Hurt My Feelings - Morris Pejoe

While the Chicago blues style normally more than holds it own in terms of interesting influences, Pejoe was one of the few performers in Chicago who brought in a strong Louisiana cajun and zydeco influence decades before this became a typical part of a touring, house-rocking band's repertoire. This was because he was actually from Louisiana, where he was born Morris Pejas, beginning his music career on the violin. In the late '40s he moved to Beaumont, TX, where he switched to guitar. Fellow Louisiana pianist Henry Gray remained his musical sidekick throughout these years, and in the early '50s the two relocated to Chicago together, rightfully seeing the big city as a much better opportunity for regular blues employment. Gray was one of two important blues pianists who mentored under Pejoe -- the other was Otis Spann, who worked in the Louisiana man's band in the early '50s prior to beginning the pianist's seemingly endless tenure with the great Muddy Waters. Pejoe's recording career began within a year of hitting the Windy City. During 1952 and 1953, he cut sides for Checker, accompanied by Gray, among others.
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