TRANSCRIPT:
I'm Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Little Pink Anderson was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on July 13, 1954. From infancy, he was immersed in music as the son of legendary bluesman Pink Anderson. He danced at fairs by the age of three and played the guitar on recordings before he turned ten. Growing up around blues greats like Peg Leg Sam, Anderson’s early career saw him touring with Clarence Carter by the time he was fifteen. His compositions include “I Just Want to Go,” “Pain,” “Sittin’ Here Singing the Blues,” and “Willie Mae.”
His journey was not without hardships—he spent much of the 1970s incarcerated and stepped away from music in 1979. But in 1997, he returned to the stage alongside harmonica player Freddy Vanderford, performing at festivals and reviving his father's blues legacy.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.