Background
Webb was born in Jackson, Mississippi.
Webb was born in Jackson, Mississippi.
His music combined Mississippi country blues with New Orleans Rhythm & Blues. His best-known recordings were "Bad Dog" and "Drinkin" and Stinkin"". Despite a lengthy (albeit stuttering) career, Webb released only one album. His got his first guitar at the age of eight, made from a cigar box and strung with screen wire.
His greatest influence was Tommy Johnson.
He subsequently appeared briefly in the musical film The Jackson Jive. He moved New Orleans in 1952.
In 1953 Webb released his debut single, "Bad Dog," a noncommercial slice of country boogie-woogie. Frustrated by lack of recognition, Webb relocated to Chicago, where he worked in various factories.
There he met and sat in with Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, and Chuck Berry.
Webb returned to New Orleans in 1959 to work as a stevedore, performing music infrequently. The 1972 compilation album The Legacy of Tommy Johnson contained five tracks performed by Webb. Exposure at home and in Europe led to visits to Webb from blues fans and invitations to tour.
In 1982 he appeared at the Utrecht Festival, in the Netherlands.
In 1989, with financial assistance from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, he released the album Drinkin" and Stinkin". His experience of encountering three drunken women, who had been out drinking for three days without bathing, inspired the lyrics of the title track.
Webb died in New Orleans in August 1990, at the age of 66.