GEROME DURHAM - BIOGRAPHY

As a young boy, Gerome Durham, a.k.a. “Mississippi Blues Boy,” picked cotton and plowed fields, later attending school in Lexington, Mississippi, where he was born. As a child, the church brought out his talent for soulful singing. As a young man, Gerome moved to North Carolina and worked in the tobacco fields. He later moved back to Mississippi and got a job at a chicken factory in Jackson. By this time, it was 1965, and Gerome’s years of singing in the church choir finally paid off when he entered and won a talent contest at the Blue Nose Club. The prize was $25—a pretty good premium for the time!

Several years later, Gerome moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, settling into a long-term factory job making sinks, which he did for 38 years. It was during his time in Milwaukee that he became friends with Johnny Rawls, who helped him launch a career in music. With Rawls, Tyrone Davis, Johnny Taylor, Bobby Bland and Little Milton as his influences, Gerome eagerly accepted Rawls’ offer to take him on tour with his band, and the rest is history! Gerome has since opened for Bobby Bland, B.B. King, Barbara Carr, Charles Wilson and Latimore.

Gerome’s music career spans more than 20 years that kicked off in 1993 with the single, “A Woman is a Strange Thang Part 1 and 2.” His six albums reflect his growth as a vocalist. His latest release, Gerome Durham, aka Mississippi Blues Boy, delivers original rhythm and blues tunes drawn from his Mississippi cotton-picking days and personal life.

Today, you’ll catch Mississippi Blues Boy singing and working crowds throughout the Midwest and South.