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Eddie Vinson
Vinson in May 1980.
Background information
Birth name	Edward L. Vinson Jr.
Also known as	Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Born	(1917-12-18)December 18, 1917 Houston, Texas, United States
Died	July 2, 1988(1988-07-02) (aged 70) Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Jump blues, R&B, jazz
Occupation(s)	Saxophonist, singer, composer
Years active	1930s–1988
Labels	King Records, Mercury, Black & Blue, ABC-BluesWay, Muse

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed "Cleanhead" after an incident in which his hair was accidentally removed by lye contained in a hair-straightening product, necessitating shaving it off; enamoured of the look, Vinson maintained a shaved head thereafter. Music critic Robert Christgau has called Vinson "one of the cleanest, and nastiest, blues voices you'll ever hear."

Biography

Vinson was born in Houston, Texas. He started out with Milton Larkin's orchestra in the 1930s. At various times, he was with Tom Archia, while other members of the band included Cedric Haywood and Wild Bill Davis. He then played for Big Bill Broonzy. During the 1940s, he was with the Cootie Williams Orchestra. He recorded such tunes as "Cherry Red".

There is some controversy over who composed "Four".

He died aged 70 in 1988, from a heart attack while undergoing chemotherapy, in Los Angeles, California.

Discography

With Oliver Nelson

• Swiss Suite (Flying Dutchman, 1971 )

With Arnett Cobb and the Muse All Stars

• Live at Sandy's! (Muse 5191, 1978 )
• More Arnett Cobb and the Muse All Stars (Live at Sandy's!) (Muse 5236, 1978 )

With Buddy Tate and the Muse All Stars

• Live at Sandy's (Muse 5198, 1978 )
• Hard Blowin' (Live at Sandy's) (Muse 5249, 1978 )

With Helen Humes and the Muse All Stars

• Helen Humes and the Muse All Stars (Muse 5217, 1978 ) - with Arnett Cobb and Buddy Tate

References

1. ^ Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The IllustratedEncyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
2. Otis, Johnny. Upside Your Head!: Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue, Wesleyan University Press, p. 34 (1993) - ISBN 0-8195-6287-4
3. "Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead"". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: V". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 21, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
5. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 1219–20. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
6. Vladimir, Bogdanov. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues, Backbeat Books, pg. 571 (2002); ISBN 0-87930-736-6
7. Koster, Rick. Texas Music, St. Martin's Press, pg. 319 (2000); ISBN 0-312-25425-3
8. Doc Rock. "The 1980s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2015-10-07.

External links

• Houston's own, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson!
• NBR: Blues and Jazz Get Rollicking Together
• Blues Lyrics: Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 2009)
• All About Jazz: Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
• 'I Remember Eddie Cleanhead Vinson', by Steve Holt

• 1917 births
• 1988 deaths
• 20th-century American male singers
• 20th-century American saxophonists
• 20th-century American singers
• American blues singers
• American jazz alto saxophonists
• American male jazz musicians
• American male saxophonists
• American rhythm and blues musicians
• Bebop saxophonists
• Black & Blue Records artists
• Black Lion Records artists
• Jazz musicians from Texas
• JSP Records artists
• Jump blues musicians
• Muse Records artists
• Musicians from Houston
• New York blues musicians
• Pablo Records artists
• Rhythm and blues saxophonists
• West Coast blues musicians
• West Coast blues saxophonists