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Roosevelt Sykes

Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906 – July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper."

Birth and Death Data: Born Phillips County (county in Arkansas, United States), Died July 17, 1983 (New Orleans (largest city of the state of Louisiana, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1952

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, vocalist, composer, lyricist, speaker, leader

Notes: Also known as Willie Kelly and as "The Honeydripper."

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 51-75 of 353 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-70680 10-in. 2/10/1932 Barrel of whiskey blues James "Stump" Johnson Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76801 10-in. 8/2/1933 Red Cross blues Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76802 10-in. 8/2/1933 L & N blues Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76803 10-in. 8/2/1933 Moonlight blues Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76804 10-in. 8/2/1933 Life boat blues Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76805 10-in. 8/2/1933 Night creepin' Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76806 10-in. 8/2/1933 Evil woman Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76807 10-in. 8/2/1933 Red Cross blues Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76808 10-in. 8/2/1933 L and N blues Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76809 10-in. 8/2/1933 Moonlight blues Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76810 10-in. 8/2/1933 Life boat blues Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76811 10-in. 8/2/1933 Night creepin' Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76812 10-in. 8/2/1933 Evil woman Walter Davis ; Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76814 10-in. 8/2/1933 In here with your heavy stuff Isabel Sykes Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76815 10-in. 8/2/1933 Don't rush yourself Isabel Sykes Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76825 10-in. 8/2/1933 Warning spirit Willie Kelly ; St. Louis Jimmy Oden Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76826 10-in. 8/2/1933 My dream blues Willie Kelly ; St. Louis Jimmy Oden Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76827 10-in. 8/2/1933 Sittin' down thinkin' St. Louis Jimmy Oden Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76831 10-in. 8/2/1933 Piggly Wiggly blues Willie Kelly ; Charlie McFadden Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76832 10-in. 8/2/1933 People, people Willie Kelly ; Charlie McFadden Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76836 10-in. 8/2/1933 I'm sorry blues Georgia Boyd ; Willie Kelly Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-76842 10-in. 8/2/1933 I done you wrong Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano vocalist, instrumentalist, piano, composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-76843 10-in. 8/2/1933 Sad and lonely day Willie Kelly Male vocal solo, with piano vocalist, instrumentalist, piano, composer, lyricist  
Victor BS-77277 10-in. 12/9/1933 Low down rounders blues Charlie McFadden Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-77278 10-in. 12/9/1933 Last journey blues Charlie McFadden Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 51-75 of 353 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Sykes, Roosevelt," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105974.

Sykes, Roosevelt. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105974.

"Sykes, Roosevelt." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105974

External Sources

Wikipedia: The Honeydripper

Discogs: Roosevelt Sykes

Allmusic: Roosevelt Sykes

Grove: Roosevelt Sykes

IMDb: Roosevelt Sykes

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Sykes, Roosevelt - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88613448

Wikidata: The Honeydripper - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q322236

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/74038954

MusicBrainz: Roosevelt Sykes - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/99ab25d6-7c8e-4f0a-b168-44e0db6860c1

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/224281 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/224281

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