Joe McCoy

Joe McCoy (born May 11, 1905 – died January 28, 1950) was an African American blues musician.

Joe McCoy played music under a variety of stage names but is best known as "Kansas Joe McCoy." Born in Raymond,

Joe McCoy (born May 11, 1905 – died January 28, 1950) was an African American blues musician.

Joe McCoy played music under a variety of stage names but is best known as "Kansas Joe McCoy." Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he was the older brother of blues accompanist Papa Charlie McCoy. As a young man, he was drawn to the music scene in Memphis, Tennessee where he played guitar and sang vocals during the 1920s. He teamed up with future wife Lizzie Douglas, a brilliant guitarist known as Memphis Minnie, and their 1929 recording of a song called "Bumble Bee" on the Columbia Records label was a hit. In 1930, the couple moved to Chicago where they were an important part of the burgeoning blue scene. Following their divorce, McCoy teamed up with his brother to form a band known as the "Harlem Hamfats" that performed and recorded during the second half of the 1930s.