Who was/is Arnold Wiley ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more
ARNOLD WILEY, was one of the first blues pianists to record. He and his sister. Irene, did sessions for Okeh, Paramount. and Brunswick between 1926-1931. mostly in Chicago. The Wileys resurfaced after the war for J. Mayo Williams' Chicago label in '44, the present Apollo session. and more extensive work for Detroit's Sensation. some sides appearing on King in '48 as the Doc Wiley Trio, and the following year moving on to Bullet.
A final date in '59 appeared on an Ace label. accompanied by stellar jazzmen such as Buster Bailey. George Kelly, Sammy Price and Gene Ramey. Irene. accompanied by the Ken Billing Trio. did her final known session for Diamond (better known for its Jan August piano sides) in '46. Little else seems to be known about the Wileys but it is likely they were heard on medicine shows and in TOBA theaters.
A pub-licity photo. circulated with the Ace record. boasted Wiley's capablilitles as a tap dancer and linguist (20 languages).
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