Chicago Blues legend Cicero Blake dies at 90

For many years, when Chicago blues and soul singer Cicero Blake's raunchy hit "Dip My Dipper" came on the radio or was performed live, it caused sly smiles, chuckles and occasional pearl clutching.

"I remember listening to his songs when I was a kid on WVON and DJ Pervis Spann would always say the names of the artists twice, and I just always thought his name was the coolest name," recalled blues guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks, whose father, the late blues musician, Lonnie Brooks, was pals with Mr. Cicero.

"And "Dip My Dipper" would come on, and my mother knew the song and would yell, 'Turn that off!'" Brooks recalled with a laugh.

The tune became his signature song, with Mr. Blake singing: "I'd love to dip my dipper into somebody else's dippings."

"He was a legend, part of a generation of blues musicians of which there are very few left," Brooks said.

Mr. Blake played Chicago clubs for decades, was a regular performer at the Chicago Blues Festival and also toured Black owned clubs in Southern states.

He died March 3 from natural causes at 90.

Mr. Blake told the Sun-Times in 1986: "I like to tell people I'm a husband, father and entertainer. And, if you notice, entertainer comes last. My family is what motivates me. When it gets rough, they're the ones who say, `Dad, keep on going.' And believe me, a lot of times I've thought about quitting."

In the '80s, Mr. Blake drew look alike comparisons to another well known Chicago star: Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton.

"Man, the two of them could have been twins," said WDCB host Sammie Jay.

"Cicero never made it in mainstream like he wanted to, but he still made a big name for himself," Jay said. "And his music always left you feeling some kind of way. If you was down, you left feeling good."

Mr. Blake, who and released several albums, including "Too Hip to be Happy" in 1988, "Wives Night Out" in 1996 and "Stand By Me" in in 1998.

One of the main bands he performed with was Ronnie Hicks and the Masheen Co. Band.

Mr. Blake was born Feb. 20, 1936, in Jackson, Miss.

He moved to Chicago as a teen and attended Marshall High School on the West Side, where he met his late wife, Oreatha Blake.

In high school he sang doo-wop with the "Golden Tones," which later became the better known "Kool Gents" featuring soul singer Dee Clark.

After serving in the Air Force, where he performed for military audiences, Mr. Blake toured with the Sonny Thompson Revue early in his career, according to his son Darrell Blake.

"What impressed me most was he possessed the ability to sing low down dirty blues, then, in the same show, he would perform a soulful cover of Gladys Knight's 'Imagination,'" said blues musician and pal Joe Pratt.

Mr. Blake, a longtime Maywood resident, stopped performing about a decade ago.

"He was a dynamic vocalist and great entertainer, very soulful and very popular in the African American community and the general Chicago blues community as well," said Chicago blues musician Billy Branch.

"He was a Chicago legend, everyone loved him," said Marshall Thompson, a friend and former member of the Chicago soul group The Chi-Lites. "He had his own style, he didn't sound like nobody else but himself."

In addition to his son Darrell, Mr. Blake is survived by his son Kenneth Blake and his daughters Michele R. Jones, Dionne Blake, Colette Blake-Smith, Anitria Blake and Ladonna Blake, as well as 18 grandchildren.

A visitation will be held March 19 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Neighborhood United Methodist Church in Maywood. A wake will be held at the same church March 20 from 10 to 10:30 a.m., immediately followed by a funeral service.