Little Axe is the stage name of Skip McDonald (born Bernard Alexander, 1949, Dayton, Ohio) an American blues musician. McDonald played jazz, doo-wop, and gospel when young, and moved to New York as a teenager with his band of friends, called The Entertainers.
Axe joined the group Wood Brass & Steel in 1973 with bassist Doug Wimbish and drummer Harold Sargent; the group recorded two albums before their 1979 breakup. Axe then became one of the members of the house band for Sugarhill Records and appeared as guitarist on many early rap albums, including The Message by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.
After leaving Sugarhill, McDonald, Wimbish, and drummer Keith LeBlanc began working with Adrian Sherwood, and eventually formed the trio into the group Tackhead (fronted by Gary Clail and, later, Bernard Fowler).
In the 1990s McDonald took the name Little Axe and began recording blues albums, continuing to appear as a guest act on other artists' albums as well. His most recent albums have been released on Real World Records. Alan Glen is featured on harmonica on the albums.
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