Eskew Reeder: Esquerita, the wildest rockin'est cat Greenville SC ever produced.

This is Esquerita, The Rockin'est Cat Ever to Come Out of Greenville

GREENVILLE SC, April/2008 --- This is an effort committed to gathering more information about Esquerita, the wildest, rockin'est cat Greenville South Carolina has ever produced. Information about Esquerita is hard to come by, so the aim is to turn over a few stones around town and see what can be found out, after all, Greenville is Esquerita's home town.
Please email and let me know your interest in this project. Address your email to Joel Wilkinson.

I receive a lot of email from people with some pretty good leads and from a lot of folks just wanting to say hello, so I'd love to hear from you no matter how important your message might be.

Here's an example of a recent email about Esquerita:
"My mother was one of Eskew Reeder's back up singers. Her name is Willie B. She sang "I trusted in you" and "Southern style." We use to live in the Magnolia Projects in New Orleans, Louisiana. My mother use to sing with Eskew at the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans. I do not have any pictues of eskew reeder or pictures of my mother performing with him. I wish you can help me shed some light on this."

Scattered sources say Esquerita was born Eskew Reeder, Jr., in Greenville, South Carolina. However, Greenville sources say it's most likely that "Eskew" was another stage name. His name given at birth is actually believed to be "Steven Quincy Reeder." The name "Eskew" was likely inspired by the initials "S.Q."

This 1950s rock 'n' roller's act had a lasting influence on Little Richard, it's pretty clear. Little Richard references Esquerita in documented interviews and biographical texts.

It is known that Esquerita played at the "Owl Club" in Greenville, using the name "Professor Eskew Reeder," where Gene Vincent's guitar player, Paul Peek, discovered him. In attempting to find out more about Esquerita, it's evident that many people would like to know more, but the trail becomes obscured right away and truth turns to rumor and sketchy information. After scratching the surface and asking around town, there are people who remember seeing him and knowing him when he was alive and rockin'. Efforts are underway to gather notes and report here what is discovered, but it takes a very long time.

Again, I get a lot of email about Esquerita through this webpage, but most tips are repeated information. Round and round we go.

For example, nobody seems to know exactly where he is buried. The most popular answer is that he is buried in a potters field (pauper's grave) in New York. Most likely he isn't at rest here in Greenville, but we'll see what we can discover.

For those of you who have never heard any of this and are curious to hear the music, there is a re-release of Esquerita tunes on CD, titled Esquerita: Vintage Voola. That will get you started. You won't find this kind of stuff at Wal-Mart (I don't think, but even if you could, please shop at your favorite independent music store). I ordered my copy at Horizon Records, here in Greenville. Vintage Voola and other Esquerita CDs are available.

If you know anything about Esquerita, or where the Owl Club was located, or if you have photographs, PLEASE let us know by sending an e-mail if you have heard any unusual information about Esquerita.
Your email is welcome. The address is: letters@greenvillesouth.com

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--gs