SNOOKS EAGLIN (1936 ⎯ 2009)

Snooks Eaglin at the 2006 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (with George Porter, Jr. on bass)

There’s some sad news from New Orleans. Snooks Eaglin, the blind bluesman who was one of this country’s greatest musical treasures, passed away today. He had a unique guitar style that influenced countless players, and a stage presence that won him fans around the world. He was known as “the human jukebox” due to his ability to play anything at any time, but always in his own style. One of his best known recordings was “Funky Malaguena,” which was just what the title indicates: the flamenco standard played with a decidedly New Orleans beat.

I was lucky enough to see him for the first time when I was still an impressionable teenager and learning that there was a lot of great music that wasn’t on mainstream radio. I saw him many times through the years, the last time being at the 2006 JazzFest. He never failed to leave me in awe.

An obit from WWOZ (the world’s greatest radio station) can be found here.

Below, enjoy Snooks.