# Lefty Bates > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lefty_Bates > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lefty_Bates.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefty_Bates > Source revision: 1346152614 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Lefty Bates** (March 9, 1920 – April 7, 2007)[2] was an American [Chicago blues](/source/Chicago_blues) guitarist. He led the Lefty Bates Combo and worked with the [El Dorados](/source/The_El_Dorados), the [Flamingos](/source/The_Flamingos), [Jimmy Reed](/source/Jimmy_Reed), [John Lee Hooker](/source/John_Lee_Hooker), [Buddy Guy](/source/Buddy_Guy), [Etta James](/source/Etta_James), the Aristo-Kats, the Hi-De-Ho Boys, the Moroccos, and the [Impressions](/source/The_Impressions).[2] A regular on the Chicago blues scene, his major work was as a [session musician](/source/Session_musician) on numerous recordings in the 1950s and 1960s.[1] Bates was married to the locally well-known club dancer Mary Cole Bates, who died in 2001.[3] ## Biography He was born **William H. Bates** in [Leighton, Alabama](/source/Leighton,_Alabama). He acquired his nickname from his left-handed guitar playing.[2] He was raised in [St. Louis, Missouri](/source/St._Louis,_Missouri), and attended [Vashon High School](/source/Vashon_High_School), where was a founder of the Hi-De-Ho Boys.[4] In 1936, they relocated to Chicago, recorded for [Decca Records](/source/Decca_Records) and played in clubs. After serving in the military in [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Bates joined the Aristo-Kats, who recorded for [RCA Victor](/source/RCA_Records).[1] Bates formed an [ensemble](/source/Musical_ensemble) with [Quinn Wilson](/source/Quinn_Wilson), and they played locally through most of the 1950s. Their few recordings were issued by [United](/source/United_Records), Boxer, Mad and Apex Records, under Bates's name. Most of his paid work came from regular performances in clubs and as a [session musician](/source/Session_musician), notably as a rhythm guitarist with [Jimmy Reed](/source/Jimmy_Reed) and [Buddy Guy](/source/Buddy_Guy).[1] He undertook other work with [Larry Birdsong](/source/Larry_Birdsong) and Honey Brown. His versatility led to employment as part of the studio band for [Vee-Jay Records](/source/Vee-Jay_Records), with [Red Holloway](/source/Red_Holloway) and [Vernel Fournier](/source/Vernel_Fournier), among others.[4] Most of the musicians there had earlier worked for [Chance Records](/source/Chance_Records), backing [Jimmy Reed](/source/Jimmy_Reed) and the [Spaniels](/source/The_Spaniels). Vee-Jay's financial strength helped them survive, and the studio band was expected to back diverse musicians on an ad hoc basis, including R&B, [blues](/source/Blues), [jazz](/source/Jazz) and [doo-wop](/source/Doo-wop) artists.[1] In 1955, [The El Dorados](/source/The_El_Dorados) found national success with "[At My Front Door](/source/At_My_Front_Door)", on which Bates played guitar, and which peaked at number one on the *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))* [R&B](/source/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs) [chart](/source/Record_chart).[5][6] From 1955, Bates worked in a similar manner with another Chicago-based record label, Club 51,[4] where he had the luxury of leading the Lefty Bates Orchestra. At Club 51 he backed the Five Buddies and [Sunnyland Slim](/source/Sunnyland_Slim).[1] In 1957, Bates and [Earl Hooker](/source/Earl_Hooker) backed the singer [Arbee Stidham](/source/Arbee_Stidham) on his recording of "Look Me Straight in the Eye".[7] In 1959, Bates played with Reed on his recording of "[Baby What You Want Me to Do](/source/Baby_What_You_Want_Me_to_Do)". In March 1960, he was part of the backing trio for [John Lee Hooker](/source/John_Lee_Hooker) on his album *[Travelin'](/source/Travelin'_(John_Lee_Hooker_album))*.[8] In 1961, he performed on Hooker's *[The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker](/source/The_Folk_Lore_of_John_Lee_Hooker)* and with Jimmy Reed on the album *[Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall](/source/Jimmy_Reed_at_Carnegie_Hall)* and played on Reed's recording of "[Big Boss Man](/source/Big_Boss_Man_(song))". Bates died of [arteriosclerosis](/source/Arteriosclerosis) in Chicago in April 2007, aged 87.[2] ## Discography **With [John Lee Hooker](/source/John_Lee_Hooker)** - *[Travelin'](/source/Travelin'_(John_Lee_Hooker_album))* (Vee-Jay, 1960) - *[The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker](/source/The_Folk_Lore_of_John_Lee_Hooker)* (Vee-Jay, 1961) '**With [Jimmy Reed](/source/Jimmy_Reed)** - *[Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall](/source/Jimmy_Reed_at_Carnegie_Hall)* (Vee-Jay, 1961) - *[Jimmy Reed Plays 12 String Guitar Blues](/source/Jimmy_Reed_Plays_12_String_Guitar_Blues)* (Vee-Jay, 1963) - *[The New Jimmy Reed Album](/source/The_New_Jimmy_Reed_Album)* (BluesWay, 1967) - *[Soulin'](/source/Soulin')* (BluesWay, 1967) - *[Big Boss Man](/source/Big_Boss_Man_(Jimmy_Reed_album))* (BluesWay, 1968) ## See also - [List of Chicago blues musicians](/source/List_of_Chicago_blues_musicians) ## References 1. Chadbourne, Eugene. "Lefty Bates: Biography". [Allmusic](/source/Allmusic).com. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 1. Doc Rock (2007). ["The Dead Rock Stars Club: 2007, January to June"](http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/2007.html). TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Accessed October 13, 2011. 1. Jensen, Trevor (April 19, 2007). ["William H. 'Lefty' Bates: 1920–2007"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/04/19/william-h-lefty-bates-1920-2007/). *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*. Retrieved 2011-10-14. 1. Pruter, Robert & Campbell, Robert L. ["The Club 51 Label"](http://campber.people.clemson.edu/club51.html). Hubcap.clemson.edu. Retrieved October 13, 2011. 1. Pruter, Robert (1996). *Doo-Wop: The Chicago Scene*. Champaign: University of Illinois Press. p. 113. ISBN 0-252-02208-4. 1. Whitburn, Joel (1996). *Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995*. Record Research. p. 133. 1. Danchin, Sebastian (2001). [*Earl Hooker, Blues Master*](https://books.google.com/books?id=-G76U3ikkFAC&pg=PA108). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. p. 108. ISBN 1-57806-306-X. 1. Gioia, Ted (2008). [*Delta Blues: The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music*](https://archive.org/details/deltablueslifeti0000gioi). New York: W. W. Norton. p. [257](https://archive.org/details/deltablueslifeti0000gioi/page/257). ISBN 978-0-393-06258-8. ## External links - [Club 51 Records discography](http://www.globaldogproductions.info/c/club_51.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lefty Bates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefty_Bates) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefty_Bates?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.