Washboard Sam
b. Robert Young, 5 June 1900, Marshall, Texas, USA, d. 2 June 1990, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Young was a trumpeter, trombonist, guitarist, drummer, singer and comedian on travelling circuses and medicine shows, settling in North Carolina in the '30s. A stroke temporarily limited his musical scope, and he concentrated on the washboard, which he adorned with frying pans and cowbells. He played with Blind Boy Fuller, Buddy Moss, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, recording behind the last three in 1941. He settled in Philadelphia in the '40s, playing in the streets and occasionally at coffee houses and festivals.