Alex "Easy Baby" Randle was born in 1934 in Memphis, Tennessee. For the first seven years of his life, he lived in Michigan City, Mississippi, with his grandmother and uncle, before moving back to Memphis to start school. Both his grandmother and uncle were harmonica players, so it was natural for Easy Baby to pick up the harmonica himself. In the early 1950's, when Easy Baby was still a teenager, he began playing professionally around Memphis while working a variety of odd jobs, including installing floors and shining shoes. Playing in the juke joints and gambling houses in Memphis, he befriended Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, and Joe Hill Louis, among others. In 1956, Easy Baby moved to Chicago to make a change. Throughout the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's Easy Baby sang and played all over Chicago, while working as a mechanic. In later years, he performed sporadically. His most notable appearances were at the Chicago Blues Festival in 1998, 2000, and 2003.
Alex Randle passed away Friday, September 25, 2009 after suffering from pneumonia. He was 75 years old.
Click here to read an article on Easy Baby from 2003. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
   |    Photos by Larry Arnett |