CURTIS OBEDA:
Before I moved back down to Chicago, I was livin' in Minneapolis and playin' with a fella named Big Walter Smith. Now Walter had grown up in Kansas City and was very popular down there. And at one point he found a guy in the park who did not have a gig. His tour had broke down---his promoters and his management, they'd messed things up. And he was actually homeless, living in the park. And that man was Albert Collins.
And he didn't know 'im, they were just friends. Albert never said he was a guitar player, and my buddy Big Walter never said he was a singer. And...they used to come to the park and they'd chat, and they might play some dominos or just talk about bein' from---Albert was from Houston and my friend was from Oklahoma...
Walter needed a bass player, and the only guy who was with him was a guitar player who was willin' to play bass with Big Walter. And Albert said, "Well, would you mind if I came to sit in, too?" He [Walter] said, "Well, you know we have two guitar players already and I don't know that we need to have ya," thinkin' that he wasn't any good. Finally he said, "Oh, he's such a nice guy," and agreed to let him sit in.
Well, of course, Albert Collins came---tore the bar down---and Walter hired 'im, and he played with him for many years after that or knew 'im as a friend.
And so, when I played with Big Walter, Albert was his lifelong friend. And I got a chance to meet 'im. And Albert treated me as a stepson, almost. Used to---when I lived in Chicago...when he would leave from Chicago to come to Minneapolis, he'd always make sure, if I wasn't workin', that he said, "I'm goin' to Minneapolis. You gotta go visit your mother." And he'd come to my house and pick me up and he'd take me up to Minneapolis.
And I learned so much from Albert...I learned how to play dominos. Now, that cost me a lot o' money, I might add. 'Cause Albert was really the best at it. But the biggest thing that I learned from Albert Collins was---if you are a beautiful person, good luck will come to you.
This is a man who---he was a great musician---and things hadn't been goin' well for 'im. He was a house painter at one point, even after havin' hit records and not gettin' paid. And he just sorta walked into this situation, and his talent came out, and as we all know, when he passed away he was one of the biggest stars on the blues circuit. And his passing has left me very empty to this day. Because I've never met a man who was more concerned about other people than Albert Collins.
And I've also never met anybody who played in that wacky tuning!
...I still can't play at all like Albert, but he is truly one of the people that I learned the most from about the blues. (7/15/00 AE)
Before I moved back down to Chicago, I was livin' in Minneapolis and playin' with a fella named Big Walter Smith. Now Walter had grown up in Kansas City and was very popular down there. And at one point he found a guy in the park who did not have a gig. His tour had broke down---his promoters and his management, they'd messed things up. And he was actually homeless, living in the park. And that man was Albert Collins.
And he didn't know 'im, they were just friends. Albert never said he was a guitar player, and my buddy Big Walter never said he was a singer. And...they used to come to the park and they'd chat, and they might play some dominos or just talk about bein' from---Albert was from Houston and my friend was from Oklahoma...
Walter needed a bass player, and the only guy who was with him was a guitar player who was willin' to play bass with Big Walter. And Albert said, "Well, would you mind if I came to sit in, too?" He [Walter] said, "Well, you know we have two guitar players already and I don't know that we need to have ya," thinkin' that he wasn't any good. Finally he said, "Oh, he's such a nice guy," and agreed to let him sit in.
Well, of course, Albert Collins came---tore the bar down---and Walter hired 'im, and he played with him for many years after that or knew 'im as a friend.
And so, when I played with Big Walter, Albert was his lifelong friend. And I got a chance to meet 'im. And Albert treated me as a stepson, almost. Used to---when I lived in Chicago...when he would leave from Chicago to come to Minneapolis, he'd always make sure, if I wasn't workin', that he said, "I'm goin' to Minneapolis. You gotta go visit your mother." And he'd come to my house and pick me up and he'd take me up to Minneapolis.
And I learned so much from Albert...I learned how to play dominos. Now, that cost me a lot o' money, I might add. 'Cause Albert was really the best at it. But the biggest thing that I learned from Albert Collins was---if you are a beautiful person, good luck will come to you.
This is a man who---he was a great musician---and things hadn't been goin' well for 'im. He was a house painter at one point, even after havin' hit records and not gettin' paid. And he just sorta walked into this situation, and his talent came out, and as we all know, when he passed away he was one of the biggest stars on the blues circuit. And his passing has left me very empty to this day. Because I've never met a man who was more concerned about other people than Albert Collins.
And I've also never met anybody who played in that wacky tuning!
...I still can't play at all like Albert, but he is truly one of the people that I learned the most from about the blues. (7/15/00 AE)