Blues Guitarist Mel Brown Passes Away

Legendary Blues Guitarist Mel Brown died on March 20, 2009 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 69. He had been admitted to the intensive care unit at a local hospital on March 1 with a collapsed lung and sadly never made it home.

Mel Brown devoted his life to playing with a style and grace that endeared him to audiences worldwide. Soft spoken and humble, he will be remembered as one of the most talented blues guitarists that ever came out of the Mississippi Delta.

Brown was born in Jackson, Mississippi on October 7, 1939 and resided with his wife in various music centers like Los Angles, Nashville and Austin, Texas, before settling down in Kitchener in 1999.

Besides working on television performing on the Steve Allen Show, the Bill Cosby Show and the Jerry Lewis Telethon, Brown recorded several albums on the World Pacific jazz label in the late 60s and early 70s.

During the 1980s, Brown was a member of the house band at Antone’s Night Club in Austin and he also toured with the Silent Partners. The Silent Partners recorded one album, which is available on Antones Records.

Mel Brown and the Homewreckers cut their first LP in 1998 called “Live At Wally’s” and in 2001, Brown and the Homewreckers released the critically acclaimed album, “Neck Bones and Caviar” which was awarded the W.C. Handy Award for the “Best Comeback Album of the Year” and was also nominated for a Juno Award for “Best Blues Album of the Year” in Canada.

In addition to his legendary work with the Homewreckers, Brown released several albums with Snooky Pryor, including “Double Shot,” “Snooky Pryor and the Mississippi Wrecking Crew” and most recently recorded with Snooky Pryor for the live LP called “Mojo Ramble.”

Brown has played and recorded with a long list of famed musicians including: B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson, Johnny Otis, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Etta James, Bobby Blue Band, Buddy Guy and many, many more.

Although his health had been declining in recent years, he never stopped playing and his influence and his love for the music will live on for decades to come.