Biography
Born on 18 May 1900 in Hughes, Arkansas, Ernest Lawlars died in Memphis, Tennessee, on 14 November 1961. While his greatest recognition came through his work alongside his wife Memphis Minnie, Lawlars had already spent years performing as a blues guitarist and singer in the Memphis vicinity before their partnership, including an earlier stint accompanying Rev. Robert Wilkins on a 1935 recording session. He joined Minnie in the late 1930s, stepping into the role previously held by her former husband and collaborator Joe McCoy. Following McCoy’s example, Lawlars released his own discs, among them the well-known ‘Black Rat Swing’, though he devoted most of his efforts to supporting parts on dozens of sides that spanned the greater part of the 1940s and the first years of the decade after. Once their standing in Chicago declined, the couple returned to Memphis and stepped away from music during the 1950s.