Biography
Born on 10 June 1907 in Memphis, Tennessee, Little Laura Dukes entered the world of performance at an early age and remained active in the city’s entertainment circles for decades. Although her father had played drums in W.C. Handy’s band, she gravitated toward the rawer sounds of local jug bands rather than more polished styles. With the Will Batts Novelty Band she contributed vocals along with banjo and ukulele, and the group cut two sides in the early 1950s that stayed unreleased for another twenty years. Renewed attention to blues and related forms in the 1970s prompted further recording sessions from Dukes, who also took part in a BBC Television series. Even into the 1980s she continued to appear onstage in Memphis, notably at the Blues Alley club, which had been founded specifically to highlight the city’s blues artists.
Albums
