was a Mississippi guitarist and singer who mixed secular and sacred material and cut some entertaining, celebratory party tunes as well as reverential spirituals in the '20s and '30s. He played with pianists
.
was also a member of the Mississippi Jook Band, along with his brother -- singer and tambourine player
-- and Vaughn.
Very few biographical details of
Blind Roosevelt Graves' life are known. He and his brother
Uaroy began playing juke joints in the Mississippi Delta in the early '20s. In 1929, the two brothers cut a number of sides for the Paramount and American Record Companies, which all appeared under
Blind Roosevelt's name. They would continue to record until 1936. In the mid-'30s, the pair formed the Mississippi Jook Band with pianist
Cooney Vaughn. The band recorded for the American Record Company in the mid- and late '30s.
After leaving behind these handful of recordings,
Graves disappeared in the early '40s. It is not known where he settled, nor is his death date known.
–
Ron Wynn & Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi