Big Maceo Merriweather
Major "Big Maceo" Merriweather was born on 31/03/1905 in Newnan, Georgia. His full birth name was Major Merriweather. He taught himself how to play the piano. His piano style was influenced by players such as Leroy Carr Roosevelt Sykes, Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons. In the 1920s, Merriweather moved to Detriot, Michigan. There he would start his music career.In 1941 he moved to Chicago. In Chicago, he met the blues musician Tampa Red. Red introduced Merriweather to Lester Melrose of Bluebird Records. Melrose signed Merriweather to Bluebird. In the same year, he released his first record called "Worried Life Blues". The song became a hit and the song he was most known for. It was in the first batch of songs inducted into Classic Blues Recordings section of the Blues Hall of Fame. He released more songs such as "Chicago Breakdown", "Texas Stomp", and "Detroit Jump".
In 1946, Mayweather suffered a stroke.
On 23/02/1953 Merriweather died of a heart attack in Chicago.
Merriweather would be highly influential amongst postwar blues pianists.
In 2002, Major Merriweather was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
In 2008, the White Lake Blues Festival was organised by the organisation Killer Blues. Proceeds from the event went towards honouring Merriweather's grave with a headstone.