(state) is a state with surprising blues activity, given its distance from cotton and tobacco production. Sisters Birleanna Blanks (born around 1889) and Arsceola Blanks (born 1888) hailed from Iowa, as apparently did Byron “Slick” Gipson (born 1930). Rev. F. W. McGee was based in Iowa in the early 1920s, as was pianist Eddie Morgan (1930s). Little Brother Montgomery worked in Iowa with the Southland Troubadours in 1932. Red Perkins and Percy Walker worked in Iowa in 1936. Iowa was the possible location of Wyatt Watson, who may have died in 1984. As of 2000, the main centers of black populations were Des Moines city (16,025), Waterloo city (9,529), Davenport city (9,093), Cedar Rapids city (4,481), Iowa City city (2,333), Sioux City city (2,047), Burlington city (1,354) and Ames city (1,343). Smaller centers included Fort Dodge city (952), Clinton city (893), West Des Moines city (868), Dubuque city (700), Coralville city (640), Council Bluffs city (614), and Cedar Falls city (568). Locations with less than 500 black residents in 2000 included Bettendorf city (494), Keokuk (446), Urbandale city (445), Marshalltown city (348), Mason City city (342), Anamosa city (333), Ottumwa city (318), Fort Madison city (286), Mount Pleasant city (279), Clarinda city (263), Muscatine city (245), and Ankeny city (206).
BLACK HAWK COUNTY
Cedar Falls city: place of death (1984) of guitarist Eddie Bowles.
Waterloo city featured: Al Anderson (drums); Eddie Bowles (later at Cedar Falls); Eddie Burns (to Detroit in about 1942); Butterbeans (Jodie) and Susie Edwards (1910); Cedar Valley Elks Lodge Drum and Bugle Corps; Sam Cockhren (bass); Windy Cole (guitar); Danny Cooper (drums); Randy Creighton (guitar); Eddie Culpepper (guitar); Maurice Culpepper (keyboards); W. C. Dalton (1970s); Leroy Denton (guitar); Lonnie Flowers (guitar); Ada Garland (1910 – sister of Susie Edwards); Sanomia Gordon (keyboards); David Graves (drums); Bud Harper (pre 1968); Madie Hawthorne (1910 – sister of Susie Edwards); Donald Ray Hill (singer, as at 1992); Kendrick Hill (drums); Louis Holmes (guitar); Earl Hooker (1960s); Frank Howard (keyboards); club owner Jimmie Hunt; Robert Lee Johnson; Louis McTizic; Lee Montgomery (drums); Bubba Phillips (bass); Club owner Roy Reynolds (Uptown Jazz and Blues Lounge, East 5th Street – died 1991); Aaron Roberts (guitar); Terry Scullark (bass); Hartsell Shirley (bass); John T. Smith (to Detroit about 1942); Odie C. Smith (drums); James Tanner (gospel); “Little Tommy Tucker” (Tommy Ison: 1960s); Frank Viviens (guitar); Odell Walker (bass); Tate Walker (bass); Etheleen Wright (guitar);
Waterloo: place of death (2003) of Louis McTizic;
BOONE COUNTY
Scandia (near Madrid): birthplace (1909) of Eddie Barefield.
CERRO GORDO COUNTY
Mason City city: nothing known.
CLINTON COUNTY
Clinton city: nothing known.
DES MOINES COUNTY
Burlington city: nothing known.
DUBUQUE COUNTY
Dubuque city: nothing known.
HENRY COUNTY
Mount Pleasant city: nothing known.
JASPER COUNTY
Newton: location (2000) of The Belairs.
Newton: site of the South Skunk Blues Society – web site http://showcase.netins.net/web/ssbs/.
JOHNSON COUNTY
Coralville city: nothing known.
Iowa City city: location (1920s) of Claxtonola label and National label; and (1930s) of “Scoops” Carry (at University of Iowa); and (1963) of Emmanuel Dunn.
Iowa City city: recording location (1965) of Son House (Flyright).
Iowa City city: place of death (1987) of Jimmy Holiday (alias James Brown).
JONES COUNTY
Anamosa city: nothing known.
LEE COUNTY
Fort Madison city: nothing known.
Keokuk city: nothing known.
LINN COUNTY
Cedar Rapids city: place of birth (1942) of Stephen Miller (later in Florida); (1954) of Dennis “Daddy O” McMurrin.
Cedar Rapids: location (1924) of the Majestic Theater, featuring Ethel Waters; location (1941) of Coleman Hawkins and Johnny Board; base (1985) of Airborne Midwest, a talent agency; location of Ron DeWitte; and of Billy Lee Janey.
Cedar Rapids: location (1996 onwards) of Linn County Blues Society – web site http://www.lcbs.org/.
MARSHALL COUNTY
Marshalltown city: nothing known.
MUSCATINE COUNTY
Muscatine city: nothing known.
PAGE COUNTY
Clarinda city: nothing known.
POLK COUNTY
Ankeny city: nothing known.
Des Moines city: location (1920s) of Charles Tyus and Effie Tyus, and presumably Horace George; (1926) of Eddie Barefield and Edgar Pillows; (1935) of Kathryn Perry with the Earl Hines band; (1950s) of Speckled Red; location (1963 and 1974) of record man William H. “Bill” Lasley of Success label/ Plywood Music, and previously of A M P 3 label; location (1964 and 1974) of bassist Francis Bates; location (1964) of Steiner Jackson, Speck Redd and Percy Walker; (2005) of Jimmy Pryor.
Des Moines city may be mentioned in the lyrics of Robert Johnson’s SWEET HOME CHICAGO.
Des Moines: location (2003) of Bread of Life COGIC – Pastor Steve Carter; Carter Memorial Temple COGIC – Pastor Aaron B. Carter, Jr.; Crane Chapel COGIC – Pastor – Supt. Jerald J Woods, Sr.; Mission Temple COGIC – Pastor James E. McNear;
DesMoines city: site (since 1992) of the Central Iowa Blues Society – web site http://www.cibs.org/.
Urbandale city: nothing known.
Valley Junction (West Des Moines): location (1928 to 1933) of guitarist George Duffield McGhee, father of Brownie and Sticks.
West Des Moines city: location (2003) of Prayer of Faith COGIC – Pastor Marion D. Eppright.
West Des Moines city: see Valley Junction.
POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Council Bluffs city: birthplace (1928) of twin brothers Addison Farmer and Art Farmer. Birthplace (1922) of drummer James Howard Herndon.
Council Bluffs city: location (2003) of Holy Ghost Temple COGIC – Pastor Mack Reed.
POWESHIEK COUNTY
Grinnell: location (1963) of Grinnell Folk Festival, featuring Walter Horton.
SCOTT COUNTY
Bettendorf: nothing known.
Davenport city: location (1991) of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society Festival, featuring Jack Owens and Bud Spires; (1994) of Dennis and Rufus DeShay; (2000) of D. C. Minner & Selby Minner.
Davenport city: site of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society – web site http://www.mvbs.org/.
Rock Island: location (2000) of Michael “Hawkeye” Herman.
STORY COUNTY
Ames city: nothing known.
Nevada city: place of death (1935) of Cecil Irwin.
Story City: birthplace (1885) of Andrae Nordskog, owner (1921) of the Nordskog label.
WAPELLO COUNTY
Ottumwa city: nothing known.
WEBSTER COUNTY
Fort Dodge city: location (2003) of Cornerstone COGIC – Pastor Dan Moseley.
WOODBURY COUNTY
Sioux City city: birthplace (1921) of Clarence “Big” Miller.
Sioux City city: location (2003) of Tabernacle of Faith COGIC – Pastor Willie Ford.
LB 105/18 and LB 133/