New Orleans bluesman Pleasant Joseph made his biggest impact working under the name Cousin Joe, but his discography also contains material cut under a variety of aliases, among them "Smilin' Joe," "Brother Joshua," "Joseph Pleasant" and even, on occasion, his birth name. Born December 20, 1907 in Wallace, Louisiana, Joseph made a name for himself on the Crescent City nightclub circuit of the mid-1930s before relocating to New York City in 1942; there he recorded a series of 78s informed equally by blues and jazz traditions, complete with witty, bawdy lyrical touches. He returned to New Orleans in 1947, recording material for the Deluxe and Imperial labels before signing a five-year pact with Decca; however, he entered the studio only rarely in the years to follow, focusing instead on learning the piano and rebuilding his reputation as a French Quarter club performer. After a long hiatus, Joseph recorded and released an impromptu 1971 session under the title Bad Luck Blues, followed in 1973 by Cousin Joe from New Orleans; his activities were again curtailed in the years to follow, although in 1987 he published an autobiography, -Cousin Joe: Blues from New Orleans. He died October 2, 1989. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi