associated_acts death_date death_place years_active birth_place label name background birth_date instrument genre article_title birth_name occupation
jimmy reed , buddy guy 7 april 2007 chicago , illinois , united states mid 1930s -- early 1980s leighton , alabama , united states rca , vee-jay , various lefty bates solo_singer 9 march 1920 guitar chicago blues lefty bates
 william bates guitarist
lefty bates

lefty bates -lrb- march 9 , 1920 -- april 7 , 2007 -rrb- was an american chicago blues guitarist .
he led the lefty bates combo , and variously worked with the el dorados , the flamingos , jimmy reed , john lee hooker , buddy guy , etta james , the aristo-kats , the hi-de-ho boys , the moroccos , and the impressions .
a regular on the chicago blues scene , bates major work was as a session musician on a multitude of recordings made in the 1950s and 1960s .
bates was married to well-known area club dancer mary cole bates , who died in 2001 .
