Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes

By: Greg Johnson

Article Reprint from the November 1999 BluesNotes
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It is a true sign of personal love for a musician's craft when he cares more for the enjoyment of his audience than his own personal gain. A desire to give his all with every performance to ensure that any witness to his show goes away with a feeling that they have received their money's worth and that the individual performer has given them their all. This was the lifetime philosophy of Roosevelt "Booba" (pronounced "Booby") Barnes, a seldom recorded artist whose shows were of legendary status throughout the Mississippi Delta and in Chicago.

Roosevelt Melvin Barnes was born in the town of Longwood, Mississippi, about 18 miles outside of Greenville, on September 25, 1936. His family worked in the local cotton fields, as well as raising hogs. A young Roosevelt had even lost a portion of one finger when a hog bit him while he and his father attempted to ring the animal's nose. His older brother, Leroy, served time in the military and also played professional baseball. While he played ball in the winter leagues of South America, Leroy would send home harmonicas to his brother. Roosevelt became infatuated with the instrument and soon his participation in the fields became marred as he spent his time dancing and playing between the rows. These actions earned him his nickname "Booba" when his brother claimed that he was "worse than a booby trap."

When Booba was about 13 years old, he began to frequent the streets of Greenville and Belzoni, where he came into contact with the local Blues musicians. Harp players like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), as well as guitarist Elmore James, began to impress their skills on him. Barnes would attempt to imitate the style of Williamson during these early years, but it was when he made the acquaintance of Howlin' Wolf that he met the influence that would remain with him the rest of his life. The two became close friends and many who heard Booba sing were mesmerized at how close he could sound like his mentor. Even Wolf made the acknowledgement and called Barnes "Little Wolf".

At the age of 17, Barnes decided to seek his fortune as a Blues musician and became a regular performer in the clubs on Greenville's famed Nelson Street. Here he would play in local bands with Charlie Booker, Bill Wallace and The Jones Brothers, led by his brother-in-law, Little Jerry Jones. This music would consist mostly of B.B. King numbers, whose music was sweeping the area by storm at the time. Barnes was already building upon his playful reputation as he began wearing brightly colored suits while swinging from the rafters playing harp at one Greenville club.

In 1958, Barnes moved to St. Louis where his brother was playing for the Cardinals. During this time, the city's Blues scene was dominated by Albert King and Little Milton, and occasionally Barnes found himself being asked to sit in with them. But, he became frustrated when he could not find a guitarist that could play the patterns he desired, so he took up the instrument himself. Not wishing to copy the styles of any other artist, he created a sound that came directly from his heart. As a guitarist, his playful antics increased as he was soon duck-walking, playing with his teeth, between his legs and even lying on his back.

The stay in St. Louis was short-lived though, and he returned to Greenville in the early 1960s. When he returned, the harmonica once again became his primary instrument. Soon he was working with guitarist Smokey Wilson and he would eventually form his own group, The Swinging Gold Coasters.

The lure of Chicago would occasionally beckon for Booba and he made several attempts to make it in the city. He traveled there in 1963 and made some recordings with The Jones Brothers, but sadly these sides have never been released. While there, Little Jerry Jones introduced Booba to his childhood hero Little Walter, and he asked Walter to allow Booba to sit in for a number. Walter was skeptical, but after one listen to Barnes on the harmonica he became convinced of his talent and would even go on to call Booba his "son." In 1968, Barnes broke up The Swinging Gold Coasters and moved to Chicago where he worked as a popular performer and sought-after sideman.

Returning to Greenville in 197 1, he played in a number of clubs over the years, sometimes alongside guitarist T-Model Ford. In 1985, he purchased a former used furniture store on Nelson Street and converted it into his own club which he called The Playboy Club. Soon Barnes and the house-band, The Playboys, became a well known attraction and found requests to play throughout the South, Midwest and East Coast.

In 1990, Booba was given the opportunity to record his first and only full-length LP, "The Heartbroken Man". Released by Rooster Blues, the debut was the first Blues recording by a Mississippi artist on the fledgling label. It was well-received by critics and fans alike, and Roosevelt soon found himself in demand on both sides of the Atlantic. Also in 1990, Blues journalist Robert Palmer began filming his documentary "Deep Blues" and captured Barnes and The Playboys live in The Playboy Club. Three numbers were also included in the film's soundtrack and would prove to be the final releases by Barnes available to the market.

Booba Barnes had once again relocated to Chicago in the early 1990s so he could be more accessible to the venues demanding his presence. In 1995, he was diagnosed with severe lung cancer and the disease quickly sapped him of his energy. After fighting the illness for a year, Roosevelt Barnes died in a Chicago nursing home on April 2, 1996.

Robert Palmer described Booba in his liner notes to "Deep Blues": "To call him a flamboyant showman would be an understatement. He twists, he turns, he drops to his knees, he plays one-handed, and he picks more guitar with his teeth and tongue than many more celebrated Bluesmen who use their fingers." Many of his contemporaries believed that Booba may have even been able to out-perform his mentor Howlin' Wolf in the end. But, it was never Barnes' desire to do any more than satisfy his fans. Despite never receiving the world-wide recognition of his heroes, Barnes always kept his professional demeanor and never disappointed an audience.

Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes

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