Biography
Born on December 20, 1907, in Wallace, Louisiana—roughly thirty miles from New Orleans—Cousin Joe emerged as an early architect of piano blues. His family relocated to the city when he turned twelve, where a strict Baptist upbringing soon gave way to immersion in the jazz drifting from local clubs. Picking up guitar and ukulele, he earned his keep performing on riverboats throughout the 1930s. In 1941 he headed to St. Louis to join Sidney Bechet’s ensemble, then shifted to New York three years later. That New York stretch proved his richest era for recording; under a string of aliases—Smiling Joe, Pleasant Joe, Brother Joshua, and Cousin Joe—he cut sides for King, Gotham, Philo, Savoy, and Decca. Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Earl Bostic, Clark Terry, and Lightnin’ Hopkins numbered among the artists he accompanied there. Back in New Orleans after 1947, he worked the clubs through the 1950s and 1960s, punctuated by occasional European tours, before slipping into semi-retirement during the following decade.
His first paid performance had come at age seven, when he sang for church offerings; the arrangement lasted only a year, ending once he declined to become a member. At seventeen, still billed as Smiling Joe—a nickname bestowed by a woman who noticed his constant smile—he played Saturday-night fish fries in neighborhood backyards, where catfish cake outsold every other dish. The moniker stayed with him for thirty-seven years. At twenty-one he teamed with two dancers under the name Hats, Coats, & Greens; while they danced, he strummed ukulele and crowds tossed coins at their feet. Louis Prima offered to book the trio in New York, yet Joe’s mother vetoed the plan. He eventually reached the city on his own and remained three or four years, coming close to replacing Deek Watson in the Ink Spots until the group’s manager decided he did not match the desired image. Danny Barker, then touring with Cab Calloway, introduced him to Clarke Monroe—the sole Black owner of a 52nd Street club, the Spotlight—as “Cos,” short for cousin; the tag outlasted every previous nickname. In New York he finally set aside guitar and ukulele, pawning both instruments after concluding he could not rival the era’s leading blues guitarists.
Returning to New Orleans, he maintained a steady schedule of performances until 1973, when he stepped away to draw Social Security. Unreported juke-joint dates and European tours continued on the side. Before B.B. King’s mainstream breakthrough, many listeners considered Cousin Joe the finest blues singer alive. He died on October 2, 1989, at the age of eighty-two. The 1974 Big Bear Records album Gospel-Wailing, Jazz-Playing, Rock N’ Rollin’ Soul-Shouting, Tap-Dancing Bluesman from New Orleans contains the track “How Come My Dog Don’t Bark at You No More,” a clear distillation of his classic piano-blues approach.
His first paid performance had come at age seven, when he sang for church offerings; the arrangement lasted only a year, ending once he declined to become a member. At seventeen, still billed as Smiling Joe—a nickname bestowed by a woman who noticed his constant smile—he played Saturday-night fish fries in neighborhood backyards, where catfish cake outsold every other dish. The moniker stayed with him for thirty-seven years. At twenty-one he teamed with two dancers under the name Hats, Coats, & Greens; while they danced, he strummed ukulele and crowds tossed coins at their feet. Louis Prima offered to book the trio in New York, yet Joe’s mother vetoed the plan. He eventually reached the city on his own and remained three or four years, coming close to replacing Deek Watson in the Ink Spots until the group’s manager decided he did not match the desired image. Danny Barker, then touring with Cab Calloway, introduced him to Clarke Monroe—the sole Black owner of a 52nd Street club, the Spotlight—as “Cos,” short for cousin; the tag outlasted every previous nickname. In New York he finally set aside guitar and ukulele, pawning both instruments after concluding he could not rival the era’s leading blues guitarists.
Returning to New Orleans, he maintained a steady schedule of performances until 1973, when he stepped away to draw Social Security. Unreported juke-joint dates and European tours continued on the side. Before B.B. King’s mainstream breakthrough, many listeners considered Cousin Joe the finest blues singer alive. He died on October 2, 1989, at the age of eighty-two. The 1974 Big Bear Records album Gospel-Wailing, Jazz-Playing, Rock N’ Rollin’ Soul-Shouting, Tap-Dancing Bluesman from New Orleans contains the track “How Come My Dog Don’t Bark at You No More,” a clear distillation of his classic piano-blues approach.
Albums
