American blues guitarist, banjoist and singer. Born November 17, 1911 in Gumwood, Arkansas - Died January 17, 1985 in Sikeston, Missouri.
Active in Memphis blues community from its heyday during the 1920s until the early 1950s. He grew up in Arkansas and Mississippi before moving to Memphis to live with his aunt in 1927. Teaching himself to play ukulele and then banjo & guitar, he associated with the likes of Will Shade, Charlie Burse, Jack Kelly, Frank Stokes and a very young Walter Horton. While in East St. Louis in 1934, he lost the lower part of his right leg in a train accident. Five years later, in 1939, he recorded for Vocalion (2) with his Memphis Playboys in a style that updated the hokum music from the earlier part of the decade. Over the next 15 years, De Berry spent time in St. Louis and Jackson, Tennessee, returning to Memphis to make radio appearances with Willie Nix and Walter Horton. In 1953, he recorded two sessions for Sun (9). In 1972, producer Stephen C. LaVere reunited De Berry and Horton for sessions designed to recreate their earlier partnership, which were released on CrossCut Records.