History
Both musicians were born in Washington D.C., although Cephas was older by some 25 years. They first met at a jam session at the Smithsonian's Festival of American Folklife in 1975 or 1976, and played together in Wilbert "Big Chief" Ellis's band. When Ellis died, they decided to continue as a duo.
In 1980, Cephas & Wiggins were recorded by German archivists Siegfried Christmann and Axel Kustner. These recordings were their first as a duo and they were released the following year on as a part of Living Country Blues USA series on German label L+R. They also appeared around Washington, D.C. with 'the Travelling Blues Workshop', which included John Jackson, Archie Edwards, Flora Molton, and Mother Scott.
In 1986, Cephas & Wiggins released Dog Days of August, their first U.S. release on Flying Fish Records. In 1989, Cephas was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship.
Two more albums followed from Flying Fish. After they left the label, they released one album from New York-based Chesky Records, and four from Alligator Records.
Cephas died of natural causes on March 4, 2009. He was 78. The duo had released Richmond Blues on Folkways Records in 2008.
Todd LaRoche, musician and composer born in 1956, is carrying on Cephas' stylistic tradition today; his composition, Todd's Rag, follows closely the alternate picking style Cephus masterfully performs in his song, Trouble in Mind.
Read more about this topic: Cephas & Wiggins
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