Little Joe McLerran, "Perhaps the finest Piedmont Blues player on the face of God's green earth," writes Billy Austin, editor of Blues News.

No small wonder.

Little Joe has spent 16 of his 24 years on God's green earth working on his Piedmont chops. For his first
public performance Joe sang a Leadbelly song and played another by Rev. Gary Davis as his 4th grade classmates provided theatrical support.

Little Joe was born in Boulder, Colorado in July 1983. By the time he was nine years old, Joe and his younger brother Jesse had started their first band, "Buddy Hollywood." With Jesse on drums, they would set up on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder playing Beatles, Bob Marley, and all those great old blues songs Joe was learning. Mall patrons were amazed to hear these young kids also performing songs by Big Bill Broonzy, Skip James, and Mississippi John Hurt, followed by "Ob La Dee Ob La Da" or "Redemption Song." They could make a couple hundred bucks in a couple of hours. Their hat was always filled with tips whenever they performed on the mall, much to the dismay of the homeless guys hanging out playing Eagles songs.

When Joe turned 15, the McLerran family moved to Tulsa where Jesse took up the washboard and the brothers started playing the old blues songs again. Jesse patterned his washboard after that of Washboard Chaz Leary from New Orleans, a long-time family friend and his godfather.

Joey changed his name to "Son Piedmont," inspired by the Piedmont Blues, a style popular in the southeast USA during the '20s and '30s; his brother became "Washboard Jesse." But with no street malls in Tulsa, gigs were scarce and, being 16 and 17, bars were out of the question. They finally landed a steady Sunday afternoon gig at the Rivers Edge Bistro and caught the attention of many of Tulsa's finest musicians. This led to other restaurant gigs and private parties. That year Jimmy Junior Markham encouraged their talent with an invitation to play the Oklahoma Blues Festival.

Enlisting their father on bass, they began working on a CD project, inviting friends to join them: Dexter Payne, a multi-instrumentalist from Boulder, and Big Mike T. Travelletti, a harp player from Sapulpa. During the final stages of mixing the CD, Jesse McLerran was killed in an accident. Joey was devastated by his brother's sudden death and nearly a year passed before he could bear to listen to those tracks again. Playing music, other than in the solitude of his home, was the last thing on Joey's mind. In a memorial tribute to Jesse, the "Pearly Gates" CD was released in 2004 by Son Piedmont and the Blues Krewe on the Roots Blues Reborn label.

Joey performed as a roving busker during the 2004 Oklahoma Blues Festival held in Tulsa. Scheduled to appear the final night was one of Joey's heroes, 93-year-old Homesick James. Homesick's traveling companion, Johnny Long, a great country blues player himself, had known Joey since his days in Boulder. When scheduled travel plans fell apart, Joey volunteered to drive Homesick and Johnny back to Springfield, Missouri. Joey was in the catbird seat, with Johnny Long riding shotgun and Homesick James in the backseat, cussing up a storm. After spending the day together, Homesick gave Joey the moniker Little Joe, handed him one hundred dollars, and said, "Go buy a new pair of shoes." Joey did just that and bought himself a new hat too.

Little Joe booked himself into the Shades of Brown coffee shop on Brookside in Tulsa and played every Monday night for nearly a year. He invited others to join him and jam those great old blues songs he had collected. These weren't your standard 12-bar blues. Little Joe's set list included classic rags, delta slide songs on the National Steel, Piedmont tunes, and swing, a vast repertoire of music from the greats: Blind Blake, Big Bill, Tampa Red, Georgia Tom Dorsey, Lightnin' Hopkins, Blind Boy Fuller, Bumble Bee Slim, Leroy Carr, Lonnie Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy, Robert Johnson, and, of course, Homesick James. Some spirited music came out of those Monday night jams. His most faithful sidemen included bassist Robbie Mack, who showed up every Monday night, Ryan Patterson on snare drum, and trombonist Chris Tucker.

At a jam session one Sunday afternoon, Little Joe attracted the attention of David McKnight, a record producer from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Guitarist Lloyd Price had suggested that Little Joe and his style of music might be just what David needed to fulfill his contract with Hit Records. David went on to produce the "Hard Way" CD at Cat House Studio in Fayetteville. Homesick James declined an invitation to appear on the CD, but Lloyd Price and Canadian harp giant, Ray Bonneville made notable contributions. Robbie Mack played bass on the CD, warning Joey of the perils of working with a record label. Sure as heck, they misspelled his name on the liner notes.

Little Joe started experimenting with a larger band and using a keyboard player. When Hurricane Katrina leveled New Orleans, Joey's old friend Washboard Chaz evacuated to Tulsa and played gigs with Joey for about a month, including the Dusk Till Dawn and Stillwater Blues festivals.

In January 2006, Little Joe represented the Oklahoma Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Although he did not win the competition, he sparked a lot of interest within the blues community and put on two thrilling performances. Everyone (except the judges) thought he won the event. Little Joe responded, "There's always next year."

And so it was.

In 2007 Joe returned to Memphis with bassist Robbie Mack, this time representing the Blues Society of Tulsa with a solo/duo performance at the IBC.

That spring while on tour in Colorado, Little Joe recorded his third CD, "Live At Last." With his harp- and clarinet-playing buddy Dexter Payne, an old friend and contributor on Joe's first CD; the legendary Damprock, (Joe's webmaster & photographer) aka R. J. Whetstone on the drums; and Robbie Mack on bass, Joe was rockin' to a sell-out crowd.. The CD is available, along with all of Little Joe's CDs, at www.cdbaby.com or Little Joe's Official Website at www.littlejoeblues.com.

Meanwhile, back in Tulsa, things started getting interesting. The band was catching on. In 2008 Little Joe returned for his third consecutive Memphis IBC with his band, The Big Three Trio. They are booked through the spring and summer with festivals and club dates...

Comments from a blues legend & the media

Homesick James

After a road trip with Homesick James, Homesick commented on Joey McLerran, "This kid is providing a service to humanity by carrying on this great tradition".

A quote from the Denver Post: "The hottest blues to come down that dirt road in a long time" (Joey Mclerran, Son Piedmont at the Red Fish, Boulder, CO)

"The music is from really deep down in the delta - I dig it." Tulsa World
Jimmy Markham commenting on Joey's performance at the Oklahoma Blues Festival BluesTent - 2003 and 2004.

Chosen four times as "Editors Choice" - Urban Tulsa

"Little Joe is the real deal! We need more young players of his caliber to carry on the blues tradition..." - David McIntyre, KGNU Bluesoligist & Mayor of Blues Town - Oct. 2006

Little Joe in the news...

2008 International Blues Challenge - Memphis

2007 photos from the International Blues Challenge - Memphis

2006 International Blues Challenge photos- Memphis, TN

Photos from the Colorado appearance - March 30, 2007

Live At Last - Vol. 1 Little Joe's New CD is now available at CD Baby