William Thomas Dupree, known to the Blues, Nation, Southern Soul Nation, Zydeco Nation and the world as “Champion” Jack Dupree, considered one of the most prolific recording Bluesmen of all time, was born on July 4, 1910 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
William Thomas Dupree, known to the Blues, Nation, Southern Soul Nation, Zydeco Nation and the world as “Champion” Jack Dupree, considered one of the most prolific recording Bluesmen of all time, was born on July 4, 1910 in New Orleans, Louisiana. While still an infant, his parents were killed in a house fire that had been set by the Ku Klux Klan. Homeless and a parentless child, Champion Jack Dupree was sent to the city's Colored Waifs Home for Boys, the same orphanage where a young Louis Armstrong had also been raised.