Arvella Gray

African-American singer and guitar player, born January 28, 1906, in Somerville, Texas, died September 7, 1980 in Chicago, with a reportoire mixing blues, folk and gospel songs. Gray lost eyesight and two fingers on his left hand in a shotgun accident in 1930. Moved to Chicago in the 1930s, playing for tips on Maxwell Street or on public transportation systems. He was recorded by Paul Oliver and John Steiner (2) in 1960, by Swedish radio in 1964, and released singles on his own Gray label in mid-1960s. A full LP followed on Birch in 1972.