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.
Plymouth Rock Blues
Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got so many chickens, can't tell my roosters from my hens
I got to go back now, and look 'em all over again
I found my rooster this morning by looking at his comb
I found my rooster this morning by looking at his comb
You can look out now, pullets, it won't be long
My hens all cackling, I can't find no eggs
You ain't got no excuse now, pullets, ain't nothing in your way
I'm gonna take this old hen, I'm go down to the doctor's shop
I'm gonna take this old hen, I'm go down to the doctor's shop
I don't see what's the matter with 'em, they won't bip a bop
I done told you one time, papa, I don't want my chicken meat
I done told you one time, papa, I don't want my chicken meat
I don't want them banty's mixed up with my dominiques
Shoo, chickens, shoo, I don't want no banty's on my yard
Shoo, chickens, shoo, I don't want no banty's on my yard
I don't want them banty's mixed up with my Plymouth Rocks
In "Plymouth Rock Blues," Memphis Minnie describes the challenges of managing a large flock of chickens. She has so many chickens that she can't distinguish between her roosters and hens, so she has to go back and carefully examine each one to tell them apart. She has to rely on different indicators to identify her birds, such as their combs. Despite her efforts to maintain order, she faces other problems, such as her hens all cackling without laying any eggs. She decides to take one hen to the doctor's shop to try to figure out what's wrong with it. Near the end of the song, she asserts her preference for certain types of chickens, particularly the Plymouth Rocks, and warns against allowing other breeds to mix with them.
Line by Line Meaning
I got so many chickens, can't tell my roosters from my hens
I have so many chickens that I can no longer distinguish the male from the female, they all look alike. I have to go back and check them again to properly identify each one.
I found my rooster this morning by looking at his comb
I have so many chickens that I had a hard time recognizing my rooster, but eventually found him by noticing his comb. Girls out there, keep an eye out for him, he'll be getting with you soon enough.
My hens all cackling, I can't find no eggs
My hens are making too much noise without producing any eggs. Pullets, you are out of excuses now, there should be nothing preventing you from laying eggs.
I'm gonna take this old hen, I'm go down to the doctor's shop
I'm taking an old hen to the doctor for a check-up because there seems to be something wrong with it, it won't make any sound.
I done told you one time, papa, I don't want my chicken meat
I said it once and I'll say it again, I do not want to eat my own chickens. I don't want the bantam chickens mixed up with the Plymouth Rocks.
Shoo, chickens, shoo, I don't want no banty's on my yard
I don't want the bantam chickens on my premises, they need to go. I don't want them mixing with my Plymouth Rocks.
Contributed by Evan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.