Tiny Grimes

Born in Newport News, VA, in 1916, Tiny Grimes was a versatile guitarist in the 1940s and early 1950s, and played as part of Art Tatum's trio. He could play both four- and six-string guitar, although he had originally started out as a pianist and drummer, switching to guitar in the mid-'30s. He played in a succession of jazz groups and trios in the 1940s, eventually forming the Tiny Grimes Quartet in 1944 (one of its members was Charles Parker). It was for his R&B group The Rockin' Highlanders--they often wore kilts during their performances--that Grimes became best-known for, however, They were one of the first acts signed to Atlantic Records in 1947. In 1952 Grimes hired Screamin' Jay Hawkins as his pianist and main vocalist. Hawkins stayed with the group for a year before striking out on his own. Grimes and his band toured all through the 1950s. In the 1970s he disbanded the group and went back to a solo career, although he did play with such noted jazz artists as Roy Eldridge and Lloyd Glenn. He stayed pretty much in the New York club scene, occasionally releasing albums on such smaller labels as Muse and Sonet. He died in New York City in 1989.