Emmett Chappelle Famous For

Emmett Chappelle is a popular folk/blues singer and guitarist from Tampa, Florida, United States. He has sold millions of records for Stax Records that include The McCoys, Dolly Parton, Bob Marley, and Uncle Dave and the MG's, among others. He has released six albums on the now-defunct Black Tiger Records, and is one of the most successful African American singers of the 1950s and '60s. There are few successful blues artists who are as widely known for their musical exploration as Chappelle.

Born to his parents, Ernest Abner and Bessie Mae Chappelle, E.A. was raised in Tampa during the last days of the Fifties and early Sixties. He earned his first guitar performance, when he was only twelve years old. When he wasn't recording his songs, he was playing blues clubs in Tampa with his local following.

After his parents divorced, E.A. struggled against his second experience of not having a father in his life, but with the struggles of his environment, he made good on being raised by his mother. She had another child, a daughter who later became a famous singer in his home town of Memphis, Tennessee. E.A. sang gospel and blues and mostly avoided singing blues guitar or blue grass. In an interview with blues musician Steve Goodman, he said, 'I had a rough childhood, with racial profiling.'

While growing up he attended Baptist and Bible college until he received his B.A. degree in education from the University of Memphis in 1970. After finishing school he moved to Miami, Florida, where at that time he was playing at various dives on V.I.P. and smoking cigarettes. After a year off, he moved back to Tampa where he was playing alongside musicians like Chicago's Ernie Whitmore and Dr. John, and even started his own group called "Stomp" with their fellow musicians.

Chappelle also dabbled in rock music as a member of The Tommy Smith's Band, and got into recording blues more seriously. In Tampa he worked with another blues legend, Pee Wee Ckoll, as lead singer of 'Pee Wee's Lass Man,' which featured singers such as "Hard Rock" Will Jones and Jim Edwards.