Tampa Red
Hudson Whittaker (born Hudson Woodbridge; January 8, 1903 – March 19, 1981), better known by his stage name Tampa Red, was an American Chicago blues musician. His distinctive single-string slide guitar style, songwriting and bottleneck technique influenced other Chicago blues guitarists such as Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James. In a career spanning over 30 years, he also recorded pop, R&B and hokum songs. His best-known recordings include "Anna Lou Blues", "Black Angel Blues", "Crying Won't Help You", "It Hurts Me Too", and "Love Her with a Feeling". |
Birth and Death Data: Born Smithville (city in Lee County, Georgia, United States), Died March 19, 1981 (Chicago (city and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1951
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, composer, leader, kazoo, lyricist, songwriter, piano, electric guitar, speaker, yodeling
Notes: Often sub-credited as "The Guitar Wizard." Compositions generally credited as Hudson Whittaker, his real name.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 51-75 of 416 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BS-100331 | 10-in. | 4/3/1936 | Nutty and buggy blues | Willie B. James ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, piano, composer, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-100889 | 10-in. | 8/5/1936 | You stole my heart | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, lyricist, leader | |
| Victor | BS-100890 | 10-in. | 8/5/1936 | You got me worryin' | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, lyricist, leader | |
| Victor | BS-100891 | 10-in. | 8/5/1936 | Caught my gal truckin' | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, lyricist, leader | |
| Victor | BS-100892 | 10-in. | 8/5/1936 | All night long | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, lyricist, leader | |
| Victor | BS-100893 | 10-in. | 8/5/1936 | That's the way I do | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, lyricist, leader | |
| Victor | BS-100894 | 10-in. | 8/5/1936 | I hate myself | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, lyricist, leader | |
| Victor | BS-100895 | 10-in. | 8/5/1936 | I need you by my side | Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance trio | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, composer, lyricist | |
| Victor | BS-100896 | 10-in. | 8/5/1936 | Blue and evil blues | Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance trio | vocalist, composer, lyricist, instrumentalist, piano | |
| Victor | BS-01874 | 10-in. | 12/21/1936 | If it wasn't for you | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, leader | |
| Victor | BS-01875 | 10-in. | 12/21/1936 | Right or wrong | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, kazoo, guitar, composer, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-01876 | 10-in. | 12/21/1936 | Stop truckin' and Suzi-Q | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-01877 | 10-in. | 12/21/1936 | Cheatin' on me | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-01878 | 10-in. | 12/21/1936 | Your one and only | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-01879 | 10-in. | 12/21/1936 | My za zu girl | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-01880 | 10-in. | 12/21/1936 | Someday I'm bound to win | Tampa Red ; Willie Bee | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, piano, composer, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-01881 | 10-in. | 12/21/1936 | Taking it and making my get away | Tampa Red ; Willie Bee | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | instrumentalist, piano, composer, vocalist | |
| Victor | BS-07606 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | She said it | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer | |
| Victor | BS-07607 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | It's hard to believe it's true | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer | |
| Victor | BS-07608 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | When love comes in | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer | |
| Victor | BS-07609 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | You got to learn to do it | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer | |
| Victor | BS-07610 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | I give my love to you | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer | |
| Victor | BS-07611 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | I see you can't take it | Chicago Five ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, kazoo, composer | |
| Victor | BS-07612 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | My gal is gone | Willie B. James ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, piano | |
| Victor | BS-07613 | 10-in. | 5/4/1937 | When the one you love is gone | Willie B. James ; Tampa Red | Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano | vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Tampa Red," accessed January 6, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106703.
Tampa Red. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106703.
"Tampa Red." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 6 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Tampa Red
Discogs: Tampa Red
Allmusic: Tampa Red
IMDb: Tampa Red
Britannica: Tampa Red
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Tampa Red, 1904-1981 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n92117137
Wikidata: Tampa Red - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1345751
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/120789174
MusicBrainz: Tampa Red - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/1b62df85-00d2-464f-81bc-a5c0cdcad278
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1509194 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1509194
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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