Snooks Eaglin
Fird Eaglin Jr. (January 21, 1936 or 1937 – February 18, 2009), known as Snooks Eaglin, was an American guitarist and singer based in New Orleans. In his early years he was sometimes credited under other names, including Blind Snooks Eaglin, "Lil" Snook, Ford Eaglin, Blind Guitar Ferd.
Snooks Eaglin | |
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Eaglin in 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Fird Eaglin Jr. |
| Born | January 21, 1937 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | February 18, 2009 (aged 72) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1953–2008 |
| Labels | Money Pit, Black Top, various |
His vocal style was reminiscent of that of Ray Charles; in the 1950s, when he was in his late teens, he sometimes billed himself as "Little Ray Charles". He played a wide range of styles of music within the same concert, album, or even song: blues, rock and roll, jazz, country, and Latin. In his early years, he also played acoustic blues.
His ability to play a wide range of songs and make them his own earned him the nickname "The Human Jukebox." Eaglin claimed in interviews that his musical repertoire included some 2,500 songs.
At live shows, he usually did not prepare set lists and was unpredictable, even to his bandmates. He played songs that came to him on stage, and he also took requests from the audience.