Pee Wee Crayton, 70; Noted Blues Singer in L.A.
Connie (Pee Wee) Crayton, a blues singer known in Los Angeles for his frequent appearances at the old Parisian Club and across the country for his participation in jazz and blues festivals, has died of a heart attack.
Crayton, 70, died Tuesday in a Los Angeles hospital.
Like many of his contemporaries, Crayton taught himself to play guitar by fashioning an instrument out of a cigar box in his native Texas.
He moved to California in the 1920s and began to appear locally, later forming a band under his own name that worked several L.A. nightspots.
He wrote two songs that achieved moderate success, “Blues After Hours” and “The Texas Hop.”
His survivors include his wife, Esther, three daughters and a son, three brothers, two sisters, 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. today at First A.M.E. Church on Harvard Avenue.
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