Boogie Woogie Red

Boogie Woogie Red

Though a Louisiana native, Vernon Harrison has been associated with the Detroit blues sound as long as anyone. A Motor City resident since 1927, he began performing in the local clubs as a teenager. As a sideman he worked locally with Sonny Boy Williamson, Baby Boy Warren, and John Lee Hooker. Despite Red's renown for the blues and boogie-woogie style that earned him his nickname, he has recorded only a few times as a featured artist, and aside from a bit of European touring in the '70s, he has remained a local Detroit treasure, rarely appearing outside the area. Jim O'Neal