Full Text of SR0243 101st General Assembly
SR0243 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Eddie C. Campbell, who passed away on | 4 | | November 20, 2018 at the age of 79; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Eddie Campbell was born in Duncan, Mississippi on | 6 | | May 6, 1939 to parents who were sharecroppers; when he was six, | 7 | | he moved with his family to Chicago, where his mother bought | 8 | | him his first guitar and took him to the old 1125 Club on West | 9 | | Madison Street; shortly after, she introduced him to her | 10 | | friend, Muddy Waters, and by the age of 12, he was sitting in | 11 | | with Waters's band; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, As a teenager, Eddie Campbell played in a band | 13 | | with his neighbor, Luther Allison, and later with Little | 14 | | Walter, who was known for revolutionizing the harmonica; he | 15 | | also played sideman with Howlin' Wolf and Little Johnny Taylor; | 16 | | he had a knack for boxing and won 16 heavyweight fights in a | 17 | | row and was once booked to fight a Golden Gloves match against | 18 | | a young Cassius Clay, later known as heavyweight champion | 19 | | Muhammad Ali; his professional boxing career came to an end | 20 | | when he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, In 1963, Eddie Campbell became the bandleader for | 22 | | Jimmy Reed and adopted Reed's minimalist guitar playing and |
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| 1 | | slurred singing style; he also played with Willie Dixon's | 2 | | Chicago Blues All Stars and Koko Taylor; during this time, he | 3 | | was known to dress, drive, and perform flamboyantly; he rode a | 4 | | purple Honda 750 motorcycle; speaking with a newspaper, he once | 5 | | said, "I have my own true sound"; he also noted, "I write my | 6 | | own music, I arrange my own music, from bass to the horns," not | 7 | | as a blues purist but with hints of rock; in 1977, he released | 8 | | his first LP, King of the Jungle, and the cover featured him in | 9 | | a fur vest with a full Afro; the opening track of the album, | 10 | | Santa's Messing with the Kid, became a Christmas staple and was | 11 | | covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, In the 1980s, Eddie Campbell was in Europe, | 13 | | touring and living in the Netherlands and Germany; while | 14 | | overseas, he met his wife, Barbara, who became his manager; | 15 | | they returned to the United States in 1992; he then released | 16 | | several more albums, including the last two with Chicago's | 17 | | historic Delmark Records; his final album, Spider Eating | 18 | | Preacher, was released in 2012 and earned a 2013 American Blues | 19 | | Award nomination for best traditional blues album; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Eddie Campbell suffered through health | 21 | | difficulties that limited his guitar playing in 2013; however, | 22 | | he still played the harmonica and sang during appearances in | 23 | | the Chicago area; he "epitomized the West Side sound, which | 24 | | included R&B and soul," and while he had an excellent voice, he |
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| 1 | | was an acclaimed guitarist and songwriter; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Eddie Campbell is survived by his wife, Barbara; | 3 | | his daughter, Sheba; and his son, David; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 5 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 6 | | Eddie C. Campbell and extend our sincere condolences to his | 7 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | 8 | | further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 | | presented to the family of Eddie Campbell as an expression of | 11 | | our deepest sympathy.
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