Major "Big Maceo" Merriweather was born on March 31, 1905, and died on February 23, 1953. He was an American pianist and blues singer. During the 1940s, he worked mostly in Chicago.

Career

He was born in Newnan, Georgia, and learned to play the piano on his own. In the 1920s, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, to start his music career. In 1941, he moved to Chicago, where he met Tampa Red. Tampa Red introduced him to Lester Melrose of RCA Victor and its smaller record label, Bluebird Records. Melrose signed Merriweather to a recording contract.

His first record was "Worried Life Blues" (1941), which became a popular blues song and is still considered one of his most famous works. The song included musical ideas from Sleepy John Estes' "Someday, Baby." Other well-known piano blues recordings followed, such as "Chicago Breakdown," "Texas Stomp," and "Detroit Jump." Merriweather’s piano style was inspired by musicians like Leroy Carr, Roosevelt Sykes, Meade Lux Lewis, and Albert Ammons. He also influenced other musicians, including Little Johnny Jones and Henry Gray, who said Merriweather helped him begin his career as a blues pianist.

His style influenced many important blues pianists who lived after World War II. His most famous song, "Worried Life Blues," is still performed by artists like Eric Clapton. It was among the first songs inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in the category of Classic Blues Recordings – Singles or Album Tracks, along with "Stormy Monday," "Sweet Home Chicago," "Dust My Broom," and "Hellhound on My Trail."

Merriweather had a stroke in 1946. He died from a heart attack on February 23, 1953, in Chicago. He was buried at the Detroit Memorial Cemetery in Warren, Michigan.

His recordings for RCA Victor/Bluebird were released as a double album called Chicago Breakdown in 1975. These recordings have been reissued on other labels since then.

In 2002, Merriweather was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame after his death.

On May 3, 2008, the White Lake Blues Festival was held at the Howmet Playhouse Theater in Whitehall, Michigan. The event was organized by Steve Salter, an executive producer for the nonprofit group Killer Blues, to raise money for a headstone to mark Merriweather’s unmarked grave. The concert was successful, and a headstone was placed on his grave in June 2008.

Discography

• Jazz Classics No. 22 (RCA Victor, 1961)
• Black & White Vol. 9 (RCA, 1969)
• Big Maceo with Tampa Red in Chicago 1941–1946 (Sunflower, 1970)
• Chicago Breakdown (RCA, 1975)
• Bluebird No. 2: Big Maceo, vol. 1 (RCA, 1976)
• The Best of Big Maceo, vols. 1 and 2 (Arhoolie, 1984)
• Tampa Red/Big Maceo: Get It Cats! (Swingtime, 1989)
• The King of Chicago Blues Piano (Arhoolie, 1993)
• Worried Life Blues (Orbis, 1995)
• The Bluebird Recordings (RCA/Bluebird, 1997)
• The Essential Recordings of Tampa Red and Big Maceo (Indigo, 1999)
• The Best of Big Maceo with Tampa Red (Blues Forever, 2001)
• Chicago Piano, vols. 1 and 2 (Fabulous, 2003)
• Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume, vols. 1 and 2 (Document, 2004)