Eddie Vinson
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed "Cleanhead" after an incident in which his hair was accidentally removed by lye contained in a hair-straightening product, necessitating shaving it off; enamoured of the look, Vinson maintained a shaved head thereafter. Music critic Robert Christgau has called Vinson "one of the cleanest, and nastiest, blues voices you'll ever hear."
Also recorded as Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson · Eddie L. Vinson · Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
Eddie Vinson

Brianmcmillen · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Eddie Vinson
- Birth Name
- Edward L.
- Born
- 18 December 1917
- Birthplace
- Houston, Texas, U.S.
- Died
- 2 July 1988
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Saxophonist, singer, composer
- Nationality
- United States.
- Fields
- jazz and rhythm and blues.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
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wikidata · Q1283017 · wikipedia · Eddie Vinson
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Eddie Vinson • Birth Name — Edward L. Vinson Jr. • Alias — Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson • Born — 18 December 1917 • Birthplace — Houston, Texas, U.S. • Died — 2 July 1988 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Genre — Jump blues, R&B, jazz • Occupation — Saxophonist, singer, composer • Years Active — 1930s–1988 • Label — King Records, Mercury, Black & Blue, ABC-BluesWay, Muse
Documentary record
Eddie Vinson was a musician, born on 18 December 1917 in Houston, Texas, United States and died on 2 July 1988 in Los Angeles, California, United States. Both events are recorded by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Biography
Biography
Vinson was born in Houston, Texas. He started out with Milton Larkin's orchestra in the 1930s. At various times, he was with Tom Archia, while other members of the band included Cedric Haywood and Wild Bill Davis. He then played for Big Bill Broonzy. During the 1940s, he was with the Cootie Williams Orchestra. He recorded such tunes as "Cherry Red". There is some controversy over who composed "Four". He died aged 70 in 1988, from a heart attack while undergoing chemotherapy, in Los Angeles, California.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1988
Eddie Vinson died at Los Angeles.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Houston.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Discography
• Year — Title — Notes — Genre — Label • 1957 — Clean Head's Back in Town — with Joe Newman, Henry Coker, Bill Graham, Frank Foster, Paul Quinichette, Charlie Rouse, Charles Fowlkes, Nat Pierce, Freddie Green, Turk Van Lake, Ed Jones, Gus Johnson, Ed Thigpen — Blues, Jazz — Bethlehem; Charly • 1962 — Back Door Blues — with Cannonball Adderley Quintet; some tracks and alternate takes released as Cleanhead & Cannonball on Landmark — Blues, Jazz — Riverside; Fresh Sound • 1967 — Cherry Red — with Mike Bloomfield — Blues — ABC/Bluesway; One Way • 1969 — Kidney Stew is Fine — with T-Bone Walker and Jay McShann; also released as Wee Baby Blues on Black & Blue — Jump Blues, Swing Jazz — Delmark • 1969 [1984] — Live! in France — with Jay McShann — Jump Blues, Swing Jazz — Black & Blue • 1970 — The Original Cleanhead — with Artie Butler, David Cohen, Joe Pass, Arthur Wright, Earl Palmer, Plas Johnson — Blues — Bluestime/Flying Dutchman; Ace • 1971 — You Can't Make Love Alone — Live at the 1971 Montreux Jazz Festival — Blues — Mega/Flying Dutchman • 1974 [1975] — Jamming the Blues — Live in Montreux — Blues — Black Lion • 1978 — The "Clean" Machine — with Lloyd Glenn — Blues, Jazz — Muse • 1978 [1981] — Live at Sandy's (Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and the Muse All Stars) — with Arnett Cobb and Buddy Tate — Jump Blues, Swing Jazz — Muse 5208 • 1978 [1984] — Hold It Right There! (Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and the Muse All Stars) — with Arnett Cobb and Buddy Tate — Jump Blues, Swing Jazz — Muse 5243 • 1979 [2003] — Redux: Live at the Keystone Korner — with Larry Vuckovich — Blues, Jazz — Savant • 1980 — Kansas City Shout — with Count Basie and Big Joe Turner — Blues, Jazz — Pablo • 1980 — Fun in London — with John Burch, Lennie Bush, Bobby Orr — Blues, Jazz — JSP • 1981 — I Want a Little Girl — with Art Hillery, Cal Green, John Heard, Roy McCurdy, Martin Banks, Rashid Jamal Ali — Blues, Jazz — Pablo • 1982 — Mr. Cleanhead's Back in Town — with Stan Greig, Les Davidson, Paul Sealey, Martin Guy — Blues, Jazz — JSP • 1982 — Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson & Roomful of Blues — with Roomful of Blues — Blues, Jump Blues — Muse; Rockbeat • 1986 — Blues in the Night Volume One: The Early Show — Live in Los Angeles with Etta James — Blues — Fantasy • 1986 [1987] — The Late Show: Blues in the Night, Volume 2 — Live in Los Angeles with Etta James — Blues — Fantasy • 1987 — Oscar Peterson + Harry Edison + Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson — with Oscar Peterson and Harry "Sweets" Edison — Jazz — Pablo • 1988 — Cleanhead & Cannonball — with The Cannonball Adderley Quintet — Jazz — Landmark • 1996 — Kidney Stew (The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions) — with T-Bone Walker and Jay McShann — Jump Blues, Swing Jazz — Black & Blue • 2003 — Bald Headed Blues (His Complete King Recordings 1949-1952) — compilation — Jump Blues — Ace • 2006 — Honk for Texas (1942–1954) — with Cootie Williams and Big Jim Wynn; 4-CD box set; compilation — Jump Blues — JSP • 2007 — Blues, Boogie & Bebop – Meat's Too High — compilation of Fun in London and Mr. Cleanhead's Back in Town — Blues, Jazz — JSP • 2008 — Jumpin' the Blues (The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions) — with Jay McShann — Jump Blues, Swing Jazz — Black & Blue • 2019 — Mr. Cleanhead Blows His Greatest Hits (Selected Singles 1944-1950) — compilation — Jump Blues — Jasmine With Oliver Nelson • Swiss Suite (Flying Dutchman, 1971 [rel. 1972]) With Arnett Cobb and the Muse All Stars • Live at Sandy's! (Muse 5191, 1978 [rel. 1980]) • More Arnett Cobb and the Muse All Stars (Live at Sandy's!) (Muse 5236, 1978 [rel. 1983]) With Buddy Tate and the Muse All Stars • Live at Sandy's (Muse 5198, 1978 [rel. 1980]) • Hard Blowin' (Live at Sandy's) (Muse 5249, 1978 [rel. 1984]) With Helen Humes and the Muse All Stars • Helen Humes and the Muse All Stars (Muse 5217, 1978 [rel. 1980]) - with Arnett Cobb and Buddy Tate
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Eddie Vinson, revision 1371007356 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Du Noyer, Paul. The IllustratedEncyclopedia of Music. Flame Tree Publishing. 181. 2003. 1-904041-96-5.
- 2.Otis, Johnny. Upside Your Head!: Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue, Wesleyan University Press, p. 34 (1993) -
- 3.Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead". Encyclopedia.com.
- 4.Christgau, Robert. Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. 1981. 089919026X.
- 5.Colin Larkin. The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Virgin Books. 1219–20. 1997. 1-85227-745-9.
- 6.Vladimir, Bogdanov. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues, Backbeat Books, pg. 571 (2002);
- 7.Koster, Rick. Texas Music, St. Martin's Press, pg. 319 (2000);
- 8.Doc Rock. The 1980s. The Dead Rock Stars Club.
- 9.Eddie (Cleanhead) Vinson, 70, Alto Saxophonist and Blues Singer. New York Times. July 4, 1988.
- 10.Obituaries : E. Vinson; Bluesman, Saxophonist. Los Angeles Times. July 3, 1988.
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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