Stick McGhee
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'''Granville "Stick" Henely McGhee''' ([[March 23]] [[1917]] – [[August 15]] [[1961]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[guitarist]] ([[Brownie McGhee]]'s younger [[sibling|brother]]) best known for his [[blues]] [[song]] "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", one of the [[first rock and roll song|earliest prototypical rock and roll songs]], which [[Jerry Lee Lewis]] and [[Mike Bloomfield]]'s [[The Electric Flag|Electric Flag]] (as "Wine") [[cover version|covered]]. The song lent its name to the alcoholic fruit drink "[[spodi]]"; the ''spo-dee-o-dee'' was a [[scat]] substitute for the original ''[[motherfucker]]''{{Fact|date=June 2008}}.
==Career==
He earned his [[nickname]] 'Stick', from pushing his [[Poliomyelitis|polio]]-stricken older brother [[Brownie McGhee|Brownie]] through the streets of Kingsport, on a cart that he propelled with a [[stick]].
McGhee grew up in [[Kingsport, Tennessee|Kingsport]], [[Tennessee]] and first [[sound recording and reproduction|recorded]] "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" - which his future [[record label]], [[Atlantic Records]], said he adapted from a drinking song he heard in the [[United States Army|Army]] - in 1947 to little fanfare. The track was credited as being [[songwriter|written]] by McGhee and [[J. Mayo Williams]]. A re-make in 1949 (as Stick McGhee and his Buddies) became a [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] [[hit record|hit]].
His crisp [[guitar]] work may be heard on on some of [[Sonny Terry]]'s 1947 [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] sessions.<ref name="russell">{{cite book
| first= Tony
| last= Russell
| year= 1997
| title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
| edition=
| publisher= Carlton Books Limited
| location= Dubai
| pages= p. 143
| id= ISBN 1-85868-255-X}}</ref>
1951's "Tennessee Waltz Blues" was another hit, as were several following [[single (music)|singles]], including "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," "Jungle Juice", "Double Crossin' Liquor" "Six to Eight" and "Head Happy with Wine".
'Stick' McGhee died of [[lung cancer]] in [[1961 in music|1961]] in [[New York City|New York]]<ref>[http://wc04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=STICK|MCGHEE&sql=11:wifyxqegld6e~T1 All Music Guide biography]</ref>, and he was interred at the [[Long Island National Cemetery]].
==See also==
*[[List of polio survivors]]
*[[List of current Atlantic Records artists]]
*[[List of people from Tennessee]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/sticksmcghee.txt Fansite biography]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13731990 Photo]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:aeu1z8ba8yv4~T1 All Music Guide biography]
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGhee, Stick}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:American blues guitarists]]
[[Category:Lung cancer deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Long Island National Cemetery]]
[[fr:Stick McGhee]]