1932 Cyril Davies*
1951 Nick Woodland*
1967 Ronnie Baker Brooks*
1972 Big Maybelle+
1993 Thomas Andrew Dorsey (Georgia Tom)+
Happy Birthday
Cyril Davies *23.01.1932
Cyril Davies (* 23. Januar 1932 in Denham, England; † 7. Januar 1964 in London) war ein britischer Bluesmusiker. Er sang und spielte 12 saitige Gitarre ist aber vor allem für sein Mundharmonikaspiel bekannt. Davies gilt zusammen mit Alexis Korner und John Mayall als einer der Väter des europäischen Blues. Durch seinen frühen Tod fand seine Karriere ein abruptes Ende und er geriet mehr und mehr in Vergessenheit.
Leben
Davies wuchs in Denham auf und arbeitete zunächst als Automechaniker ehe er nach London ging. Der Bluesfan Davies betrieb dort zusammen mit Alexis Korner seit 1955 den London Blues And Barrelhouse Club der zuvor ein Skiffleclub war, laut Aussagen Alexis Korner's war der Skiffleclub immer voll, aber am ersten Abend des Bluesclubs wären nur 3 Leute gekommen., der zur Keimzelle der britischen Bluesbewegung wurde. Davies und Korner spielten auch als Duo zusammen. Mit Korner gründete Davies 1961 die Band Blues Incorporated, aus der eine ganze Reihe bekannter Blues- und Rockmusiker und -bands hervorgingen. Im Londoner Stadtteil Ealing betrieben sie den Ealing Club, wo sich die Bluesszene traf und zusammen spielte. Blues Incorporated spielte oft in dem Club, als Vorband fungierten keine geringeren als die Yardbirds oder die Rolling Stones, die damals noch unbekannt waren und durch Davies und Korner an erste Auftritte kamen.
1963 verließ Davies Blues Incorporated und gründete die Cyril Davies' All Stars. Korner wollte eine Bläsersektion in die Band holen und mehr in Richtung Jazz gehen, für Blues-Purist Davies ein nicht akzeptabler Schritt. Als Nachfolger kam Graham Bond zu Blues Incorporated. Davies nahm mit Blues Incorporated abgesehen von ein paar Singles nur das Studioalbum R&B From The Marquee auf, das als erste europäische Bluesplatte gilt. Mit den All Stars veröffentlichte er grade einmal 2 Singles vor seinem Tod. Die All Stars waren größten Teils die Band von Screaming Lord Sutch gewesen.
Anfang 1964 starb Cyril Davies an Leukämie. Long John Baldry führte die Band unter dem Namen Hoochie Coochie Men weiter.
Cyril Davies (23 January 1932 – 7 January 1964)[1] was one of the first British blues harmonica players and blues musician.
Biography
Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, near London, he was the son of William Albert Davies, a labourer, and his wife Margaret Mary (née Jones). He had an elder brother named Glyn, and the family is believed to have come from Wales.
Cyril Davies began his career in the early 1950s first within Steve Lane's Southern Stompers, then in 1955 formed an acoustic skiffle and blues group with Alexis Korner.[2] He began as a banjo and 12-string guitar player before becoming a Chicago-style blues harmonica player after hearing Little Walter.[2] Working by day as a panel beater, he ran an unsuccessful skiffle club before meeting Korner, then Davies and Korner opened a London Rhythm and Blues club 'England's Firstest and Bestest Skiffle Club', later known as the 'London Blues and Barrelhouse Club'. Popular with other musicians, the club hosted gigs by blues musicians such as Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Memphis Slim.[2]
During this period Davies and Korner worked as session musicians, and often backed Ottilie Patterson during her featured set with husband Chris Barber's band, using amplified instruments for the first time – which did not go down well with their blues purist audience and many fellow musicians.[2] After closing the blues club, Davies and Korner went their separate ways, and, influenced by Muddy Waters electric sound, Davies formed his own electric blues band.[2]
The Ealing Club and Blues Incorporated
In 1961, Chris Barber recruited Davies and Korner to play harmonica and electric guitar on his album Chris Barber's Blues Book. Their involvement in this project led them to start accompanying Barber's band regularly at its Wednesday and Friday night sets at the Marquee Club, a popular London jazz club. This opportunity granted Davies and Korner some exposure to the London music scene, but the duo wished to focus more on blues and R&B. The two decided to found their own rhythm and blues group, and in a show of support, Barber offered them an intermission slot at the Marquee on Wednesday nights.[3]
Korner supplied musicians for the rhythm sections, and Davies recruited Art Wood and Long John Baldry to be the vocalists. They named the group Blues Incorporated, and their initial performances at the Marquee were very well received. However, they realized the need for additional performance opportunities, and since most jazz and folk clubs in London were wary of electric guitars, Davies and Korner decided to found their own club at which they could perform. They founded the Ealing Club in 1962, which featured performances by both Blues Incorporated and other Trad jazz outfits popular in England at the time. The club proved to be a popular sensation in the burgeoning R&B scene, and attracted such far-flung admirers and future stars as Mick Jagger and Eric Burdon.[4] Jagger was in the audience for the second night at the club and got up to sing "Got My Mojo Working".[2]
Later Success
In June 1962 they recorded R&B from the Marquee,[5] actually recorded in Decca Records studio.After touring the UK and headlining a residency at The Marquee,[2] by October 1962 there was musical tension in the band as some members wanted to play crowd pleasers like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley songs while Cyril Davies and others members were blues purists who wanted to play what they saw as only genuine Chicago-style R&B.[6][7] Following his departure from Blues Incorporated in October 1962, Davies then formed the Cyril Davies All-Stars[8] in November 1962 and recorded five tracks for Pye Records, who had announced an R&B label featuring music imported from Davies' favourite Chicago musicians ("Country Line Special", "Chicago Calling", "Preaching the Blues", "Sweet Mary" and "Someday Baby").[9] The original line-up was largely recruited from Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages,and featured both Long John Baldry and Davies on vocals to give Davies room to play harmonica. The band, later known simply as the All-Stars was subject to frequent personnel changes.[10]
After contracting pleurisy in 1963, Davies began to drink heavily to assuage the pain while undergoing a heavy touring schedule.[2] He died in January 1964.[10] The official cause of death was given as endocarditis,[11] although leukaemia is often quoted. The core band was taken over by Long John Baldry and formed the basis of his 'Hoochie Coochie Men'.
In October 2014 the compilation entitled 'Preachin' The Blues ~ The Cyril Davies Memorial Album' was finally released on GVC Records (GVC2040) in Great Britain.
Biography
Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, near London, he was the son of William Albert Davies, a labourer, and his wife Margaret Mary (née Jones). He had an elder brother named Glyn, and the family is believed to have come from Wales.
Cyril Davies began his career in the early 1950s first within Steve Lane's Southern Stompers, then in 1955 formed an acoustic skiffle and blues group with Alexis Korner.[2] He began as a banjo and 12-string guitar player before becoming a Chicago-style blues harmonica player after hearing Little Walter.[2] Working by day as a panel beater, he ran an unsuccessful skiffle club before meeting Korner, then Davies and Korner opened a London Rhythm and Blues club 'England's Firstest and Bestest Skiffle Club', later known as the 'London Blues and Barrelhouse Club'. Popular with other musicians, the club hosted gigs by blues musicians such as Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Memphis Slim.[2]
During this period Davies and Korner worked as session musicians, and often backed Ottilie Patterson during her featured set with husband Chris Barber's band, using amplified instruments for the first time – which did not go down well with their blues purist audience and many fellow musicians.[2] After closing the blues club, Davies and Korner went their separate ways, and, influenced by Muddy Waters electric sound, Davies formed his own electric blues band.[2]
The Ealing Club and Blues Incorporated
In 1961, Chris Barber recruited Davies and Korner to play harmonica and electric guitar on his album Chris Barber's Blues Book. Their involvement in this project led them to start accompanying Barber's band regularly at its Wednesday and Friday night sets at the Marquee Club, a popular London jazz club. This opportunity granted Davies and Korner some exposure to the London music scene, but the duo wished to focus more on blues and R&B. The two decided to found their own rhythm and blues group, and in a show of support, Barber offered them an intermission slot at the Marquee on Wednesday nights.[3]
Korner supplied musicians for the rhythm sections, and Davies recruited Art Wood and Long John Baldry to be the vocalists. They named the group Blues Incorporated, and their initial performances at the Marquee were very well received. However, they realized the need for additional performance opportunities, and since most jazz and folk clubs in London were wary of electric guitars, Davies and Korner decided to found their own club at which they could perform. They founded the Ealing Club in 1962, which featured performances by both Blues Incorporated and other Trad jazz outfits popular in England at the time. The club proved to be a popular sensation in the burgeoning R&B scene, and attracted such far-flung admirers and future stars as Mick Jagger and Eric Burdon.[4] Jagger was in the audience for the second night at the club and got up to sing "Got My Mojo Working".[2]
Later Success
In June 1962 they recorded R&B from the Marquee,[5] actually recorded in Decca Records studio.After touring the UK and headlining a residency at The Marquee,[2] by October 1962 there was musical tension in the band as some members wanted to play crowd pleasers like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley songs while Cyril Davies and others members were blues purists who wanted to play what they saw as only genuine Chicago-style R&B.[6][7] Following his departure from Blues Incorporated in October 1962, Davies then formed the Cyril Davies All-Stars[8] in November 1962 and recorded five tracks for Pye Records, who had announced an R&B label featuring music imported from Davies' favourite Chicago musicians ("Country Line Special", "Chicago Calling", "Preaching the Blues", "Sweet Mary" and "Someday Baby").[9] The original line-up was largely recruited from Screaming Lord Sutch's Savages,and featured both Long John Baldry and Davies on vocals to give Davies room to play harmonica. The band, later known simply as the All-Stars was subject to frequent personnel changes.[10]
After contracting pleurisy in 1963, Davies began to drink heavily to assuage the pain while undergoing a heavy touring schedule.[2] He died in January 1964.[10] The official cause of death was given as endocarditis,[11] although leukaemia is often quoted. The core band was taken over by Long John Baldry and formed the basis of his 'Hoochie Coochie Men'.
In October 2014 the compilation entitled 'Preachin' The Blues ~ The Cyril Davies Memorial Album' was finally released on GVC Records (GVC2040) in Great Britain.
Ronnie Baker Brooks *23.01.1967
Ronnie Baker Brooks (* als Rodney Dione Baker, 23. Januar 1967 in Chicago) ist ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist, Sänger und Songwriter aus Chicago (Chicago Blues, Soul Blues).
Brooks spielte schon mit neun Jahren an der Seite seines Vaters, des Bluesmusikers Lonnie Brooks. Er lernte Bass-Gitarre und war ab 1986 in der Band seines Vaters (z.B. Live from Chicago: Bayou Lightning Strikes, Alligator Records 1988). Er spielte mit Koko Taylor, Elvin Bishop und Lil' Ed Williams. Ab 1998 trat er Solo auf. Im selben Jahr erschien bei Watchdog Records sein Solo-Album Golddigger. Es folgten Take me Witcha (2001) und The Torch (2006), alle bei Watchdog.
Er lebt in Dolton (Illinois).
2000 wurde er auf den Blues Music Awards als bester Newcomer nominiert.
Gelegentlich tritt er mit einer Familienband mit seinem Vater und Bruder Wayne Baker Brooks auf.
Ronnie Baker Brooks (born January 23, 1967)[1] is an American Chicago blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a respected club performer in Chicago, before recording three solo albums for Watchdog Records. The son of fellow Chicago blues musician Lonnie Brooks,[2] he is the brother of another blues guitarist, Wayne Baker Brooks.
Allmusic journalist, Andy Whitman, described Brooks as "... a better than average soul singer, a fine blues interpreter, and a monster guitarist with an ample supply of technique and passion."[2]
Life and career
He was born Rodney Dion Baker in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[3]
At the age of nine, he first appeared on stage playing guitar alongside his father.[1] In 1985, Brooks graduated from Hales Franciscan High School.[3] He learned to play bass guitar and joined his father's band in 1986. Two years later Alligator Records released Brooks father's live album, Live from Chicago: Bayou Lightning Strikes, which included Ronnie Baker Brooks guitar work. He was then part of Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Tour, and performed alongside Koko Taylor, Elvin Bishop, and Lil' Ed Williams.[3] By 1998 Brooks had gone solo,[1] and his debut album Golddigger, was released the same year on the Watchdog record label.[4] It was produced by Janet Jackson.[1] Brooks was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2000 for 'Best New Artist'.[1] His second album, Take Me Witcha, followed in May 2001.[5]
Brooks most recent album was Torch (2006). The Boston Herald described it as "Ferocious and unrelenting, The Torch may be the year's best blues album..." The album included guest contributions from Lonnie Brooks, Eddy Clearwater, Jimmy Johnson, Willie Kent, and Al Kapone, and was produced by Jellybean Johnson.[6][7]
When on occasion, Ronnie's younger brother Wayne Baker Brooks joined him and his father on stage, they were billed as the Brooks Family Band.[7] In 2007, Brooks played at the Notodden Blues Festival, and at both Memphis in May and the Musikfest in 2009. In August 2010, Brooks co-wrote three tracks with Chris Beard for the latter's Who I Am and What I Do on Electro Glide Records.[8][9]
In 2012 blues reporter, David Brais, declared Brooks "blues royalty". Brais reported, "His particular style of Chicago blues has been performed on stages around the world. It honors the true torch bearers of this unique sound which includes Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Luther Allison and his father."[10]
Brooks lives in Dolton, Illinois, and is a regular at Artis's Lounge on Chicago's South Side.
Allmusic journalist, Andy Whitman, described Brooks as "... a better than average soul singer, a fine blues interpreter, and a monster guitarist with an ample supply of technique and passion."[2]
Life and career
He was born Rodney Dion Baker in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[3]
At the age of nine, he first appeared on stage playing guitar alongside his father.[1] In 1985, Brooks graduated from Hales Franciscan High School.[3] He learned to play bass guitar and joined his father's band in 1986. Two years later Alligator Records released Brooks father's live album, Live from Chicago: Bayou Lightning Strikes, which included Ronnie Baker Brooks guitar work. He was then part of Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Tour, and performed alongside Koko Taylor, Elvin Bishop, and Lil' Ed Williams.[3] By 1998 Brooks had gone solo,[1] and his debut album Golddigger, was released the same year on the Watchdog record label.[4] It was produced by Janet Jackson.[1] Brooks was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2000 for 'Best New Artist'.[1] His second album, Take Me Witcha, followed in May 2001.[5]
Brooks most recent album was Torch (2006). The Boston Herald described it as "Ferocious and unrelenting, The Torch may be the year's best blues album..." The album included guest contributions from Lonnie Brooks, Eddy Clearwater, Jimmy Johnson, Willie Kent, and Al Kapone, and was produced by Jellybean Johnson.[6][7]
When on occasion, Ronnie's younger brother Wayne Baker Brooks joined him and his father on stage, they were billed as the Brooks Family Band.[7] In 2007, Brooks played at the Notodden Blues Festival, and at both Memphis in May and the Musikfest in 2009. In August 2010, Brooks co-wrote three tracks with Chris Beard for the latter's Who I Am and What I Do on Electro Glide Records.[8][9]
In 2012 blues reporter, David Brais, declared Brooks "blues royalty". Brais reported, "His particular style of Chicago blues has been performed on stages around the world. It honors the true torch bearers of this unique sound which includes Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Luther Allison and his father."[10]
Brooks lives in Dolton, Illinois, and is a regular at Artis's Lounge on Chicago's South Side.
Nick Woodland *23.01.1951
Nick Woodland (* 23. Januar 1951 in London) ist ein britischer Rock ’n’ Roll- und Blues-Gitarrist, der in München lebt. Beeinflusst wurde er von Musikern wie Alexis Korner, Eric Clapton, John Mayall und Peter Green.
Er spielte in Rockbands wie Amon Düül II, Gift, Sahara und The Clash, begleitete die Pop-Größen Donna Summer und Boney M., Jazz-Flötist Herbie Mann und ging mit Marius Müller-Westernhagen auf Tournee.
Mit seiner eigenen Band tritt er seit 1982 in Clubs und auf Festivals auf. Ab Mitte der 1980er Jahre spielte die Band als Nick Woodland and the Magnets mit George Esser (Bass) und Fats Fries (Schlagzeug). Zwischen 2002 und 2008 wirkten Walter Zinkl (Bass), Holger Brandt (Schlagzeug) und Klaus Reichardt (Keyboard, Pedal-Steel-Gitarre) in der Band mit. Seit 2008 besteht das neue Line-up aus Tom Peschel (Bass), Manfred Mildenberger (Schlagzeug) und Klaus Reichardt (Keyboard, Pedal-Steel-Gitarre).
Seit 1992 war er Mitglied der Band von Georg Ringsgwandl, diese Zusammenarbeit wurde 2012 beendet. 1992 schrieb er die Musik für den Kinofilm Wir Enkelkinder des Kabarettisten Bruno Jonas. Seit 2006 spielt er auch bei der wiedervereinigten deutschen ProgRock-Band Sahara.
Eine Legende ist, dass er einmal kurz davor war, bei den Rolling Stones als Ersatz für den ausgeschiedenen Mick Taylor einzusteigen.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_WoodlandEr spielte in Rockbands wie Amon Düül II, Gift, Sahara und The Clash, begleitete die Pop-Größen Donna Summer und Boney M., Jazz-Flötist Herbie Mann und ging mit Marius Müller-Westernhagen auf Tournee.
Mit seiner eigenen Band tritt er seit 1982 in Clubs und auf Festivals auf. Ab Mitte der 1980er Jahre spielte die Band als Nick Woodland and the Magnets mit George Esser (Bass) und Fats Fries (Schlagzeug). Zwischen 2002 und 2008 wirkten Walter Zinkl (Bass), Holger Brandt (Schlagzeug) und Klaus Reichardt (Keyboard, Pedal-Steel-Gitarre) in der Band mit. Seit 2008 besteht das neue Line-up aus Tom Peschel (Bass), Manfred Mildenberger (Schlagzeug) und Klaus Reichardt (Keyboard, Pedal-Steel-Gitarre).
Seit 1992 war er Mitglied der Band von Georg Ringsgwandl, diese Zusammenarbeit wurde 2012 beendet. 1992 schrieb er die Musik für den Kinofilm Wir Enkelkinder des Kabarettisten Bruno Jonas. Seit 2006 spielt er auch bei der wiedervereinigten deutschen ProgRock-Band Sahara.
Eine Legende ist, dass er einmal kurz davor war, bei den Rolling Stones als Ersatz für den ausgeschiedenen Mick Taylor einzusteigen.
Nick Woodland - Handle On The Blues - High Definition
Nick Woodland - Something I Heard (Ebersberg 2015)
R.I.P.
Thomas Andrew Dorsey (Georgia Tom) +23.01.1993
Thomas Andrew Dorsey, auch Georgia Tom, (* 1. Juli 1899 in Villa Rica, Georgia; † 23. Januar 1993 in Chicago) war Blues- und Gospel-Sänger und -Pianist.
Dorsey war Sohn eines Baptistenpredigers und einer Klavierlehrerin und Neffe des Kirchenorganisten. Aber aus der Nachbarschaft war er auch anderen musikalischen Eindrücken ausgesetzt: Zirkusmusik, Blues, Vaudeville, Hillbilly Balladen, und die Revival-Hymnen von Billy Sunday's Kantor Homer Rodeheaver.
In seiner späteren Jugend zog er nach Atlanta, wo er als Klavierbegleiter und Gesangslehrer arbeitete, etwa für Bluessängerinnen wie Bessie Smith und Ma Rainey. In Chicago, wo er ab 1916 Komposition und Arrangement studierte, spielte er bei Rent-Partys unter den Namen Barrelhouse Tom and Texas Tommy. Bekannt wurde er aber als Georgia Tom zusammen mit seinem musikalischen Partner Tampa Red. Mit ihm hatte er 1928 mit „It's Tight Like That“ einen großen Hit im Stil des sogenannten „Hokum Blues“.
1925 gründete er für Ma Rainey die „Wild Cats Jazz Band“.
Der schlüpfrige Text von Liedern wie „It's Tight like That“ brachte ihm manchen Ärger ein, denn bald schon war er als Gospelmusiker bekannter noch als im Blues, und beim Gospel hatte er ein teils doch moralisch anspruchsvolleres Publikum. Er begann, seine eigenen Gospel-Kompositionen zu vermarkten. Darunter Hits wie „It's A Highway To Heaven“, die große Hymne unter den Gospelsongs „Take My Hand, Precious Lord“ geprägt durch den unverwechselbaren Sound der HB310, und besinnliche Lieder wie „What Then“. Er war der musikalische Mentor der berühmten Gospelsängerin Mahalia Jackson und schrieb für sie den Song „Peace In The Valley“. Er gründete den ersten Verlag für Black Gospel Musik.
Dorsey wurde 1994 in die Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was known as "the father of black gospel music" and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as "dorseys."[2] Earlier in his life he was a leading blues pianist known as Georgia Tom. As formulated by Dorsey, gospel music combines Christian praise with the rhythms of jazz and the blues. His conception also deviates from what had been, to that time, standard hymnal practice by referring explicitly to the self, and the self's relation to faith and God, rather than the individual subsumed into the group via belief. Dorsey, who was born in Villa Rica, Georgia, was the music director at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago from 1932 until the late 1970s. His best-known composition, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", was performed by Mahalia Jackson and was a favorite of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.. Another composition, "Peace in the Valley", was a hit for Red Foley in 1951 and has been performed by dozens of other artists, including Queen of Gospel Albertina Walker, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Dorsey died in Chicago, aged 93. In 2002, the Library of Congress honored his album Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey (1973), by adding it to the United States National Recording Registry.
Life and career
Dorsey's father was a minister and his mother a piano teacher. He learned to play blues piano as a young man. After studying music formally in Chicago, he became an agent for Paramount Records. He put together a band for Ma Rainey called the "Wild Cats Jazz Band" in 1924. He started out playing at rent parties with the names Barrelhouse Tom and Texas Tommy, but he was most famous as Georgia Tom. As Georgia Tom, he teamed up with Tampa Red (Hudson Whittaker) with whom he recorded the raunchy 1928 hit record "Tight Like That", a sensation, eventually selling seven million copies.[3] In all, he is credited with more than 400 blues and jazz songs. Dorsey began recording gospel music alongside blues in the mid-1920s. This led to his performing at the National Baptist Convention in 1930, and becoming the bandleader of two churches in the early 1930s.[4]
His first wife, Nettie, who had been Rainey's wardrobe mistress, died in childbirth in 1932. Two days later the child, a son, also died. In his grief, he wrote his most famous song, one of the most famous of all gospel songs, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand".[5] Unhappy with the treatment received at the hands of established publishers, Dorsey opened the first black gospel music publishing company, Dorsey House of Music. He also founded his own gospel choir and was a founder and first president of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses.
His influence was not limited to African American music, as white musicians also followed his lead. "Precious Lord" has been recorded by Albertina Walker, Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Clara Ward, Dorothy Norwood, Jim Reeves, Roy Rogers, and Tennessee Ernie Ford, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash among hundreds of others. It was a favorite gospel song of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and was sung at the rally held at the Imani Temple the night before his assassination, and, per his request, at his funeral by Mahalia Jackson. It was also a favorite of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who requested it to be sung at his funeral. Dorsey was also a great influence on other Chicago-based gospel artists such as Albertina Walker and The Caravans and Little Joey McClork.
Dorsey wrote "Peace in the Valley" for Mahalia Jackson in 1937, which also became a gospel standard. He was the first African American elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and also the first in the Gospel Music Association's Living Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was inducted as a charter member of the Gennett Records Walk of Fame in Richmond, Indiana. His papers are preserved at Fisk University, along with those of W.C. Handy, George Gershwin, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Dorsey's works have proliferated beyond performance, into the hymnals of virtually all American churches and of English-speaking churches worldwide. Thomas was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He died in Chicago, Illinois, and was interred there in the Oak Woods Cemetery.
Big Maybelle +23.01.1972
Big Maybelle (eigentlich Maybelle Louise Smith; * 1. Mai 1924 in Jackson, Tennessee; † 23. Januar 1972 in Cleveland, Ohio) war eine vor allem in den 1950ern populäre US-amerikanische R&B-Sängerin.
Leben und Wirken
Big Maybelle sang schon als Kind im Kirchenchor der Church of God in Christ; mit neun Jahren gewann sie einen Gesangswettbewerb beim Memphis Cotton Carnival. Sie begann dann ihre Karriere als professionelle Sängerin im Jahre 1936. Erste Plattenaufnahme mit dem Orchester von Christine Chatman war am 6. April 1944 der Titel Hurry, Hurry (Decca #8660). Eigene Plattenaufnahmen entstanden allerdings erst im November 1947, als sie kurzfristig für lediglich drei Singles bei King Records sang. Zwischen 1947 und 1950 sang sie im Orchester von Tiny Bradshaw.
Erste Hitparadenerfolge brachte der Wechsel zu Okeh Records, deren am 8. Oktober 1952 entstandener Gabbin' Blues (OKeh #6931) einen beachtlichen dritten Rang in den Rhythm & Blues-Charts erreichen konnte. Hier konnte sie noch zwei weitere Singles in die Top 10 bringen und blieb dem Label bis Ende 1955 treu. Während dieser Zeit bei OKeh erschien auch das Original von Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (später ein Hit für Jerry Lee Lewis).
Ihr Wechsel zu Savoy Records konnte ihren Erfolg nicht stabilisieren. Mit ihrer dortigen ersten Single Candy drang sie lediglich auf Rang 11 der R&B-Hitliste vor. Weitere zahlreiche Labelwechsel zu Brunswick oder Scepter Records, mit teilweise nur einer einzigen Single, haben der künstlerischen Laufbahn eher geschadet. Bei Rojac wurde die Blues-Shouterin gar überredet, aktuelle Pophits zu covern - ebenfalls ohne Erfolg.
Sie ist zu sehen im Dokumentarfilm Jazz on a Summer's Day, aufgenommen beim Newport Jazz Festival 1958.
In ihren späteren Jahren verfiel Big Maybelle immer mehr dem Heroin. Sie starb 1972 in einem diabetischen Koma. 2011 wurde sie in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972),[1] known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer and pianist. Her 1956 hit single "Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.[2]
Childhood and musical background
Born in Jackson, Tennessee, United States, Big Maybelle sang gospel as a child and by her teens had switched to rhythm and blues. She began her professional career with Dave Clark's Memphis Band in 1936, and also toured with the all female International Sweethearts of Rhythm.[3] She then joined Christine Chatman's Orchestra as pianist, and made her first recordings with Chatman in 1944, before recording with the Tiny Bradshaw's Orchestra from 1947 to 1950.[4]
Her debut solo recordings, recorded as Mabel Smith, were for King Records in 1947, when she was backed by Oran "Hot Lips" Page, but she had little initial success.
Okeh Records
In 1952 she was signed by Okeh Records, whose record producer Fred Mendelsohn gave her the stage name 'Big Maybelle' because of her loud yet well-toned voice.[5] Her first recording for Okeh, "Gabbin' Blues", was a number 3 hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and was followed up by both "Way Back Home" and "My Country Man" in 1953.
In 1955 she recorded the song "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On", produced by up-and-coming producer Quincy Jones,[6] a full two years before rockabilly then rock and roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis's version. Lewis has credited Smith's version as being the inspiration to make his version much more louder, raunchy and raucous, with a driving beat and a spoken section with a come-on that was considered very risque for the time.
Savoy Records
More hits followed throughout the 1950s, particularly after signing with Savoy Records later in 1955, including "Candy" (1956), one of her biggest sellers.
During this time she also appeared on stage at the Apollo Theater in New York City in 1957, and at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival she sang Jazz on a Summer's Day, which was filmed at the festival along with Mahalia Jackson and Dinah Washington onstage.[7]
Career decline and health problems
After 1959 she recorded for a variety of labels but the hits largely dried up. She continued to perform in person into the early 1960s, but by this time her addiction to heroin, combined with health problems, took their physical toll on her.[3] Her last hit single was in 1967 with a cover of "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians[8]
Death
Smith died in a diabetic coma in 1972, in Cleveland, Ohio. She was survived by her only child Barbara Smith, and many grandchildren.[1]
Her final album, Last of Big Maybelle, was released posthumously in 1973.
Legacy
The album The Okeh Sessions on the Epic label, won the 1983 W. C. Handy Award, for "Vintage or Reissue Album of the Year (U.S.)."[9] In 2011, she was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame.
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