Music
Baby Boy Warren
1919–1977 · blues singer, guitarist
Memphis-raised guitarist and singer who worked at General Motors and became a leading figure of the 1950s Detroit blues scene.
- Born
Lake Providence, Louisiana- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 57- Birth name
- Robert Henry Warren
- Detroit years
- 1942–1977
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Raised in Memphis, Warren moved to Detroit in 1942 and, like many of his peers, combined a General Motors factory job with nights on the bandstand. His first sessions, in 1949 and 1950, produced five singles scattered across small labels. In 1954 he recorded with harmonica star Sonny Boy Williamson for Joe Von Battle's JVB label and for Excello, and the same year cut sides for Blue Lake with pianist Boogie Woogie Red and guitarist Calvin Frazier, a small circle that defined the local sound. His version of Robert Johnson's "Stop Breakin' Down" for the Drummond label is counted among his best work. After a quiet 1960s he returned at the Detroit Blues Festival in 1971, toured Europe with Boogie Woogie Red in 1972 and played the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in 1973. He died of a heart attack at home in 1977 and is buried at Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery.
Highlights
- First Detroit recordings in 1949–1950
- 1954 session with Sonny Boy Williamson for JVB and Excello
- Recorded with Boogie Woogie Red and Calvin Frazier for Blue Lake (1954)
- Comeback at the 1971 Detroit Blues Festival; European tour in 1972
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1954
Joe's Record Shop (Hastings Street)
Demolished · 1945–1960
Von Battle's Hastings Street shop, home of the JVB label that issued Warren's 1954 session with Sonny Boy Williamson.
Buried here · 1977
Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery
Warren was buried here after his death in July 1977.