epitaph "Bluesman". It does not need to say anything more.