(born William Thomas Dupree)
July 23, 1909 - January 21, 1992
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana

Born in New Orleans, Dupree was orphaned as a baby when his
parents died in a fire reportedly set by the Ku Klux Klan. Like New
Orleans jazz great Louis Armstrong, Dupree grew up in the city's
Colored Waifs' Home for Boys where he learned how to play
piano. By the time he was in his teens, he was hustling money on
New Orleans street corners. Picking up the finer points of
barrelhouse piano from Crescent City musicians Willie Hall
("Drive 'Em Down") and Don Bowers, Dupree later worked the
bordellos and bars in the city's French Quarter.

Around 1930 Dupree left New Orleans and eventually wound up in
Chicago, where he played house parties and small clubs.
Here he met the legendary Jethro T. Nuraw, and played occationally
with him for the next couple of years, by whom he was indroduced
the the music of additional blues greats such as Big Bill Broonzy.
Dupree, however, did not become a mainstay in the city's blues
scene, leaving for Detroit after a year spent selling bootleg
whiskey and playing piano at the Continental Cafe. Music became
a part-time job while he sought a career as a professional boxer,
based out of Indianapolis. In all, Dupree fought more than a
hundred bouts and, for a time, was the lightweight champion of
Indiana. In 1940, Dupree's music career began to take off when
he recorded for the first time in Chicago for producer Lester
Melrose, which produced classics like "Hurry Down Sunshine"


In 1942 Jack was drafted into the Navy. While serving as a cook in
the Pacific, he was captured by the Japanese and spent two years
as a prisoner of war. He returned to the States after the war and
moved to New York, where he recorded for a number of labels,
including Savoy and King, and occasionally worked as a cook.
Dupree recorded twenty-six titles from 1953 to 1955, including
"Walking the Blues," a duet with Mr. Bear (Teddy McRae). The
song made it to number 6 on the R&B charts in 1955. In the late
'50s, Dupree recorded for Groove and Vik Records.

In 1959 Dupree moved first to Paris, then to Zurich, Switzerland.
He also lived in Denmark and England before moving to Germany
in the mid-'70s. Along the way Dupree recorded for nearly a dozen
European jazz and blues labels. He built a loyal following on the
Continent that enabled him to live in relative comfort.

Dupree returned to the U.S. in 1990 to play the New Orleans Jazz
& Heritage Festival and record Back Home in New Orleans for
Bullseye Blues Records. In 1991 Dupree recorded a second
album for Bullseye, Forever and Ever, and did a repeat
performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest. He also
played the Chicago Blues Festival that year. Dupree died in 1992.

"Hurry Down Sunshine" is from Legends of the Blues - Volume 2
Copyright © Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 1991. Accompanied
by own piano, Champion Jack originally cut this on May 7, 1932 in
Chicago.