Grandpa Elliott - Sugar Sweet (2009)

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Grandpa Elliott - Sugar Sweet (2009)

Birth name Elliot Small AKA    Uncle Remus but better known as Grandpa Elliott was a veteran street-musician in New Orleans, Louisiana. He played the harmonica, sang, and was a street icon in New Orleans.

Small developed the persona of Grandpa Elliott, an old man dressed in blue denim overalls, a bright red shirt, Santa beard, and a floppy hat who played blues harp and sang for the street traffic on his corner at Royal and Toulouse streets in the French Quarter, right where he started out. He often teamed with guitarist Michael “Stoney B” Stone and they have become an institution in New Orleans for the people who stopped to listen to them and throw change in their bucket. His act was even written up in The New York Times in 1995. He arrived here most mornings by taxi and spent his days singing his soulful songs and playing his harmonica. It's the place where everybody knows his name. "When I feel sick, I come out here to feel better," he said. "The French Quarter is my medicine." Small said he doesn’t even know what beer tastes like and he’s never touched drugs and the only thing he smoked was the exhaust from the cars that pass Royal and Toulouse.

His listeners rewarded him with dollar bills and treasures, like the gold wedding band he wore on his finger. "A lot of people walk around with plastic now instead of cash, so they throw what they can," he said. "Some of the rings I get out of my bucket even have diamonds on them."

Small did not completely lose his sight to glaucoma until 2005. It was in that year that recording engineer and producer Mark Johnson launched a project called Playing for Change, dedicated to promoting international unity through music. He began recording performances by street performers from around the world. Johnson heard Small sing the Ben E. King hit "Stand by Me" and immediately recorded him singing the tune on Royal Street, making his performance the centerpiece of a video featuring performances of the number by a handful of artists.

In 2009, after the "Stand by Me" video was posted online, it racked up 177,097,721 plays on YouTube (March 9, 2022), and suddenly Small had an international audience. Small signed on for a tour with a band of musicians affiliated with the Playing for Change project. He has also been on The Tonight Show and The Colbert Report. He performed to a crowd of more than 40,000 at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, on June 30, 2009, playing the "Star Spangled Banner" on harmonica and singing "God Bless America." Later that same year, the Playing for Change Band came to New Orleans to accompany Small on his debut CD Sugar Sweet, released November 3, 2009, an eclectic collection that includes gospel, blues, soul and what Small called "some strong love songs." Keb Mo' also accompanied on the album.

Small is the first artist to be signed to Playing for Change Records/Concord Music Group. The whole experience taught him to trust people again. "Mark Johnson changed my life," he said. "He made me lift my head up." Small has been featured on Playing for Change in several episodes.

♬ ♪ ♫ Grandpa Elliott - Sugar Sweet ♫ ♪ ♬

Track Listing:
01. Ain't Nothing You Can Do (04:44)
02. This Little Light of Mine [Medley] (04:10)
03. Sugar Is Sweet (04:12)
04. Baby, What You Want Me To Do (04:08)
05. We're Gonna Make It (03:27)
06. Share Your Love With Me (04:28)
07. Another Saturday Night (03:14)
08. Fannie Mae (05:13)
09. Please Come Home For Christmas (04:02)

Total Playtime: 37:38

| Genre: Soul | Label: Playing For Change Records | MP3: VBR0 (245~320kbps) | Scans: ☑ Front @1500px | Size: 77.68 MB |

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Cheers,
Bam