L.V. Banks

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = L.V. Banks

| image =

| caption =

| image_size =

| birth_name =

| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|10|28|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Stringtown, Mississippi, United States

| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|5|2|1932|10|28|mf=y}}

| death_place = Chicago, Illinois

| instrument = Guitar, vocals

| genre = Chicago blues, electric blues, soul blues

| occupation = Guitarist, singer, songwriter

| years_active = 1960s–2011

| label = Wolf

| associated_acts =

| website =

}}

L.V. Banks (October 28, 1932 – May 2, 2011){{cite web |url=http://bluesman2001.blogspot.com/2011/05/lv-banks-rip.html |title=L.V. Banks RIP |author=Bob Corritore |date=May 29, 2011 |publisher=Bluesman2001.blogspot.com |access-date=December 17, 2011}} was an American Chicago blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a respected club performer in Chicago for many years. He recorded two albums for Wolf Records.

Life and career

Banks was born in Stringtown, Mississippi. He taught himself to play the guitar and fronted a blues band in Greenville, Mississippi. His musical influences included B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Milton.{{cite web |url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=5396 |title=L.V. Banks: Ruby |author=Ed Kopp |date=April 1, 2000 |publisher=Allaboutjazz.com |access-date=December 17, 2011}} Banks moved to St. Louis, Missouri, before he was drafted into the U.S. Army. After his duty was over, in the early 1960s, he relocated to Chicago, Illinois.{{cite book

| first= Karen

| last= Hanson

| year= 2007

| title= Today's Chicago Blues

| edition= 1st

| publisher= Lake Claremont Press

| location= Chicago

| page= 122

| isbn= 978-1-893121-19-5}} He played on Maxwell Street and later was a regular fixture for over three decades in local clubs, particularly on the South Side. In the early 1990s, Banks acted as mentor to the then-teenaged blues musician Marty Sammon.{{cite web |url=http://g-freethoughts.blogspot.com/2011/05/lv-banks-bluesman-rest-in-peace.html |title=L.V. Banks, Bluesman: Rest in Peace|author= |date= |publisher=G-freethoughts.blogspot.com |access-date=December 17, 2011}}

Banks's debut album, Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear, was released in June 1998 on the Austrian label Wolf. John Primer played guitar on the album.{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=let-me-be-your-teddy-bear-r366540/credits|pure_url=yes}}|title=Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear > Credits |access-date=December 17, 2011 |publisher=Allmusic}} A second album, Ruby, was released by Wolf in 2000. It was his final album.{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=ruby-r464891/credits|pure_url=yes}}|title=Ruby > Credits |access-date=December 17, 2011 |publisher=Allmusic}}

He died of heart failure in the South Shore Hospital, in Chicago, in May 2011, aged 78. His son, Tre' is following his father's tradition as a Chicago-based blues musician.

Discography

Year \|\| Title \|\| Record label
class="wikitable sortable"
1998	Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear	align="center"\|Wolf Records
2000	Ruby	align="center"\|Wolf Records

{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=lv-banks-p310000/discography|pure_url=yes}}|title=L.V. Banks > Discography > Main Albums |publisher=Allmusic |access-date=December 17, 2011}}