Lizzie Douglas was born on June 3, 1897 in Algiers, Louisiana. She was the eldest from her 13 other siblings. Her parents Abe and Gertrude Douglas nicknamed her the Kid during her early childhood. At the age of 7 she and her family moved to Walls, Mississippi, which was just south of Memphis. The following year after she moved, she received her first guitar for Christmas. She began to practice and learn how to play both the banjo and the guitar and it was seen that she had a great talent as a musician. When she first began performing she did not use her first name Lizzie, but played under the name Kid Douglas. When she was 13 years old she ran away from her home to live on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. She would play on street corners for most of her teenage years and would eventually go home when she ran out of money. She began to get noticed singing and playing guitar on the street corners. This brought an opportunity for her to tour, travel, and play with the Ringling Brothers Circus. Eventually she came back to Beale Street and got consumed in the blues scene. At the time, women, whiskey, and cocaine were high in demand with the people and places she would be around. She made her money by playing guitar, singing, and prostitution, which was not uncommon at the time. Most of the female performers were prostitutes because of financial desperation. It was said “She received $12 for her services-an outrageous fee for the time.” (Memphis Minnie Biography,1). She was known as a woman that was very strong and that could take care of herself.
She had been married three times in her life; first with Will Weldon sometime in the 1920s, then Joe McCoy (1929–1934), and finally to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe), in 1939. She and McCoy would perform together during their marriage. During this time, a talent scout from Columbia Records discovered her. When she and McCoy went to record in New York, she decided to change her name to Memphis Minnie. During the next few years she and McCoy released many singles and duets. She released the song “Bumble Bee” in 1930, which ended up being one of her favorite songs, and led her to a recording contract with the label Vocalion. Under this label, they continued to produce recording for two years, one of them being “I’m Talking About You”, which was one of her more popular songs. They soon decided to leave Vocalion and move to Chicago. She and McCoy introduced country blues to the urban environment and became very well known.
Memphis Minnie continued to have success throughout the years recording under many different labels like Decca Records and Chess Records. Some believe her fame was the reason for her divorce with McCoy due to jealousy and resentment towards her. She remarried after to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe) and began recording material with him. She became very well known in the blues industry and ended up being one of the most famous blues performers of all time, competing with both men and women.
She continued to record throughout the 50’s, but her health began to become a problem for her. She retired from her musical career and ended up going back to Memphis. “Periodically, she would appear on Memphis radio stations to encourage young blues musicians. As the Garons wrote in Women With Guitar, 'She never laid her guitar down, until she could literally no longer pick it up.'” She suffered a stroke in 1960, which caused her to be bound by wheelchair. The following year her husband, Earnest “Little Son Joe” Lawlars died. She had another stroke a short while after and eventually ended up in the Jell Nursing Home. She could no longer survive on her social security income so magazines wrote about her and readers sent her money for assistance. On August 6, 1973 she died of a stroke. She was buried in an unmarked grave at the New Hope Cemetery in Memphis. A headstone paid for by Bonnie Raitt was erected by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund on October 13, 1996 with 35 family members in attendance including her sister, numerous nieces (including Laverne Baker) and nephews. Her headstone is marked:
Lizzie "Kid" Douglas Lawlers
aka Memphis Minnie
The inscription on the back of her gravestone reads:
"The hundreds of sides Minnie recorded are the perfect material to teach us about the blues. For the blues are at once general, and particular, speaking for millions, but in a highly singular, individual voice. Listening to Minnie's songs we hear her fantasies, her dreams, her desires, but we will hear them as if they were our own."
After her death some of her old work began to surface and some of her songs were featured on blues compilations. She was one of the first 20 blues artists that were inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.
Ice Man
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All I need now to get my ashes hauled
Then I'm gonna strut my stuff
Yes, I'm gonna strut my stuff
I'm gonna strut my stuff, everywhere I go
Well my coal man here, I gets up plenty of steam
My ice man nice, only what I need
Then I'm gonna strut my stuff
Yes, I'm gonna strut my stuff
I'm gonna strut my stuff, everywhere I go
Ice man ice man, come on up
You know my box is hard to fill up
Then I'm gonna strut my stuff
Yes, I'm gonna strut my stuff
I'm gonna strut my stuff, everywhere I go
""Spoken: Oh, let's strut our stuff!""
Ice man, ice man come but don't get rough
If you start anything I'm gonna strut my stuff
Then I'm gonna strut my stuff
Yes, I'm gonna strut my stuff
I'm gonna strut my stuff, everywhere I go
Ice man, ice man, stop knockin' on my door
I ain't got no money and don't come back no more
Then I'm gonna strut my stuff
Yes, I'm gonna strut my stuff
I'm gonna strut my stuff, everywhere I go
Looka here, ice man, look like you're so hard to please
But if you come upstairs, I'll give you all you need
Then I'm gonna strut my stuff
Yes, I'm gonna strut my stuff
I'm gonna strut my stuff, everywhere I go
""Spoken: Come on, ice man, get it.""
The lyrics to Memphis Minnie's "Ice Man" are a playful and suggestive depiction of a woman's admiration of her ice and coal delivery men. Knowing that both the ice and coal men are necessary for her daily life, she expresses both gratitude and playfulness. She wants to ""get her ashes hauled"" and strut her stuff "everywhere I go." It is clear that she is not bothered by the presence of these men, and indeed finds them appealing. She tells the ice man to "come upstairs, I'll give you all you need," playfully suggesting that their relationship might be more intimate than just a business transaction. Throughout the song, the woman maintains a sense of power and independence - telling the ice man not to become "rough," and dismissing him when he knocks on her door to demand payment.
Line by Line Meaning
I got ice man in the spring, coal man in the fall
I have different men for different seasons, one for ice in the warmer months and one for coal in the colder months
All I need now to get my ashes hauled
All I need now is some action, romance or sex
Then I'm gonna strut my stuff
Then I'm going to confidently show off and enjoy myself
Yes, I'm gonna strut my stuff
Yes, I'm going to confidently show off and enjoy myself
I'm gonna strut my stuff, everywhere I go
I'm going to confidently show off and enjoy myself in any situation or place
Well my coal man here, I gets up plenty of steam
My coal man knows how to keep the fire going and heat things up
My ice man nice, only what I need
My ice man provides just enough to keep me cool and comfortable
Ice man ice man, come on up
Ice man, please come and bring me what I need
You know my box is hard to fill up
You know that I have high standards and it takes a lot to satisfy me
Ice man, ice man come but don't get rough
Ice man, come but don't be aggressive or forceful
If you start anything I'm gonna strut my stuff
If you try to mess with me or make trouble, I'll confidently show you that I won't take it
Ice man, ice man, stop knockin' on my door
Ice man, stop bothering me and trying to get my attention
I ain't got no money and don't come back no more
I don't have any money to give you, and I don't want you to come back again
Looka here, ice man, look like you're so hard to please
Ice man, it seems like you have high standards and are difficult to satisfy
But if you come upstairs, I'll give you all you need
But if you come upstairs, I'll show you that I can provide everything you need
Come on, ice man, get it.
Come on, ice man, let's do this and have a good time
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAWLERS, MINNIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind