Louisiana Red

Born Iverson Minter, Louisiana Red earned a reputation as a flamboyant guitarist, harmonica player, and vocalist. Multiple tragedies struck early: his mother succumbed to pneumonia one week after his arrival, and the Klu Klux Klan lynched his father when the boy was five.

He cut his first sides for Chess in 1949 before enlisting in the Army. Following his discharge, Red spent nearly two years working alongside John Lee Hooker in Detroit during the late ’50s. Throughout the ’60s and ’70s he logged further studio dates for Chess, Checker, Atlas, Glover, Roulette, L&R, Tomato, and additional imprints.

In 1981 he relocated to Hanover, Germany, where he sustained an active recording and touring career across subsequent decades and into the new millennium. Among his twenty-first-century releases were Driftin’ on Earwig in 2001, A Different Shade of Red on Severn in 2002, Bad Case of the Blues on Mojo Tone in 2004, No Turn on Red on Hightone plus Hot Sauce on Red Lightnin’ in 2005, and 2008’s Back to the Black Bayou—captured in Norway with producer/guitarist Little Victor—on Ruf. A thyroid imbalance triggered a stroke that claimed his life in Germany in 2012.