Freeman Davis, better known as
Brother Bones, was a whistler and player of the
bones.
As his story goes, he started in Montgomery, Alabama, hearing his mother whistle. He made his way to Long Beach, California, where he was a shoe-shining entertainer called Whistling Sam. Somewhere along the way, he gained popularity with the bones as Brother Bones, leading a group called Brother Bones and His Shadows, as heard here in
Rosetta and
Listen To The Mockingbird. Their
1948 instrumental version of
the 1920s jazz standard Sweet Georgia Brown was chosen as the theme song for the
Harlem Globetrotters. Brother Bones was also
featured in the
blackface minstrel show movie,
Yes Sir, Mr. Bones. Freeman Davis died in 1970, and in 2002 he was paid tribute at the
Rhythm Bones Society's
Bones Fest 6, honoring the 100th anniversary of his birth.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Dec 8, 2010 -
6 comments
