"The Blues Doctor" is a title familiar to many throughout the Carolinas, and it belongs to the one and only Drink Small.
Born in 1933 to a family of musicians and sharecroppers in Bishopville, SC, Small taught himself to play his uncle's one-string guitar by the age of seven. He began performing professionally as a gospel musician, first recording with a group called The Siritualaries in 1956. He later toured with The Staples Singers and Same Cooke.
By 1959, Small turned his focus to blues music, becoming famous for his basso profundo voice, his Piedmont style guitar playing, and his charismatic stage presence. The jokes and stories he worked into his performances would come to be referred to as "Drink-isms."
Small was named a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow in 2015.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of the ColaJazz Foundation and SC Public Radio. Support for this program is made possible in part by Fox Music House of Columbia and Charleston.