1922 John Brim*
1928 Rosco Gordon*
1930 Ray Agee*
1936 Bobby Smith*
1958 Chuck Willis+
1979 Shemekia Copeland*
2013 Jimmy Dawkins+
Happy Birthday
Bobby Smith *10.04.1936
Robert "Bobby" Smith (sometimes spelled Bobbie; April 10, 1936 – March 16, 2013[1]) was an American R&B singer, the principal lead singer of the classic Motown group, The Spinners,[2] also known as the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners, throughout its history. The group was formed circa 1954 at Ferndale High School in Ferndale, Michigan, just north of the Detroit border. The group had their first record deal when they signed with Tri-Phi Records in early 1961.
Smith had been the group's main lead singer since its inception, having sung lead vocals on The Spinners first hit record in 1961, "That's What Girls Are Made For" (which has been inaccurately credited to the group's mentor and former Moonglows lead singer, the late Harvey Fuqua). Smith also sang lead on most of their Motown material during the 1960s, such as the charting singles like "Truly Yours" (1966) and "I'll Always Love You" (1965); almost all of the group's pre-Motown material on Fuqua's Tri-Phi Records label, and also on The Spinners' biggest Atlantic Records hits. These included "I'll Be Around",[3] "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love",[4] "They Just Can't Stop It the (Games People Play)".[5] In 1974, they scored their only #1 Pop hit with "Then Came You" (sung by Smith, in a collaboration with superstar Dionne Warwick).[6] Despite the fact that Smith led on many of the group's biggest hits, many have erroneously, and unfairly credited much of the group's success to its other lead singer, the late Philippé Wynne.[7]
Wynne was many times inaccurately credited for songs that Smith actually sang lead on, such as by the group's label, Atlantic Records, on their Anthology double album collection (an error corrected in the group's later triple CD set, The Chrome Collection). Throughout a succession of lead singers (Wynne, Jonathan Edwards, G. C. Cameron etc.), Smith's lead voice had always been The Spinners' mainstay.
With the 2013 death of Smith, from pneumonia and influenza, as well as fellow Spinners members C. P. Spencer in 2004, Billy Henderson in 2007, and bass singer Pervis Jackson in 2008, Henry Fambrough is now the last remaining original member of the group. Fambrough is still performing with a current day line-up of Spinners.
John Brim *10.04.1922
John Brim (* 10. April 1922 bei Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky; † 1. Oktober 2003 in Gary, Indiana) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Musiker. Zu seinen bekanntesten Songs zählen Ice Cream Man, Rattlesnake und Tough Times.
Unter dem Einfluss früher Blues-Aufnahmen von Tampa Red und Big Bill Broonzy brachte sich Brim das Spielen auf der Mundharmonika selbst bei. Mit dem Gitarristen Homer Wilson spielte er auf den Straßen seiner Heimatgegend. 1941 gingen Brim und Wilson nach Indianapolis, um Arbeit zu suchen. Hier lernte Brim, Gitarre zu spielen. Zu seinen Lehrmeistern gehörte neben anderen Scrapper Blackwell.
1945 zog Brim nach Chicago, wo er mit Sonny Boy Williamson und Dr. Clayton auftrat. In den nächsten fünf Jahren spielte Brim mit den Größen des Chicago Blues, darunter Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Memphis Minnie, Big Bill Broonzy, Tampa Red, Big Maceo Merriweather und viele andere. 1947 heiratete Brim die Blues-Sängerin Grace. Auf Brims Drängen lernte sie Schlagzeug spielen, so dass sie ihn begleiten konnte. Jimmy Reed hatte mit den beiden einen seiner ersten Auftritte.
Mit Big Maceo Merriweather machten die Brims 1950 ihre ersten Aufnahmen in Detroit, denen etliche weitere folgten, u.a für das Label J.O.B., mit Sunnyland Slim, Roosevelt Sykes, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed und anderen. Brim spielte auch Gitarre bei der ersten Aufnahme von Albert King.
Unstimmigkeiten mit seinem Plattenlabel Chess Records ließen Brims Aufnahmen von 1955-56 über 15 Jahre in den Archiven verstauben, bevor sie schließlich veröffentlicht wurden. Brim trat weiterhin auf, machte aber erst 1971 wieder Aufnahmen, zusammen mit seiner Frau und ihrem gemeinsamen Sohn John Junior. Danach vergingen wieder 18 Jahre, ehe 1989 die nächsten Aufnahmen erfolgten, diesmal u. a. mit Pinetop Perkins. 1994 erschien die CD Ice Cream Man, an der auch Jerry Portnoy und Bob Margolin mitgewirkt hatten.
1999 starb Brims Frau Grace. 2000 war er wieder im Studio, um mit seiner Begleitband "The Tough Time Boys" das Album Jake's Blues aufzunehmen.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brim
John Brim (April 10, 1922 – October 1, 2003) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, songwriter and singer. He wrote and recorded the original "Ice Cream Man", which was later covered by Van Halen on their first album.[1] The song was also covered by Martin Sexton on his 2001 double album Live Wide Open. David Lee Roth's version appears on his album Diamond Dave. Brim died of heart cancer on October 1, 2003.
Biography
Brim began playing guitar by studying the recordings of Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red. He moved to Indianapolis in 1941 and Chicago in 1947. His wife Grace was also a talented musician who played drums and harmonica.[1]
Brim recorded for several labels, including releases on Chess Records. "Ice Cream Man" was produced in 1953 but was not released until 1969. Other tracks recorded on the Chess label include "I Would Hate to See You Go" (1956). The album "Whose Muddy Shoes" includes all his songs from the 1950s on that label.[1]
Brim also operated a dry cleaners and a record store. He used his royalties from Van Halen’s recording of "Ice Cream Man" to open a nightclub in Chicago.[2]
Brim continued to perform occasionally around Chicago, and was a regularly featured performer on the Chicago Blues Festival beginning in 1991, when he was backed by the local Chicago blues band The Ice Cream Men (drummer Steve Cushing, guitarists Dave Waldman and "Rockin'" Johnny Burgin, and harmonica player Scott Dirks). The band name was coincidental; they were not Brim's regular band, but had been using that name because the members had previously worked with Chicago bluesman Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, who worked as an ice cream man on Chicago's south side.
He recorded four songs for the German Wolf label in 1989. A CD titled Ice Cream Man was released on Tone Cool Records in 1994.[3] It received a W. C. Handy nomination as the best Traditional Blues Album of the Year.[2]
Brim appeared at the 1997 San Francisco Blues Festival. He made another album in 2000, and continued to give live performances, such as in Belgium in 2001 and at the 2002 Chicago Blues Festival.[2]
Death
On the morning of October 1, 2003, Brim spoke briefly on the phone with his son, before he was struck with chest pains. Brim was rushed to the hospital, but died just before the ambulance reached the hospital, and the doctor discovered that the 81-year old's cause of death was heart cancer. Brim's funeral was held on October 10, 2003.
Biography
Brim began playing guitar by studying the recordings of Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red. He moved to Indianapolis in 1941 and Chicago in 1947. His wife Grace was also a talented musician who played drums and harmonica.[1]
Brim recorded for several labels, including releases on Chess Records. "Ice Cream Man" was produced in 1953 but was not released until 1969. Other tracks recorded on the Chess label include "I Would Hate to See You Go" (1956). The album "Whose Muddy Shoes" includes all his songs from the 1950s on that label.[1]
Brim also operated a dry cleaners and a record store. He used his royalties from Van Halen’s recording of "Ice Cream Man" to open a nightclub in Chicago.[2]
Brim continued to perform occasionally around Chicago, and was a regularly featured performer on the Chicago Blues Festival beginning in 1991, when he was backed by the local Chicago blues band The Ice Cream Men (drummer Steve Cushing, guitarists Dave Waldman and "Rockin'" Johnny Burgin, and harmonica player Scott Dirks). The band name was coincidental; they were not Brim's regular band, but had been using that name because the members had previously worked with Chicago bluesman Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, who worked as an ice cream man on Chicago's south side.
He recorded four songs for the German Wolf label in 1989. A CD titled Ice Cream Man was released on Tone Cool Records in 1994.[3] It received a W. C. Handy nomination as the best Traditional Blues Album of the Year.[2]
Brim appeared at the 1997 San Francisco Blues Festival. He made another album in 2000, and continued to give live performances, such as in Belgium in 2001 and at the 2002 Chicago Blues Festival.[2]
Death
On the morning of October 1, 2003, Brim spoke briefly on the phone with his son, before he was struck with chest pains. Brim was rushed to the hospital, but died just before the ambulance reached the hospital, and the doctor discovered that the 81-year old's cause of death was heart cancer. Brim's funeral was held on October 10, 2003.
Rosco Gordon *10.04.1928
Rosco Gordon (* 10. April 1928 in Memphis, Tennessee; † 11. Juli 2002 in New York City) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Pianist und Sänger, der vor allem in den 1950er Jahren erfolgreich war. Zu seinen bekanntesten Hits gehören Bootin', No More Doggin' und Just a Little Bit. Ihm wird ein wesentlicher Einfluss auf die Entwicklung der Reggae- und Ska-Musik in Jamaika nachgesagt.
Gordon begann seine musikalische Karriere in der Beale Street in seiner Heimatstadt, wo er mit Musikern wie Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, B. B. King, Johnny Ace, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Earl Forest und Little Milton auftrat. Von 1955 bis 1958 wurden mehrere Singles bei Sun Records veröffentlicht.[1]
In den 1960er Jahren zog sich Gordon aus dem Musikgeschäft zurück, um sich seiner Familie zu widmen. Mit seiner zweiten Frau Barbara Kerr zog er nach New York. Nach dem Tod seiner Frau 1984 kehrte er auf die Bühne zurück, hatte jedoch Mühe, sich gegen die neuesten Trends durchzusetzen.
2000 erschien das Album Memphis, Tennessee, das in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Gitarristen Duke Robillard und dessen Band entstanden war. Gordon wurde daraufhin für den Handy Award in der Kategorie "Comeback Artist of the Year" nominiert.
Trotz gesundheitlicher Probleme stürzte Gordon sich in seine wieder gewonnene Popularität. Er spielte auf Festivals und trat wieder mit den alten Freunden auf.
Rosco Gordon starb 2002 in seiner Wohnung in Queens.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosco_Gordon
Rosco Gordon (April 10, 1928 – July 11, 2002) was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1952 No. 1 R&B hit single, "Booted",[1] and two No. 2 singles "No More Doggin'" (1952 RPM 350) and "Just a Little Bit" (1960 Vee-Jay 332).[2]
Biography
Born in Memphis, Tennessee and grew up on Florida street, Gordon was a pioneer of the Memphis Blues style.[3] Gordon used a style of piano-playing known as 'The Rosco rhythm' and made a number of his early recordings for Sam Phillips at Sun Records.[1] This rhythm, where the emphasis is on the off-beats, was an influence on the Jamaican pianist Theophilus Beckford and hence on reggae music as a whole.[3]
"Booted" and "No More Doggin'" were both released in 1952.[3] Phillips sold the master of "Booted" to both RPM and Chess Records and both labels released the track as a single.[1] The RPM release reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B record chart.[2] Chess and the Bihari brothers later settled the conflict, with the Biharis getting exclusive rights to Gordon and Chess signing Howlin' Wolf to an exclusive contract.[4]
Gordon's last single to reach the charts was "Just a Little Bit" (1960).[2][3] In 1962, he gave up the music industry and moved to Queens, New York with his new wife, where he purchased a partnership in a laundry business. Following his wife's death in 1984, he returned to performing in the New York area.
In 2002, he was invited by filmmaker Richard Pearce to be featured as part of a documentary film about several blues musicians returning to Memphis for a special tribute to Sam Phillips in conjunction with the May 2002 W.C. Handy Awards. Called The Road To Memphis, the documentary aired on PBS television. Six weeks after filming finished, Gordon died of a heart attack at his apartment in Rego Park, Queens.[1] He was 74 years old.[1] He was interred in the Rosedale Cemetery in Linden, New Jersey.
"No More Doggin' " was covered by The Groundhogs on their 1972 album Hogwash,[5] and by Colin James on his 1993 album, Colin James and The Little Big Band.
Biography
Born in Memphis, Tennessee and grew up on Florida street, Gordon was a pioneer of the Memphis Blues style.[3] Gordon used a style of piano-playing known as 'The Rosco rhythm' and made a number of his early recordings for Sam Phillips at Sun Records.[1] This rhythm, where the emphasis is on the off-beats, was an influence on the Jamaican pianist Theophilus Beckford and hence on reggae music as a whole.[3]
"Booted" and "No More Doggin'" were both released in 1952.[3] Phillips sold the master of "Booted" to both RPM and Chess Records and both labels released the track as a single.[1] The RPM release reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B record chart.[2] Chess and the Bihari brothers later settled the conflict, with the Biharis getting exclusive rights to Gordon and Chess signing Howlin' Wolf to an exclusive contract.[4]
Gordon's last single to reach the charts was "Just a Little Bit" (1960).[2][3] In 1962, he gave up the music industry and moved to Queens, New York with his new wife, where he purchased a partnership in a laundry business. Following his wife's death in 1984, he returned to performing in the New York area.
In 2002, he was invited by filmmaker Richard Pearce to be featured as part of a documentary film about several blues musicians returning to Memphis for a special tribute to Sam Phillips in conjunction with the May 2002 W.C. Handy Awards. Called The Road To Memphis, the documentary aired on PBS television. Six weeks after filming finished, Gordon died of a heart attack at his apartment in Rego Park, Queens.[1] He was 74 years old.[1] He was interred in the Rosedale Cemetery in Linden, New Jersey.
"No More Doggin' " was covered by The Groundhogs on their 1972 album Hogwash,[5] and by Colin James on his 1993 album, Colin James and The Little Big Band.
Shemekia Copeland *10.04.1979
Charon Shemekia Copeland (* 10. April 1979 in Harlem, New York City) ist eine US-amerikanische Blues-Sängerin in der Tradition von Koko Taylor und Etta James. Sie ist die Tochter des Blues-Gitarristen Johnny „Clyde“ Copeland.
Bereits mit acht Jahren stand Shemekia Copeland auf der Bühne. Mit 16 begann sie ihre Karriere als Sängerin und ging mit ihrem Vater auf Tournee. 1998 erschien ihr erstes Album Turn the Heat Up!, das begeistert aufgenommen wurde.
Mit dem zweiten Album Wicked aus dem Jahr 2000 gewann sie drei Handy Awards und wurde für einen Grammy nominiert. Bereits 1999 wurde sie mit dem Living Blues Award in drei Kategorien ausgezeichnet. 2001 folgte einer als beste Blueskünstlerin und als Künstlerin des Jahres. Diese Auszeichnung verliehen die Leser des Living Blues Magazin ihr auch 2010. Das nächste Album Talking to Strangers aus dem Jahr 2002 produzierte Dr. John und erreichte sofort die Spitzenposition der Billboard Blues Charts.
Bei ihren weltweiten Auftritten sang Shemekia Copeland mit Blues-Legenden wie Buddy Guy, B. B. King, Taj Mahal, Dr. John und Koko Taylor.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shemekia_Copeland
Shemekia Copeland (born April 10, 1979)[2] is an American electric blues vocalist.[1]
Career
Copeland was born in Harlem, New York City, United States. She is the daughter of Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland.[3] She began to pursue a singing career in earnest at age 16, when her father's health began to decline; he took Shemekia on tour as his opening act, which helped establish her name on the blues circuit. Copeland graduated in 1997 from Teaneck High School in Teaneck, New Jersey.[4]
She landed a recording contract with Alligator Records, which issued her debut album, Turn the Heat Up! in 1998, following it up with a tour of the blues festival circuit in America and Europe. Her second album, Wicked, was released in 2000 and featured a duet with one of her heroes, Ruth Brown. It earned her three Blues Music Awards.
The follow-up record, Talking to Strangers, was produced by Dr. John, and in 2005 she released The Soul Truth, produced by Steve Cropper.
In 2008, Copeland signed with Telarc International,[5] and released her first album, Never Going Back with that label in February 2009. She won the "Rising Star - Blues Artist" in Down Beat magazine's critics poll announced in the December 2009 issue.
Copeland participated in the Efes Pilsen Blues Festival in 2009. On June 12, 2011 at the 2011 Chicago Blues Festival, Copeland was presented Koko Taylor's crown, and officially given the honor as the new "Queen of the Blues" by Koko Taylor's daughter, Cookie Taylor.
In 2013, Copeland was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the Contemporary Blues Female Artist' category.
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https://www.discogs.com/de/artist/968503-Ray-Agee
Shemekia Copeland (born April 10, 1979)[2] is an American electric blues vocalist.[1]Career
Copeland was born in Harlem, New York City, United States. She is the daughter of Texas blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland.[3] She began to pursue a singing career in earnest at age 16, when her father's health began to decline; he took Shemekia on tour as his opening act, which helped establish her name on the blues circuit. Copeland graduated in 1997 from Teaneck High School in Teaneck, New Jersey.[4]
She landed a recording contract with Alligator Records, which issued her debut album, Turn the Heat Up! in 1998, following it up with a tour of the blues festival circuit in America and Europe. Her second album, Wicked, was released in 2000 and featured a duet with one of her heroes, Ruth Brown. It earned her three Blues Music Awards.
The follow-up record, Talking to Strangers, was produced by Dr. John, and in 2005 she released The Soul Truth, produced by Steve Cropper.
In 2008, Copeland signed with Telarc International,[5] and released her first album, Never Going Back with that label in February 2009. She won the "Rising Star - Blues Artist" in Down Beat magazine's critics poll announced in the December 2009 issue.
Copeland participated in the Efes Pilsen Blues Festival in 2009. On June 12, 2011 at the 2011 Chicago Blues Festival, Copeland was presented Koko Taylor's crown, and officially given the honor as the new "Queen of the Blues" by Koko Taylor's daughter, Cookie Taylor.
In 2013, Copeland was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the Contemporary Blues Female Artist' category.
Known primarily for his tough 1963 remake of the blues standard "Tin Pan Alley" (featuring the moaning lead guitar of Johnny Heartsman) for the tiny Sahara logo, vocalist Ray Agee recorded for a myriad of labels both large and small during the 1950s and '60s without much in the way of national recognition outside his Los Angeles home base. That's a pity -- he was a fine, versatile blues singer whose work deserves a wider audience (not to mention CD reissue).
The Alabama native was stricken with polio at age four, leaving Agee with a permanent handicap. After moving to L.A. with his family, he apprenticed with his brothers in a gospel quartet before striking out in the R&B field with a 1952 single for Eddie Mesner's Aladdin Records (backed by saxist Maxwell Davis' band). From there, his discography assumes daunting proportions; he appeared on far too many logos to list (Elko, Spark, Ebb, and Cash among them).
Ray Agee slowly slipped away from the music business in the early '70s. Reportedly, he died around 1990.
The Alabama native was stricken with polio at age four, leaving Agee with a permanent handicap. After moving to L.A. with his family, he apprenticed with his brothers in a gospel quartet before striking out in the R&B field with a 1952 single for Eddie Mesner's Aladdin Records (backed by saxist Maxwell Davis' band). From there, his discography assumes daunting proportions; he appeared on far too many logos to list (Elko, Spark, Ebb, and Cash among them).
Ray Agee slowly slipped away from the music business in the early '70s. Reportedly, he died around 1990.
Ray Agee - Tin Pan Alley
Gene Kelton *10.04.1953
Gene Kelton (10 April 1953 – 28 December 2010) was an American guitarist, harmonica player and singer-songwriter, based in Houston, Texas. He played Americana, blues-rock, Southern rock and rockabilly music.
Blues roots
Born Sidney Eugene Kelton,[2] in Booneville, Mississippi, United States,[3] his mother sang gospel music on the radio. She divorced his ne'er-do-well father when he was six. Afterward they lived with his grandfather, a cotton plantation share cropper. On weekends he listened to down-home blues in a dirt-floored juke joint. His step father, Bob Allbritton, who played rock and roll guitar then in a manner, as it can be said that Conway Twitty, sang country songs, exposed Kelton to all types of music. His mother bought him a Sears Silvertone guitar at the age of ten, and they moved to Texas where he formed his first band, The Moven Shadows. Following a serious motorcycle accident, he played with several cover bands until "giving up" music after his first marriage. It took years of moving through various jobs, getting back into music after a divorce, and trying for a few years to get together a band, going through what he called "the worst of the worst" musicians, before he finally formed The Gene Kelton Band with bass player A. J. Fee and drummer Russel Shelby, around the time of a national blues revival sparked by Stevie Ray Vaughan.[4] Kelton has been a full-time musician since 1983, when he began playing for tips in bars after losing his DJ job while newlywed in his second marriage and, in desperate straits, trying to support his unemployed bride and two sons from his previous marriage.[5] While publishing Texas Blues magazine in the early 1990s, he lost everything but the rights to his songs in his second divorce. The band went through another name, The Love Buzzards, before fans called them "die hards" for playing long sessions in the hot sun suggesting their final revision. Finally, a demo tape played on KPFT helped Kelton raise enough money to release his first album. Another musician saying, "Gene you play a really mean guitar," led to his nickname and the title of the group's second album.[4]
Die Hard career
In 1992 he named his current band The Die Hards, under which name they have been playing ever since. At the time of his death Kelton was playing with drummer Ted McCumber and bass guitarist Ed Starkey( who has played with such names as the Dottie West Band).[5]
In December 1999, he released his first blues CD (Jambone Records), Most Requested. The album was quickly picked up by several Houston Radio stations, occupying the No. 1 call-in request on some of these stations. In addition to radio coverage, which garnered him mainly local attention, his popularity spread online through such sites as mp3.com where various songs from Most Requested remained at the top 10 for two years. Kelton's making his music available for download on the internet has resulted in a listener base spanning the globe with over 150 radio stations around the world carrying his music and an average of over 150,000 hits per month on his website.[citation needed] In 2003, he released his second blues CD Mean Guitar. In 2007, Kelton released Going Back To Memphis: A Biker Band Tribute To Elvis, a tribute to the Elvis Presley, recorded in Sun Studios.
Style
Kelton's songs are most notable for powerful guitar and lyrics that range from emotional to raunchy. His raunchier songs often use innuendo, with lyrics that taken literally are perfectly benign. Such songs include: "The Avon Man", "Let Me Pump Your Gas",[3] and "Two Thangs". Others are a little more overt in their sexuality, such as "The Texas City Dyke", "My Blow Up Lover", and, his most well-known tune, "My Baby Don't Wear No Panties",[3] which Kelton began improvising to the tune of "Mean Mistreater" in 1988 when, after a drunken girl jumped up on a bar table, ripped off her shirt and began dancing, a guy yelled out, "That ain't nothing, my baby don't wear no panties." Eventually it evolved into the current audience participation version with fans shouting, "How do you know?" after each chorus. Discovering how audiences respond to songs with sexual innuendos, Kelton really caught their attention by beginning "The Texas City Dyke", "She's got tattoos on her titties." Gradually he developed this into his song by using all the jokes he had heard about this landmark fishing dike.[4]
Some of his songs have a more pained or melancholy feeling to them. Examples are the nostalgic songs "Cruisin' Texas Avenue" and "Leaving Paradise". Another common theme in several of his songs is the power of the blues. Songs like "Sweet Mother Blues" and "If Everybody Loved The Blues", extol blues music as having remarkable properties, like being able to end war and having "almighty healin' powers".
Many of his songs use alliteration in their lyrics. Some alliterative lines include "Sweetest song we ever sang was in each others arms" and "Sowed my seeds in search of truth". His songs also contain lots of imagery.
Self-described as a performing "black leather blues and redneck rock 'n roll,"[6] Mean Gene Kelton & The Die Hards have been called by ReverbNation "one of the top Biker Rally and Blues Festival headliner acts."[7]
Death
Kelton was killed on 28 December 2010,[3] when his SUV collided head-on with a school bus in Crosby, Texas, two days before he was due to perform on New Years Eve at Rowdy Buck's in Crosby, Texas.
Mean Gene Kelton & The Die Hards Performing "Cruisin' Texas Ave."
R.I.P.
Chuck Willis +10.04.1958
Willis sang zunächst bei einigen lokalen Bands, bevor er 1951 einen Vertrag bei Columbia Records unterschrieb. Erste Erfolge in der R&B-Hitparade hatte er mit den Coverversionen von Fats Dominos Goin' to the River. Von ihm stammt das Original von I Feel So Bad, das 1961 ein Hit für Elvis Presley wurde. Er selbst erreichte 1954 Platz 8 der R&B-Charts. Ab 1956 veröffentlichte Willis bei Atlantic Records. 1957 erfolgte seine erfolgreichste Aufnahme, ein Cover von Gertrude „Ma“ Raineys C. C. Rider, das Position eins der R&B- und Platz zwölf der Popcharts erreichte. 1958 starb er an einer Peritonitis im Alter von 30 Jahren.
Seine Version des Songs C. C. Rider wurde von der Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in die Liste der 500 Songs, die den Rock and Roll geprägt haben aufgenommen. Später coverten viele Bands seine Songs, unter anderem The Band, Charlie Rich, Otis Redding, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison und Derek and the Dominos.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Willis#cite_note-1
Harold "Chuck" Willis (January 31, 1928 – April 10, 1958)[1] was an American blues, rhythm and blues,[2] and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" (1957) and "What Am I Living For" (1958), both reached No.1 on the Billboard R&B chart. He was known as The King of the Stroll for his performance of the 1950s dance the stroll.[3]
Biography
Willis was born in Atlanta, Georgia.[4] Willis was spotted at a talent contest by Atlanta radio disc jockey Zenas Sears, who became his manager and helped him to sign with Columbia Records in 1951.[3] After one single, Willis began recording on a Columbia subsidiary, Okeh. During his stay at Okeh, he established himself as a popular R&B singer and songwriter. In 1956, he moved to Atlantic Records where he had immediate success with "It's Too Late (She's Gone)", "Juanita" and "Love Me Cherry". His most successful recording was "C.C. Rider", which topped the US Billboard R&B chart in 1957 and also crossed over and sold well in the pop market. "C.C. Rider" was a remake of a twelve-bar blues, performed by Ma Rainey in Atlanta before Willis was born.[3] Its relaxed beat, combined with a mellow vibraphone backing and chorus, inspired the emergence of the popular dance, the stroll. Willis's follow-up was "Betty and Dupree", another "stroll" song, which also did well. Willis' single "Going to the River", a song by Fats Domino, was a prototype for his "stroll" sound, reaching No.4 on the R&B chart.[3]
Willis, who had suffered from stomach ulcers for many years, died during surgery in Chicago of peritonitis while at the peak of his career, just after the release of his last single, "What Am I Living For?", backed by "Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes". "Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes" was actually the A side of the single but upon his death "What Am I Living For" became the most popular of the two songs.[4] "What Am I Living For?" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[1] It was also the top R&B disc of 1958.[1]
His hit, the blues ballad "It's Too Late (She's Gone)" was covered by other artists, including Otis Redding, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Freddie King, Eric Clapton's Derek and the Dominos and the Jerry Garcia Band. In 2005, it was heavily sampled by Kanye West on Late Registration's "Gone". Elvis Presley covered "I Feel So Bad" and "C. C. Rider" and Ruth Brown and Conway Twitty had hits with "Oh What a Dream".
Willis's cousin is Chick Willis.
Biography
Willis was born in Atlanta, Georgia.[4] Willis was spotted at a talent contest by Atlanta radio disc jockey Zenas Sears, who became his manager and helped him to sign with Columbia Records in 1951.[3] After one single, Willis began recording on a Columbia subsidiary, Okeh. During his stay at Okeh, he established himself as a popular R&B singer and songwriter. In 1956, he moved to Atlantic Records where he had immediate success with "It's Too Late (She's Gone)", "Juanita" and "Love Me Cherry". His most successful recording was "C.C. Rider", which topped the US Billboard R&B chart in 1957 and also crossed over and sold well in the pop market. "C.C. Rider" was a remake of a twelve-bar blues, performed by Ma Rainey in Atlanta before Willis was born.[3] Its relaxed beat, combined with a mellow vibraphone backing and chorus, inspired the emergence of the popular dance, the stroll. Willis's follow-up was "Betty and Dupree", another "stroll" song, which also did well. Willis' single "Going to the River", a song by Fats Domino, was a prototype for his "stroll" sound, reaching No.4 on the R&B chart.[3]
Willis, who had suffered from stomach ulcers for many years, died during surgery in Chicago of peritonitis while at the peak of his career, just after the release of his last single, "What Am I Living For?", backed by "Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes". "Hang Up My Rock & Roll Shoes" was actually the A side of the single but upon his death "What Am I Living For" became the most popular of the two songs.[4] "What Am I Living For?" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[1] It was also the top R&B disc of 1958.[1]
His hit, the blues ballad "It's Too Late (She's Gone)" was covered by other artists, including Otis Redding, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Freddie King, Eric Clapton's Derek and the Dominos and the Jerry Garcia Band. In 2005, it was heavily sampled by Kanye West on Late Registration's "Gone". Elvis Presley covered "I Feel So Bad" and "C. C. Rider" and Ruth Brown and Conway Twitty had hits with "Oh What a Dream".
Willis's cousin is Chick Willis.
Jimmy Dawkins +10.04.2013
Jimmy Dawkins (* 24. Oktober 1936 in Tchula, Mississippi; † 10. April 2013 in Chicago, Illinois[1]) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist.
1955 zog er nach Chicago, um dort in einer Fabrik zu arbeiten. 1957 kaufte er sich seine erste Gitarre. Zuerst spielte er auf der West Side mit Musikern wie Lester Hinton, Left Hand Frank Craig und Eddie King. Es folgten erste kleinere Engagements, u. a. mit Jimmy Rogers, Magic Sam und Earl Hooker. Willie Dixon buchte ihn für Studioaufnahmen mit Walter Horton, Johnny Young und Wild Child Butler.
Sein Durchbruch kam 1969, als Dawkins für Delmark Records das Debütalbum Fast Fingers (DS-623) einspielte. Es wurde im Musikmagazin Down Beat mit vier Sternen bewertet und erhielt 1971 den Grand Prix du Disque des Hot Club of France. Es folgten zahlreiche Festivalauftritte, Konzertreisen und weitere Plattenaufnahmen. Er spielte 1971 zusammen mit Clarence Gatemouth Brown auf dem Album Bad luck blues (Black & blue) von Cousin Joe.
Zu Dawkins' Markenzeichen gehörte sein versiertes Gitarrenspiel, das sich zwar an gängigen Mustern des West Side Chicago Blues orientierte, sich aber als sehr eigenständig darstellte. Dazu trug auch seine ungewöhnliche Spielweise dar, die im Kontrast zu seinem emotionalen Gesangsstil steht. Jimmy Dawkins wird zwar als einer der Innovatoren des West Side Chicago Blues angesehen, doch konnte er nie den großen Erfolg wie seine berühmten Kollegen, (z. B. Magic Sam, Luther Allison) erzielen.
Neben seiner eigenen Karriere als Musiker ist Jimmy Dawkins mit seinem Plattenlabel Leric Music hervorgetreten, auf dem Singles u. a. von Tail Dragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian und Nora Jean Wallace erschienen sind. Zudem war Dawkins als Musikverleger aktiv.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Dawkins
James Henry "Jimmy" Dawkins (October 24, 1936 – April 10, 2013) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer.[1] He was generally considered a part of the "West Side Sound" of Chicago blues.[2] He was born in Tchula, Mississippi in 1936.[3]
Career
He moved to Chicago in 1955.[4] He worked in a box factory, and started to play local blues clubs, gaining a reputation as a session musician.
In 1969, thanks to the efforts of his friend Magic Sam, he released his first album Fast Fingers on Delmark Records, winning the "Grand Prix du Disque" from the Hot Club de France.[4][5] In 1971, Delmark released his second album All For Business with singer, Andrew Odom, and the guitarist, Otis Rush.[1] Dawkins also toured in the late 1970s backed up by James Solberg (of Luther Allison and The Nighthawks fame) on guitar and Jon Preizler (The Lamont Cranston Band, The Drifters), a Seattle based Hammond B-3 player known for his soulful jazz influenced style. Other musicians that toured with Jimmy Dawkins in the late 1970s were Jimi Schutte (drummer), Sylvester Boines (bass), Rich Kirch and Billy Flynn (guitars). With this combination of musicians Dawkins also toured Europe.
Dawkins began to tour in Europe and Japan and recorded more albums in the United States and Europe.[4] Dawkins also contributed a column to the blues magazine Living Blues. In the 1980s he released few recordings, but began his own record label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists,[4] including Taildragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian and Nora Jean Wallace.
Dawkins died of undisclosed causes on April 10, 2013, aged 76.
Career
He moved to Chicago in 1955.[4] He worked in a box factory, and started to play local blues clubs, gaining a reputation as a session musician.
In 1969, thanks to the efforts of his friend Magic Sam, he released his first album Fast Fingers on Delmark Records, winning the "Grand Prix du Disque" from the Hot Club de France.[4][5] In 1971, Delmark released his second album All For Business with singer, Andrew Odom, and the guitarist, Otis Rush.[1] Dawkins also toured in the late 1970s backed up by James Solberg (of Luther Allison and The Nighthawks fame) on guitar and Jon Preizler (The Lamont Cranston Band, The Drifters), a Seattle based Hammond B-3 player known for his soulful jazz influenced style. Other musicians that toured with Jimmy Dawkins in the late 1970s were Jimi Schutte (drummer), Sylvester Boines (bass), Rich Kirch and Billy Flynn (guitars). With this combination of musicians Dawkins also toured Europe.
Dawkins began to tour in Europe and Japan and recorded more albums in the United States and Europe.[4] Dawkins also contributed a column to the blues magazine Living Blues. In the 1980s he released few recordings, but began his own record label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists,[4] including Taildragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian and Nora Jean Wallace.
Dawkins died of undisclosed causes on April 10, 2013, aged 76.
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