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Sherman “Nick Charles” Shelby Jr.

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Sherman “Nick Charles” Shelby Jr.

Birth
Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi, USA
Death
2 Jul 2014 (aged 70)
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Burial
Dolton, Cook County, Illinois, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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Chicago blues musician: bass guitar. Originally brought to Chicago in 1962 by Howlin' Wolf, he became a fixture in Billy Branch's Sons of Blues band.

Mr. Shelby was born in Vicksburg on Oct. 10, 1943, to Sherman and Rose Ethel Shelby, and attended St. Mary Catholic School and Vicksburg public schools.

Known professionally as "Nick Charles," he was an international musician and bass player, who left Vicksburg at age 15 to play music professionally. He was brought to Chicago by blues legend Howlin' Wolf, who gave Sherman his first bass guitar and amplifier.

During his career, he played with Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Tina Turner, Eddie Shaw, Earl Hooker, L.V. Banks, Roy Hytower, Son Seals, Valerie Wellington and the Rolling Stones. The last 20 years of his career, he played with Billy Branch, a three-time Grammy nominee and a retired Grammy governor who was discovered by Willie Dixon, the "father of modern Chicago Blues."

He passed on July 2, 2014 after a year and a half battle with cancer.

Survivors include his wife, Diane of Chicago; three children, Cynthia of Yazoo City, Nick of Texas, and Nickey of Chicago; three sisters, Charlie Mae Anderson, Rosemary Johnson, and Barbara Jean Shelby, all of Vicksburg; and other relatives, including the Anderson, Johnson, Shelby, Caldwell, and Gibbs families.
Chicago blues musician: bass guitar. Originally brought to Chicago in 1962 by Howlin' Wolf, he became a fixture in Billy Branch's Sons of Blues band.

Mr. Shelby was born in Vicksburg on Oct. 10, 1943, to Sherman and Rose Ethel Shelby, and attended St. Mary Catholic School and Vicksburg public schools.

Known professionally as "Nick Charles," he was an international musician and bass player, who left Vicksburg at age 15 to play music professionally. He was brought to Chicago by blues legend Howlin' Wolf, who gave Sherman his first bass guitar and amplifier.

During his career, he played with Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Tina Turner, Eddie Shaw, Earl Hooker, L.V. Banks, Roy Hytower, Son Seals, Valerie Wellington and the Rolling Stones. The last 20 years of his career, he played with Billy Branch, a three-time Grammy nominee and a retired Grammy governor who was discovered by Willie Dixon, the "father of modern Chicago Blues."

He passed on July 2, 2014 after a year and a half battle with cancer.

Survivors include his wife, Diane of Chicago; three children, Cynthia of Yazoo City, Nick of Texas, and Nickey of Chicago; three sisters, Charlie Mae Anderson, Rosemary Johnson, and Barbara Jean Shelby, all of Vicksburg; and other relatives, including the Anderson, Johnson, Shelby, Caldwell, and Gibbs families.

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