Eddie Boyd

Eddie Boyd’s “Five Long Years,” recorded in 1951, stands among the rare postwar blues standards that still draw listeners across generations. B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Buddy Guy, and countless other blues artists have kept the song alive through faithful renditions, yet Boyd’s catalog holds many additional pieces steeped in late-night atmosphere and quiet intensity.

Born in the Mississippi Delta, Boyd left the region’s rigid segregation behind and headed first to Memphis. There he took up piano under the sway of Roosevelt Sykes and Leroy Carr before relocating permanently to Chicago in 1941. He soon joined the circle of musicians recording for Lester Melrose and contributed to sessions that defined the Bluebird sound, most notably backing harp master Sonny Boy Williamson on the 1945 classic “Elevator Woman” and lending support to Jazz Gillum and Tampa Red. Melrose also supervised Boyd’s own debut for RCA Victor in 1947; the pianist remained with the label until 1949.

To capture “Five Long Years,” Boyd financed the session himself and placed the track with JOB Records, where it reached the top of the R&B charts in 1952. Powerful Chicago disc jockey Al Benson then signed him to Parrot and quickly transferred the contract to Chess Records, launching a turbulent partnership with the city’s leading blues company. At Chess, Boyd scored further R&B successes in 1953 with “24 Hours” and “Third Degree” and cut numerous other Chicago blues sides. Persistent clashes with Leonard Chess prompted a move in 1959 to Narvel “Cadillac Baby” Eatmon’s Bea & Baby label, where he recorded eight tracks featuring guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood. An automobile accident in 1957 had already interrupted his momentum for a time, and subsequent releases appeared on a succession of smaller imprints.

Disillusioned by the racial climate he encountered at home, Boyd found Europe welcoming during the 1965 American Folk Blues Festival tour and settled in Belgium. Overseas he enjoyed the recording access long denied him in the United States, cutting two albums for producer Mike Vernon among many other sessions in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s he relocated to Helsinki, Finland, where steady club work and a comfortable life continued until his death.