Dallas was born in
Mobile, Alabama, in 1909 and relocated to
Memphis,
Tennessee, in 1924. He travelled widely in the
Deep South in the 1930s and 1940s. Dallas teamed up with
Frank Edwards and Georgia Slim for a while, and he also played solo on the streets of
Chicago. Around 1940, he and Edwards performed on the radio program
Major Bowes Amateur Hour. It was released as a single, backed with "I'm Going Away", by Sittin' in With Records. He also recorded two other tracks, "I'm Down Now, but I Won't Be Down Always" and "Jump Little Children, Jump", which were released as singles. On these New York recordings, Dallas sang and played the guitar, backed by McGhee on guitar, Wilbert Ellis on piano, and (probably)
Gene Ramey on double bass. The last two songs he recorded, which were not released at the time, are included on the compilation album ''Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1965). His recordings have been issued on several blues compilation albums, including his "Your Sweet Man's Blues" on
Blues Roots Vol. 2 : Blues All Around My Bed (1983). In 1994, all eight of his recorded songs were included on the
Ralph Willis' compilation album
Ralph Willis: Complete Recordings Vol. 2 (1950–1953), issued by
Document Records. The American
indie rock band
Jump, Little Children, took its name from the Dallas song, which in itself was covered by
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. ==Discography==