Bluesman Skeeter Brandon at Canyons Saturday Keyboardist Part of the Junaluska Blues Festival By Jeff Eason Skeeter Brandon is a living link between the gritty blues players of the 1950s and the more polished performers who crossed into the mainstream in the 60s and 70s. Like many rhythm and blues singers of the era, he began his craft singing in the choir of his neighborhood church and eventually became a professional performer destined to see more gigs on a Saturday night than on a Sunday morning. Bluesman Skeeter Davis will perform with his band at Canyons of the Blue Ridge on Saturday, July 17 starting at 10 p.m. Admission is $5 per person. Skeeter Brandon, a living rhythm & blues legend in North Carolina, will perform at the Junaluska Blues Festival and at Canyons of the Blue Ridge this Saturday. “My real name is Calvin Thomas Brandon but my stage name is Skeeter,” said Brandon in a 1998 interview with England’s Juke Blues Magazine. “When I was in school everyone always called me Skeeter. I was born in Halifax, Virginia. Shortly after I was born, my parents moved to Richmond. We moved to North Carolina a year later—a place called Roxboro.” Brandon grew up on a farm in Roxboro and his father farmed and worked as a carpenter. His dad also was a musician who played guitar and blues harp around the house introducing the younger Brandon to both gospel music and the blues. Blind since infancy, the music was a comfort to Skeeter and the one thing that he felt he could make a career of. “I went to the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh from the age of six years old,” said Brandon. “That was 1954 and I stayed there until I finished twelve years in 1966. That’s where I learned to play the piano. We had a school band, a glee club, and music was what most of the students got into.” After finishing school, Brandon moved to Goldsboro and started performing with a band called The Soul Stars with his friend Jasper Jackson, now a member of the Staple Singers. Brandon’s big break came when he and Jackson joined popular soul singer Clarence Carter. “You know Clarence is blind, Jasper’s blind, and I was blind,” said Brandon. “We got a chance to hang out together and talk. Whatever Clarence did, he would include us with him. He looked out for us on the road.” Carter had already had some success with the song “Slip Away” and with Brandon on keyboards he recorded more hits including “Sixty Minute Man” and “Kept On Smilin’.” After leaving Carter’s band, Brandon hooked up with another successful outfit, the Chi-Lites. He was a mainstay with the band during the 70s when they recorded hits such as “Have You Seen Her” and “Oh Girl.” These days he continues to make great music and cut records with his own band. He lives in Durham with his wife Vanessa. For more information, contact Canyons of the Blue Ridge in Blowing Rock at (828) 296-7661. Junaluska Blues Festival Saturday Brandon will also perform on Saturday, July 17 in Boone as part of the Junaluska Heritage Foundation Blues Festival. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Junaluska Park and tickets are $15 at the door. This year’s festival is nicknamed “Thrill on the Hill.” In addition to Brandon, the Junaluska Blues Festival features headliner and North Carolina Folk Heritage Award winner Etta Baker, Melissa Reaves, the Jeb Holmes Band, Hope Massive, Jodie Manross, and The Lazybirds. The Junaluska Heritage Foundation Blues Festival 2004 is sponsored by Laurel Ridge Homes, Charter Communications, WECR, WATA, WMMY and Grapevine Music. Advance tickets are on sale for $10 per person and Grapevine Music, MPrints and Fat Cats Video and Music.