The Blues Busters

Formed in 1982 after George “Chicken” Walker, Lee Roy Martin, and William “Boogie Man” Hubbard decided to leave the Hollywood All Stars. They would meet Earl “the Pearl” Banks, who had previously played in another major Memphis band: the P.C.I. Band, as well as “Funky John” Cole, a member of the Banks and Walker trio. The band’s early years were also not entirely stable, with Boogie Man leaving the band to return to the Hollywood All Stars, and Cole would leave shortly after. They would be replaced by Thomas “Blues” Cornes and James Price, respectively. 

With the band’s lineup solidified, the band spent the next several years performing regularly, with them often playing five nights a week. These were all small gigs, though, often at small clubs in rougher neighborhoods. Unfortunately this also came at a tumultuous period of Memphis’s history, wherein most of these clubs would often have frequent interruptions by police, who would frequently warn patrons from entering these small clubs. This is detrimental to any band that is working for cover charges.

Nonetheless, the band persisted, though the group would again have a shakeup in 1984, with Thomas “Blue” Cornes and George Walker leaving the group for a time. The band did replace them, though Cornes would often come back to work with the group, with Walker and Martin eventually putting together a separate group. Despite this, these musicians would often still help each other, and play in each other’s groups.