| Ernest Lawlars | |
| Alias: | Little Son Joe |
| Birth Date: | May 18, 1900 |
| Birth Place: | Hughes, Arkansas, United States |
| Death Place: | Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Instrument: | Guitar, drums |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Occupation: | Guitarist, vocalist, composer |
| Years Active: | 1930s–1950s |
| Label: | Vocalion, Columbia |
| Associated Acts: | Memphis Minnie |
Ernest Lawlars (May 18, 1900 – November 14, 1961)[1] was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and composer, known professionally as Little Son Joe.[2]
Lawlars (sometimes spelled "Lawlers", "Lawler" or "Lawlar") was born in Hughes, Arkansas, United States. From around 1931 to 1936 he worked around Memphis with Robert Wilkins, who he accompanied on a recording session in 1935.[1] The same session also produced Lawlers's first recorded side, under the name Son Joe, although this was not issued.[3]
By 1939, Lawlars was working with, and married to, Memphis Minnie[4] in Chicago.[2] Their first recording session together, for Vocalion in February 1939, produced six released sides by Lawlers as well as four under Minnie's name.[2] Lawlars recorded in his own right under the name Little Son Joe, but most of his recorded work was as an accompanist to Minnie.[5] In 1942 he had a hit with "Black Rat Swing",[6] billed as “Mr. Memphis Minnie”.[7]
Lawlars mostly retired from music from around 1957 because of ill-health,[1] although after moving to Memphis in 1958 he and Minnie had a regular Saturday night gig at the Red Light in Millington, Tennessee,[8] and he played drums on Minnie's final recording session in 1959.[9]
Lawlars died in John Gaston Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, in November 1961 from heart disease, and was buried in the New Hope Cemetery in Walls, Mississippi.[1]