Lefty Bates

Who was Lefty Bates?

Lefty Bates was an American Chicago blues guitarist. He led the Lefty Bates Combo, and variously worked with the El Dorados, the Flamingos, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Etta James, the Aristo-Kats, the Hi-De-Ho Boys, the Moroccos, and the Impressions. A regular on the Chicago blues scene, Bates major work was as a session musician on a multitude of recordings made in the 1950s and 1960s.

Bates was married to well-known area club dancer Mary Cole Bates, who died in 2001.