Harry "Fats" Crafton

Harry Crafton was one of the better -- and, ultimately, unfairly neglected -- guitarists to come out of the postwar era. He carved a small but special niche for himself in Philadelphia beginning soon after World War II, cutting for a string of indepedent labels with a guitar sound that was heavily influenced by Tiny Grimes and a singing style reminscent of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. What little anyone seems to know about Harry "Fats" Crafton mostly concerns his career. In addition to being signed to Ivin Ballen's Gotham Records as an artist in 1949, he had a relationship with t...