Scrapper Blackwell

Francis Hillman "Scrapper" Blackwell (February 21, 1903 – October 7, 1962) was an American blues guitarist and singer, best known as half of the guitar-piano duo he formed with Leroy Carr in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

He was a 2024 inductee to the Blues Hall of Fame.

Career Blackwell was born in Syracuse, South Carolina, an unincorporated settlement in Darlington County. He was one of 16 children of Payton and Elizabeth Blackwell, and is reported to have been part Cherokee. He grew up in and spent most of his life in Indianapolis, Indiana, to which he moved at the age of three. His father played the fiddle, but Blackwell was a self-taught guitarist, the result was "How Long, How Long Blues", the biggest blues hit of that year.

Blackwell also made solo recordings for Vocalion, including "Kokomo Blues", which was transformed into "Old Kokomo Blues" by Kokomo Arnold and later reworked as "Sweet Home Chicago" by Robert Johnson. Blackwell and Carr toured throughout the American Midwest and South between 1928 and 1935 as stars of the blues circuit, recording over 100 sides. "Prison Bound Blues" (1928), "Mean Mistreater Mama" (1934), and "Blues Before Sunrise" (1934) were popular tracks. His stature as a musician can be seen by Bob Dylan's comment: "There is a strong line in all our music that can be traced back directly to Scrapper Blackwell. He was a truly great musician who did deserve more than was ever given him".