He performed and recorded with many notable blues artists, such as David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Robert Nighthawk, Sunnyland Slim, and Walter Horton.
[2] Red became part of Sonny Boy Williamson II's inner circle, playing on the famed King Biscuit radio show in Helena, Arkansas.
[3] He moved to Chicago in the 1950s[1] and was a regular performer in Chicago blues clubs, playing with Johnny Shines, Walter Horton, Sunnyland Slim,[2] Earl Hooker, Blind John Davis, Johnny "Man" Young, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Eddie Taylor, Floyd Jones, Elmore James,[2] and Easy Baby (Alex Randall),[4] among others.
[3] The blues reviewer David Whiteis wrote that Red's vulnerable personality likely prevented his career from breaking out of the local circuit.
However, Whiteis stated that Red "played a major role in transforming the blues from a southern tradition to a forward-looking urban form.