Bill Text: IL SR0243 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of Eddie C. Campbell.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-03-21 - Resolution Adopted [SR0243 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SR0243-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
3 | learn of the death of Eddie C. Campbell, who passed away on | ||||||
4 | November 20, 2018 at the age of 79; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Eddie Campbell was born in Duncan, Mississippi on | ||||||
6 | May 6, 1939 to parents who were sharecroppers; when he was six, | ||||||
7 | he moved with his family to Chicago, where his mother bought | ||||||
8 | him his first guitar and took him to the old 1125 Club on West | ||||||
9 | Madison Street; shortly after, she introduced him to her | ||||||
10 | friend, Muddy Waters, and by the age of 12, he was sitting in | ||||||
11 | with Waters's band; and
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12 | WHEREAS, As a teenager, Eddie Campbell played in a band | ||||||
13 | with his neighbor, Luther Allison, and later with Little | ||||||
14 | Walter, who was known for revolutionizing the harmonica; he | ||||||
15 | also played sideman with Howlin' Wolf and Little Johnny Taylor; | ||||||
16 | he had a knack for boxing and won 16 heavyweight fights in a | ||||||
17 | row and was once booked to fight a Golden Gloves match against | ||||||
18 | a young Cassius Clay, later known as heavyweight champion | ||||||
19 | Muhammad Ali; his professional boxing career came to an end | ||||||
20 | when he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident; and
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21 | WHEREAS, In 1963, Eddie Campbell became the bandleader for | ||||||
22 | Jimmy Reed and adopted Reed's minimalist guitar playing and |
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1 | slurred singing style; he also played with Willie Dixon's | ||||||
2 | Chicago Blues All Stars and Koko Taylor; during this time, he | ||||||
3 | was known to dress, drive, and perform flamboyantly; he rode a | ||||||
4 | purple Honda 750 motorcycle; speaking with a newspaper, he once | ||||||
5 | said, "I have my own true sound"; he also noted, "I write my | ||||||
6 | own music, I arrange my own music, from bass to the horns," not | ||||||
7 | as a blues purist but with hints of rock; in 1977, he released | ||||||
8 | his first LP, King of the Jungle, and the cover featured him in | ||||||
9 | a fur vest with a full Afro; the opening track of the album, | ||||||
10 | Santa's Messing with the Kid, became a Christmas staple and was | ||||||
11 | covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd; and
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12 | WHEREAS, In the 1980s, Eddie Campbell was in Europe, | ||||||
13 | touring and living in the Netherlands and Germany; while | ||||||
14 | overseas, he met his wife, Barbara, who became his manager; | ||||||
15 | they returned to the United States in 1992; he then released | ||||||
16 | several more albums, including the last two with Chicago's | ||||||
17 | historic Delmark Records; his final album, Spider Eating | ||||||
18 | Preacher, was released in 2012 and earned a 2013 American Blues | ||||||
19 | Award nomination for best traditional blues album; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Eddie Campbell suffered through health | ||||||
21 | difficulties that limited his guitar playing in 2013; however, | ||||||
22 | he still played the harmonica and sang during appearances in | ||||||
23 | the Chicago area; he "epitomized the West Side sound, which | ||||||
24 | included R&B and soul," and while he had an excellent voice, he |
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1 | was an acclaimed guitarist and songwriter; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Eddie Campbell is survived by his wife, Barbara; | ||||||
3 | his daughter, Sheba; and his son, David; therefore, be it
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4 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
5 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
6 | Eddie C. Campbell and extend our sincere condolences to his | ||||||
7 | family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it | ||||||
8 | further
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9 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
10 | presented to the family of Eddie Campbell as an expression of | ||||||
11 | our deepest sympathy.
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