Arthur Duncan was born in Indianola, Mississippi, in 1934. He was raised on the Woodburn Plantation, where B.B. King grew up. Arthur began his musical career as a drummer, but after he moved to Chicago in 1950, he met Little Walter and took up the harmonica. For a while during the 1950s, Arthur shared a house with Little Walter and Jimmy Reed. During these years Arthur sang and played in blues clubs all over Chicago. Most of the time he had his own band, but often he would work with artists such as Hip Linkchain, John Brim, and Floyd Jones. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Arthur worked construction jobs during the week, and played blues around Chicago on weekends. By the 1989s he was working regularly as some of Chicago's premier blues clubs, including Kingston Mines, Rosa's, B.L.U.E.S. on Halstead, and Lilly's. In 1989 he recorded an album called Bad Reputation for Blues King Records. Problems with Arthur's teeth kept him from performing during the early 1990s. But in 1998 he acquired a whole new set of pearly whites, and he has returned to the blues scene with a vengeance. This was particularly good timing for Little Arthur, since Cannonball Records released four tracks from Bad Reputation on their CD titled Blues Across America--The Chicago Scene. Recorded at Famous Dave's BBQ in Chicago, IL July 7, 1999 (3 & 4) and September 21, 1999 (except 3 & 4) 1. Mama, Talk To Your Daughter J.B. Lenoir (6:02) 2. Pretty Girls Everywhere Church/Williams (4:51) 3. Asked Her For Water C. Burnett (5:17) 4. I'm A King Bee J. Moore (5:14) 5. Forty Four R. Sykes (5:32) 6. Had Nowhere To Go A. Duncan (6:24) 7. Going On Main Street Morganfield (5:15) 8. Duncan Donuts A. Duncan (3:51) 9. Going Through Mississippi A. Duncan (7:12)
