Arbee Stidham

Stidham used to order records, "Louis Armstrong and things on that kick" and listen to them late at night at low volume.

At the age of twelve, Stidham made his first appearance at the Ninth Street Theatre in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In the mid-1940s, Stidham moved to Chicago, where he met Lester Melrose, who signed him to a recording contract with RCA Victor in 1947.

When "My Heart Belongs to You" was released, a copy was sent to Zenas Sears, an Atlanta disk jockey and music producer at WGST AM radio.

When he found his injuries made it impossible for him to play the saxophone without suffering nose bleeds, he became heavily depressed.

He also recorded occasionally during the early 1970s and performed at music festivals and clubs in the United States and abroad.

While living in Cleveland in 1973, Stidham was the subject of The Bluesman, a short documentary film directed by Kent State University professor Robert West.

[1] In January, 1982, Stidham performed with Willie Dixon's "Blues Rent Party" band during the Chicago Winter Jazz Fair held at the Blackstone Hotel.

[14] The band members included Henderson Smith, trumpet; Ahmad Salaheldeen, Tommy “Madman” Jones, Nat Reed, saxophones; Lacey Gibson, guitar; Lafayette Leake, piano; Camille, bass; Odie Payne, drums, many of whom were well-known Chicago musicians.

A review of the performance said "blues shouter Arbee Stidham gave the crowd of 8,000 fans a rough, cheerfully energetic set.

[15] Stidham died on April 26, 1988, at the University of Chicago Medical Center in Cook County, Illinois, aged 71.