Eddy 'The Chief' Clearwater Tributes Planned In Evanston, Skokie

SKOKIE, IL — The late Chicago blues legend and Skokie resident Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, is being remembered at a pair of weekend events on the North Shore. Clearwater, who died last year, would have turned 84 on Friday.

The 2016 inductee of in the Blues Hall of Fame was born Eddy Harrington in Macon, Mississippi and moved to Skokie more than two decades ago from Westmont, where he received the key to the village in 2017.

In 2018, Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen declared Jan. 6 to be Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater Day. He described Clearwater, who had been set to be Grand Marshal at the village's Fourth of July Parade last year, as "a living legend still representing Chicago blues at its finest [and] embracing the village of Skokie," Pioneer Press reported.

According to the New York Times, Clearwater moved to Chicago in 1950 and played his final show in the city 68 years later, performing until 2 a.m. on May 19 at Buddy Guy's Legends. He died June 1.

"Chicago lost one of our legendary blues musicians, innovators and ambassadors to the world," said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "Eddy 'The Chief' Clearwater leaves behind a legacy that includes 17 albums, countless shows and a lifetime of songs that gave a voice to the soul of the city he loved."

Clearwater had been working on the song entitled, "Skokie A First Class Town" with his nephew, Ronnie Baker Brooks, but it is remained in his journal and was never recorded, according to his former publicist Lynn Orman Weiss.

“It’s just a song I had in my head. I was just playing around with it,” Clearwater told Blues Blast Magazine. “I said, ‘I’ve been all around the world, when I settle down; I’ll settle down in Skokie because Skokie is a first-class town.’ I was just kidding around. I said, ‘I think I’ll make a song out of that!’”

Tribute events have been planned in Evanston and Skokie over Clearwater's birthday weekend:

On Saturday, a group of Chicago blues musicians will perform at Evanston SPACE where Clearwater held birthday shows for the past 10 years after becoming one of the first bluesmen to perform at the 1245 Chicago Ave. location and recording his final record, Soul Funky, at the venue on his 79th birthday, according to Orman Weiss.

The Jan. 12 birthday tribute will feature two sets performed by those who knew Clearwater well, including Georgia bluesman Sammy Blue, Billy Branch on harmonica, as well as Jimmy Johnson and Dave Spector. The band will featuring 16 original Clearwater songs as well as other classic blues tracks.

Clearwater's widow, Renee Greenman Harrington, will carry on the tradition of cake served between the sets of the event, while Orman Weiss plans to show a photo montage and video of her boss of a dozen years during intermission. Clearwater's stage attire will be auctioned to benefit The Blues Foundation.

The show, which begins at 8 p.m., will be recorded for broadcast later this year on Hambone's Blues Party WDCB Radio.

Then on Sunday, a tribute to Clearwater is planned from 3 to 6 p.m. the Euro Echo Café at 7919 Lincoln Ave., presented with the WNUR Blues Show 89.3 FM . A gallery show featuring photos of Clearwater and friends from his private home collection has been curated for the event.

Hosted by Clearwater's neighbors, Lynn Orman Weiss, Richard Reeder and Tony Fernandez, the event is open to the public and will feature opening remarks from Van Dusen, an open mic blues jam with the Eddy Clearwater Band and an acoustic set by Sammy Blue.

The photo exhibit will include shots of Clearwater in his signature flamboyant costumes, which often included feathered headdress, from Chicago's stages and festivals taken by Howard Greenblatt, Peter Hurley, Karen and Mike Murphy, Roman Sobus, Lynn Orman Weiss, Allen Winkler, Steven I. Wolf and Renee Greenman.

More information is available at Eddy Clearwater's website