Easy Baby

Born Alex Randall or Randle, August 3, 1934, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Died September 25, 2009 after suffering from pneumonia
Chicago blues artist, harmonica, drums, bass.
For the first seven years of his life he lived in Michigan City, Mississippi, with his grandmother and uncle, before moving back to Memphis to start school. Both his grandmother and uncle were harmonica players, so it was natural for Easy Baby to pick up the harmonica himself. In the early 1950's, when Easy Baby was still a teenager, he began playing professionally around Memphis while working a variety of odd jobs, including installing floors and shining shoes. Playing in the juke joints and gambling houses in Memphis, he befriended Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, and Joe Hill Louis, among others. Involved in West Memphis blues scene before moving to Chicago in 1956. Throughout the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's Easy Baby sang and played all over Chicago, while working as a mechanic. In later years, he performed sporadically. His most notable appearances were at the Chicago Blues Festival in 1998, 2000, and 2003.Producer Steve Wisner first heard him at the Rat Trap club in the mid-70s. Randle recorded a few tracks with Wisner, which eventually appeared on harp anthologies on Barrelhouse and Rooster Blues; in 1978 he released an LP of his own, Sweet Home Chicago Blues, on Barrelhouse Records. Aanother full-length, Hot Water Cornbread and Alcohol, recorded for St. George in the late 90s, was never released. Recorded release If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another on the Wolf label.

For more information on Easy Baby's life, check out Living Blues Magazine #144, which contains a lively interview.