
Will Weldon [Casey Bill]
William "Casey Bill" Weldon (December 10, 1909 – c. 1970) was an American country blues musician. Weldon was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States, and later lived and worked in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the early musicians who recorded playing slide guitar. He played upbeat, hokum and country blues tunes. Playing a National steel guitar flat on his lap Hawaiian style, he was known as the "Hawaiian Guitar Wizard". Weldon was married to the singer and guitarist Memphis Minnie in the 1920s. Only recently it has been widely accepted that he is not the musician, Will Weldon, who recorded between 1927 and 1928 as a member of the Memphis Jug Band. Weldon cut over 60 sides for Bluebird and Vocalion. He was also an active session guitarist, performing on records by Teddy Darby, Bumble Bee Slim, Peetie Wheatstraw, and Memphis Minnie. On Memphis Minnie's last recording for Bluebird Records, in October 1935, Weldon accompanied her for the first time. He played on two sides, "When the Sun Goes Down, Part 2" and "Hustlin' Woman Blues". He had solo hits with his two best-known songs, "Somebody Done Changed the Lock on That Door" and "We Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town". After his divorce from Memphis Minnie, he married the blues singer Geeshie Wiley. They disappeared from the public eye soon after, and he had stopped recording by 1938. His date of death is unknown but is presumed to be sometime around 1970. |
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Birth and Death Data: Born July 10, 1909 (Pine Bluff), Died 1970
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1938
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, vocalist, guitar, steel guitar
Notes: Also known as Casey Bill, Casey Bill Weldon, Levee Joe, Kansas City Bill, and the Hawaiian Guitar Wizard.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-96220 | 10-in. | 10/31/1935 | My stove won't work | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-96221 | 10-in. | 10/31/1935 | Somebody changed the lock on my door | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-96222 | 10-in. | 10/31/1935 | Long-eared mule | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-96223 | 10-in. | 10/31/1935 | Somebody's been talkin' to you | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-96224 | 10-in. | 10/31/1935 | Howlin' dog blues | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-96225 | 10-in. | 10/31/1935 | Your wagon's worn out now | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental quartet | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-96258 | 10-in. | 11/1/1935 | Please come down to my house | Washboard Rhythm Kings [1935 Bluebird ensemble] | Washboard band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Victor | BS-96259 | 10-in. | 11/1/1935 | Brown skin mama | Washboard Rhythm Kings [1935 Bluebird ensemble] | Washboard band, with kazoo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Victor | BS-96260 | 10-in. | 11/1/1935 | Street walkin' blues | Washboard Rhythm Kings [1935 Bluebird ensemble] | Washboard band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Victor | BS-96261 | 10-in. | 11/1/1935 | Arlena | Washboard Rhythm Kings [1935 Bluebird ensemble] | Washboard band, with male vocal solo and kazoo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Victor | BS-100307 | 10-in. | 4/1/1936 | Let me be your butcher | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, composer | |
Victor | BS-100308 | 10-in. | 4/1/1936 | I got a letter this morning | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, composer | |
Victor | BS-100309 | 10-in. | 4/1/1936 | I'm a stranger in your town | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, composer | |
Victor | BS-100310 | 10-in. | 4/1/1936 | Has my gal been here | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, composer | |
Victor | BS-100323 | 10-in. | 4/2/1936 | Blues everywhere I go | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | instrumentalist, steel guitar, composer | |
Victor | BS-100324 | 10-in. | 4/2/1936 | Somebody's got to go | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | instrumentalist, steel guitar, composer | |
Victor | BS-100325 | 10-in. | 4/2/1936 | Casey blues | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | instrumentalist, steel guitar, composer | |
Victor | BS-100326 | 10-in. | 4/2/1936 | I'se just a bad luck man | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental trio | instrumentalist, steel guitar, composer | |
Victor | BS-030808 | 10-in. | 12/16/1938 | I believe you're cheatin' on me | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with guitar, piano, and string bass | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-030809 | 10-in. | 12/16/1938 | Way down in Louisiana | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with guitar, piano, and string bass | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-030810 | 10-in. | 12/16/1938 | You gotta do your duty | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with guitar, piano, and string bass | composer, vocalist | |
Victor | BS-030811 | 10-in. | 12/16/1938 | Midnight blues | Casey Bill | Male vocal solo, with guitar, piano, and string bass | composer, vocalist | |
Brunswick | E2948-E2949 | 10-in. | 4/30/1926 | Long-eared mule | Hill Billies | String band, with male vocal solo | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Weldon, Will [Casey Bill]," accessed May 30, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106845.
Weldon, Will [Casey Bill]. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106845.
"Weldon, Will [Casey Bill]." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 30 May 2023.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Casey Bill Weldon
Discogs: Will Weldon [Casey Bill]
Allmusic: Will Weldon [Casey Bill]
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Weldon, Will - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n93036028
Wikidata: Casey Bill Weldon - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q606603
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/22329887
MusicBrainz: Casey Bill Weldon - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8a79e7f1-6e48-4efd-aba4-42a14d24faec
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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