Floyd Council (September 2, 1911 – May 9, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, mandolin player, and singer of the Piedmont blues style, popular in the south-eastern United States in the 1920s and 1930s. He was sometimes credited as Dipper Boy Council and promoted as ‘The Devil's Daddy-in-Law’. Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he began his musical career on the streets of Chapel Hill in the 1920s, performing with two brothers, Leo and Thomas Strowd, as the Chapel Hillbillies. He also performed with Thomas Strowd/Stroud as The Pottersfield Playboys. 

In 1936 he played back up on several recordings with/for Fulton Allen, a.k.a. Blind Boy Fuller. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he and Blind Boy Fuller busked in the Chapel Hill area. Floyd recorded twice for ARC at sessions with Blind Boy Fuller in the mid-1930s, all examples of the Piedmont style. 

Floyd suffered a stroke in the late 1960s, which partially paralysed his throat muscles and slowed his motor skills, but thankfully didn't significantly damage his cognitive abilities. The folklorist Peter B. Lowry attempted to record him one afternoon in 1970, but Floyd never regained his singing or playing abilities. Although many accounts lead us to understand that he remained sharp in mind. 

No records are available which exclusively feature Floyd 's work, however, in a 1969 interview, he stated that he had recorded 27 songs over his career, seven of them backing Blind Boy Fuller, his album Complete Recorded Works contains many songs with Council playing guitar.   Council died in 1976 of a heart attack, after moving to Sanford, North Carolina. He is buried at White Oak AME Zion Cemetery in Sanford. In 2014, the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for Floyd Council.


Floyd Council - Runaway man blues