Dead Blues Guys or Searching for Furry's Grave

The Gardens have Flowers post below reminded me of the curious website, deadbluesguys. That in turn reminded me of an afternoon spent in Memphis Tennessee not so many years ago, with my honey Tuffy P and my pals Candy and Stagg searching for Furry Lewis's grave.

We located the Hollywood Cemetery in South Memphis. It looked abandoned and it looked as if it had suffered a flood. Tombstones were knocked over. Grass had not been cut. We searched for Furry's grave for a long time and could not find it. Perhaps the tombstone had been stolen or moved or vandalized. I understand the cemetery is in better shape now and Furry has a new tombstone. Even though we didn't find his grave, I'm glad we spent an afternoon looking for it, seeing a history of Memphis through this old cemetery.

Here's Furry, singing When I Lay my Burden Down


Furry Lewis was born March 6, 1893 and he died September 14, 1981. In a way Furry had two careers, as the blues revival of the 1960s swept him out of retirement. He even opened a couple times for the Rolling Stones, and played the Tonight Show - big times for this 1920s style Memphis songster. I always think of Furry Lewis when I think of Memphis.