1902 Skip James*
1927 CeDell Davis*
1929 Johnny Ace*
1934 Jackie Wilson*
1941 Jon Lord*
1949 Billy C. Farlow*
1953 Fruteland Jackson*
1963 Tony Spinner*
1971 Jan Luley*
1993 Arne Demets*
Fiona Boyes*
Happy Birthday
Billy C. Farlow *09.06.1949
Born in Greensburg, IN, on June 9, 1949, singer and songwriter Billy C. Farlow grew up in Alabama, Indiana, and Texas, relocating to Detroit with his family in the early '60s. By this time he was already a proficient guitarist and harmonica player and began sitting in with the likes of John Lee Hooker, Sippie Wallace, and Big Joe Williams at various Detroit-area coffeehouses and blues clubs. He formed Billy C & the Sunshine in 1966 with pianist Boot Hamilton and guitarist Larry Welker and began working with legendary Butterfield Blues Band drummer Sam Lay. Soon Farlow was also sitting in regularly with Ann Arbor-based Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, and when the band relocated to Berkeley, CA, in 1969, he officially joined the group and made the move with them. The band recorded several albums with Paramount and Warner Brothers and had a major hit in 1972 with "Hot Rod Lincoln" before disbanding in 1976. Farlow stayed on in California and formed his own rockabilly and Western swing outfit with pianist Billy Philadelphia and guitarist Tommy Thompson. Farlow returned to Alabama and the South in the mid-'80s and began a long association with Nashville producer and guitarist Fred James, releasing five albums over the next dozen years for a variety of labels. In the early '90s he reunited with Sam Lay for a trio of albums. Farlow, who is also a gourmet cook, continues to make his home in Alabama, recording and touring regularly.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-c-farlow-mn0000767677/biography
Regardless of where Billy C. Farlow's travels take him, the rhythm and blues of his deep Southern roots stay firmly imbedded in his soul. Growing up in Alabama, Indiana and Texas, he drew his inspiration from both black and white musicians. In his early teens he learned the guitar and harmonica. He wasn't satisfied with simply mastering renditions of the classics. His musical ear and attraction to poetry combined to form original blues, gospel, and rock n' roll tunes.
Billy C's family moved to the Detroit area in the early 60's. The transplanted homeboy started sitting in at various coffee-houses and blues clubs hanging out and jamming with artists such as Sippie Wallace, Big Joe Williams, and the King of Detroit Blues, John Lee Hooker.
In the fall of 1966, Billy C formed his first band, Billy C & the Sunshine with pianist Boot Hamilton and guitarist Larry Welker. They gained a small but fanatical following in the Detroit-Ann Arbor area. Billy C & the Sunshine worked gigs with the MC-5, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels at the Grande Ballroom and other area venues. On New Year's Eve of 1967 Billy C. and the Sunshine opened for Eric Clapton and Cream at the Grande Ballroom on Cream's first American tour. Billy C. often sat in with the James Cotton Band during their frequent visits to the Motor City and became friends with drummer Sam Lay. When Lay left Cotton's Band to form his own in 1968, Farlow joined following the untimely and tragic death of harmonica master, Little Walter Jacobs, who was with the band at the time.
The Sunshine clouded over and the group finally disbanded when Welker and drummer, Lance Dickerson joined the Charlie Musselwhite Blues Band in California and Boot Hamilton left to go with Mitch Rider. Billy C. joined Sam Lay for an East Coast tour in February 1968 and continued to work with Lay's band off and on through 1968 and 1969. At the same time he was doing a lot of jamming with a band called Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, led by pianist George Frayne and guitarist John Tichy, both students at the University of Michigan. They shared a mutual love for old Country music and early Rock and Roll and were soon joined by concert violinist Andy Stein and folk guitarist Bill Kirchen. Numerous musicians drifted in and out of the band as they gigged around southeastern Michigan, but the five-man nucleus remained constant.
In 1969 the Airmen moved to Berkeley, CA, and in the process changed from a loose assemblage of talented musicians into a real band. The timing was perfect. The Bay Area music was at its all-time zenith, and the Airmen's twisted brew of roots music went well with the mind-expanded locals. The band opened for Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Eagles, and many others. As they worked their way up to the top of the bill, record companies came calling. Over the next several years they recorded multiple LP's with Paramount Records and Warner Brothers' Records, scoring a top ten hit in 1972 with the classic "Hot Rod Lincoln". Farlow penned many of the bands best known songs, such as "Too Much Fun", "Seeds and Stems " and the band's theme song, "Lost in the Ozone".
After the Cody band broke up in 1976, Billy C. stayed in California and formed his own Western Swing/Rockabilly band with virtuoso pianist, Billy Philadelphia and Sonoma-born guitar ace, Tommy Thompson. They toured extensively on the West Coast and Southwest, working with such artists as Chuck Berry, Ricky Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Bo Diddley, Asleep at the Wheel, Merle Haggard and the Byrds.
In the mid-1980's Billy C. relocated to the South where he began a long and productive association with Nashville-based producer/guitarist, Fred James. Dedicated to his Blues/Rockabilly roots, he recorded five CD's of original songs over a 12-year period for various labels. Billy C.'s current release on TKO Magnum is entitled Billy C. Farlow-Rockabilly Blues.
Hot sidemen on these recordings include D.J. Fontana, drummer of Elvis fame; Buddy Holly's original bassist, Joe B. Mauldin; Lonnie Mack, whose recording of "Memphis" and other instrumental classics set the standard for rock guitar playing in the early 1960's; Jimmy Gray, bassist from Waylon Jennings' early days in Nashville; veteran Mississippi slide guitarist Roger Younger and J. T. Thompson former percussionist with rock band Kansas. During this period Billy C. also did extensive studio work on harmonica for Chicago bluesman Homesick James and singer/songwriter Bleu Jackson. Billy C. was reunited in the early 90's with old friend Sam Lay for three CD's including a spirited nightclub performance documented on Appaloosa Records as Sam Lay Blues Band-Live! from the Boardwalk Café in Nashville.
Increased touring, both in the U.S. and Europe followed the success of these recordings and today Billy C is as busy as ever, traveling the world, spreading his musical gospel where ever he goes, and having one hell of a time!
http://www.billycfarlow.com/bio.htmlBilly C's family moved to the Detroit area in the early 60's. The transplanted homeboy started sitting in at various coffee-houses and blues clubs hanging out and jamming with artists such as Sippie Wallace, Big Joe Williams, and the King of Detroit Blues, John Lee Hooker.
In the fall of 1966, Billy C formed his first band, Billy C & the Sunshine with pianist Boot Hamilton and guitarist Larry Welker. They gained a small but fanatical following in the Detroit-Ann Arbor area. Billy C & the Sunshine worked gigs with the MC-5, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels at the Grande Ballroom and other area venues. On New Year's Eve of 1967 Billy C. and the Sunshine opened for Eric Clapton and Cream at the Grande Ballroom on Cream's first American tour. Billy C. often sat in with the James Cotton Band during their frequent visits to the Motor City and became friends with drummer Sam Lay. When Lay left Cotton's Band to form his own in 1968, Farlow joined following the untimely and tragic death of harmonica master, Little Walter Jacobs, who was with the band at the time.
The Sunshine clouded over and the group finally disbanded when Welker and drummer, Lance Dickerson joined the Charlie Musselwhite Blues Band in California and Boot Hamilton left to go with Mitch Rider. Billy C. joined Sam Lay for an East Coast tour in February 1968 and continued to work with Lay's band off and on through 1968 and 1969. At the same time he was doing a lot of jamming with a band called Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, led by pianist George Frayne and guitarist John Tichy, both students at the University of Michigan. They shared a mutual love for old Country music and early Rock and Roll and were soon joined by concert violinist Andy Stein and folk guitarist Bill Kirchen. Numerous musicians drifted in and out of the band as they gigged around southeastern Michigan, but the five-man nucleus remained constant.
In 1969 the Airmen moved to Berkeley, CA, and in the process changed from a loose assemblage of talented musicians into a real band. The timing was perfect. The Bay Area music was at its all-time zenith, and the Airmen's twisted brew of roots music went well with the mind-expanded locals. The band opened for Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Eagles, and many others. As they worked their way up to the top of the bill, record companies came calling. Over the next several years they recorded multiple LP's with Paramount Records and Warner Brothers' Records, scoring a top ten hit in 1972 with the classic "Hot Rod Lincoln". Farlow penned many of the bands best known songs, such as "Too Much Fun", "Seeds and Stems " and the band's theme song, "Lost in the Ozone".
After the Cody band broke up in 1976, Billy C. stayed in California and formed his own Western Swing/Rockabilly band with virtuoso pianist, Billy Philadelphia and Sonoma-born guitar ace, Tommy Thompson. They toured extensively on the West Coast and Southwest, working with such artists as Chuck Berry, Ricky Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Bo Diddley, Asleep at the Wheel, Merle Haggard and the Byrds.
In the mid-1980's Billy C. relocated to the South where he began a long and productive association with Nashville-based producer/guitarist, Fred James. Dedicated to his Blues/Rockabilly roots, he recorded five CD's of original songs over a 12-year period for various labels. Billy C.'s current release on TKO Magnum is entitled Billy C. Farlow-Rockabilly Blues.
Hot sidemen on these recordings include D.J. Fontana, drummer of Elvis fame; Buddy Holly's original bassist, Joe B. Mauldin; Lonnie Mack, whose recording of "Memphis" and other instrumental classics set the standard for rock guitar playing in the early 1960's; Jimmy Gray, bassist from Waylon Jennings' early days in Nashville; veteran Mississippi slide guitarist Roger Younger and J. T. Thompson former percussionist with rock band Kansas. During this period Billy C. also did extensive studio work on harmonica for Chicago bluesman Homesick James and singer/songwriter Bleu Jackson. Billy C. was reunited in the early 90's with old friend Sam Lay for three CD's including a spirited nightclub performance documented on Appaloosa Records as Sam Lay Blues Band-Live! from the Boardwalk Café in Nashville.
Increased touring, both in the U.S. and Europe followed the success of these recordings and today Billy C is as busy as ever, traveling the world, spreading his musical gospel where ever he goes, and having one hell of a time!
CeDell Davis *09.06.1927
CeDell Davis (born Ellis Davis, 9 June 1927)[1] is an American blues guitarist and singer.
Davis is most notable for his distinctive style of guitar playing. Davis plays guitar using a table knife in his fretting hand in a manner similar to slide guitar, resulting in a welter of metal-stress harmonic transients and a singular tonal plasticity. He uses this style out of necessity. When he was 10, he suffered from severe polio which left him little control over his left hand and restricted use of his right.[1] He had been playing guitar prior to his polio and decided to continue in spite of his handicap, and developed his knife method as the only way he could come up with of still playing guitar.
Davis was born in Helena, Arkansas, United States, where his family worked on a local plantation. He enjoyed music from a young age, playing harmonica and guitar with his childhood friends.
Once he sufficiently mastered his variation on slide guitar playing, Davis began playing in various nightclubs across the Mississippi Delta area. He played with Robert Nighthawk for a ten-year period from 1953 to 1963. While playing in a club in 1957, a police raid caused the crowd to stampede over Davis. Both of his legs were broken in this incident and he was forced to use a wheelchair since that time. The hardships resulting from his physical handicaps were a major influence in his lyrics and style of blues playing.
Davis moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas in the early sixties and continued his artistic work. In recent times, Davis' music has been released by the Fat Possum Records label to much critical acclaim. His 1994 album, produced by Robert Palmer, Feel Like Doin' Something Wrong, received a 9.0 from Pitchfork Media who called it "timeless."
The Best Of CeDell Davis (1995) was also released, with help from Col. Bruce Hampton and The Aquarium Rescue Unit. The Horror of It All followed in 1998. His album When Lightnin' Struck the Pine, released in 2002, included work by musicians Peter Buck, Barrett Martin, Scott McCaughey, and Alex Veley.
Fiona Boyes *09.06.
Seit mehr als 25 Jahren ist die Bluessängerin und -Gitarristin Fiona Boyes nun im Geschäft. Gestern gab sie mit ihren Bandkollegen Pablo Leoni (Schlagzeug) und Danny Blomely (Bass) ein atemberaubendes Konzert im Theaterstübchen.
Veranstalter Markus Knierim hat zum Ende der aktuellen Bluessaison mit Fiona Boyes nochmal eine Ausnahmekünstlerin nach Kassel geholt. Die Australierin wird von Kritikern als eine “musikalische Abnormalität” und “Bonnie Raitt’s böse Zwiliingsschwester” beschrieben.
Mit überragender Spielfreude und sichtbarem Spaß spielte sie als hätte sie nie etwas anderes gemacht. Virtuose Gitarrensoli und eine markate Stimme – das sind die Markenzeichen der Sängerin, die nicht umsonst als erste weibliche nicht-Amerikanische Künstlerin die International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis gewann. Songs von “Guys be Wise” bis “God & Devil” sang sie mit solcher Energie, mit Gefühl und Temperament, dass der Funken schnell zum Publikum übersprang und jede Pause mit lautstarkem Applaus untermalt wurde. Egal, ob sie ihre Vergangenheit in ihren Songs bewältigt, über ihren Ex, den Ehemann oder Religion singt, sie präsentiert jedes Stück absolut authentisch und mitreißend. Publikumsnähe ist ein weiteres ihrer Markenzeichen, jede freie Minute vor und nach dem Konzert sowie auch in der Pause widmete sie den Besuchern, mit denen sie fast pausenlos im Gespräch war. Mit einer enorm positiven Austrahlungen ließ sie den Abend viel zu schnell vergehen.
Als abschließendes Highlight bekam die Sängerin bei einem der letzten Songs des Abends Unterstützung von Meistergitarrist JP Soars, der vor einer Woche mit seiner Band an gleicher Stelle aufgetreten war.
Fiona Boyes is an Australian blues musician. She has been recording for more than 25 years and tours regularly in Australia, the United States, and Europe.
Boyes' debut US release Lucky 13 was nominated by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN for the 2007 Blues Music Awards, 'Contemporary Blues Album of the Year'.[1] She has since received three further BMA nominations for 'Traditional Female Blues Artist' (2010), 'Acoustic Blues Album of the Year' (2009), 'Contemporary Female Blues Artist' (2008), and her 2008 release Live From Bluesville won the US Blues Critics Award for Best Live Blues Album. Boyes has also received 15 national recording and performance awards in Australia.
Boyes has toured and recorded with many Blues greats, including Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf guitarist), and Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin (Muddy Waters guitarist). Boyes was described by Grammy winner and Blues Hall of Fame pianist, Pinetop Perkins (Muddy Waters Band), as "the best gal guitarist I heard since Memphis Minnie."
She plays both acoustic and electric, covering pre-war Delta slide, laments, single chord Mississippi Hills grooves, Piedmont finger picking, New Orleans barrelhouse, Memphis soul, classic Chicago, Texas swing, and the uptown sound of the West Coast.
Fruteland Jackson *09.06.1953
Fruteland Jackson wurde am 9. Juni 1953 in Sunflower County, Mississippi, geboren. Bald nach seiner Geburt zog die Familie, die Eltern und Fruteland mit seinen fünf Geschwistern, nordwärts, Richtung Chicago, dorthin wos mehr Arbeit, die besseren Schulen für die Kids und vor allem: mehr Rechte für die Schwarzen gab. Zur Musik fand Fruteland – wie so viele Blueser – in der Kirche. Seine erste Gitarre schenkte ihm sein Onkel als er Zwölf war. Er übte fleissig und studierte später in Chicago Musik. Doch Fruteland ist nicht nur Musiker, denn er mag speziell gern Geschichten erzählen, ist ein „Storyteller“. Seine Texte sind gescheit, er möchte seinem Publikum berichten, Gedanken und Lebensweisheiten mit auf den Weg geben. Das macht er bei seinen Konzerten, häufig aber singt und spielt er auch in Schulen, gibt er sein reiches Wissen Kindern auf packende Weise weiter. Sein herztiefes Engagement hat ihm den ungeteilten Respekt der internationalen Bluesgemeinde eingebracht, und vielfach wurde Jackson für sein Schaffen auch geehrt, so zum Beispiel mit dem W. C. Handy Award .
Meist spielt er die akustische Gitarre und stilistisch spannt er einen breiten Bogen. Er mag den sehr traditionellen Blues, spielt aber auch gern neuere Sachen. Und dies, wie bereits angetönt, gern vor Publikum. Fruteland ist ein begnadeter Entertainer und viel in der Welt herumgekommen, spielte überall in den USA, aber auch vielerorts in Europa, auch in Russland. Vor zwei Jahren begeisterte er mit seinem Humor beim Jazzfestival in Luzern. Einmal sagte Fruteland: „The blues is the recognition of a tragedy and an optimism to deal with it.“ Henry „Mule“ Townsend, der Patriarch des St. Louis Blues, der 2006 verstarb, war von Fruteland enorm angetan: „Mein Respekt für Fruteland ist riesig. Er und mein Schüler Alvin Youngblood Hart, das sind die wahren Künstler des Acoustic Blues.“
Fruteland Jackson (born June 9, 1953) is an American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Henry Townsend stated, "My respect for Fruteland Jackson is very high. He and my boy Alvin Youngblood Hart is the future sound of true acoustic blues."[3] He has also worked with children to raise awareness of blues music and has been honored for his work in that field, including in 1997 being granted a W. C. Handy Award for "Keeping the Blues Alive" in Education.[2][4]
Since 2000, Jackson has released three albums.
Jackson was born in Doddsville, Mississippi, the son of an insurance underwriter, and he relocated with his family to Chicago in the 1960s in order to secure better employment and education outlooks. His father was employed by North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company, and his mother worked as a nurse at Chicago's Cook County Hospital. He received his first guitar from his uncle when aged 12, and played in high school band before receiving further education at Roosevelt University.[2][5] Jackson got married and worked as a private investigator then for the Illinois Department of Human Rights.[3] By the mid 1980s, Jackson had relocated to Biloxi, Mississippi.[2] His wholesale seafood business, Camel Seafood Company, was destroyed by Hurricane Elena,[3] and Jackson immersed himself in blues music, inspired by the work of William R. Ferris. He learnt the music of Johnny Shines, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and the earlier Robert Johnson songs, with the view of working as an educator, activist and musician.[2]
Jackson appeared at the Chicago Blues Festival and Boundary Waters Blues Festival, as well as working in schools across the United States. He perfected two presentation styles to educate children about blues music, and he was known as Mr. Fruteland by those who he taught. Jackson worked with the Blues Foundation to create a teaching program called "All About the Blues". In 1996 the Illinois Arts Council granted him their Folk/Ethnic Heritage Award. The Blues Foundation followed by naming Jackson as a recipient of their 'Keeping the Blues Alive Award.[2]
In 1999 he published the educational book, Guitar Roots: Delta Blues - The roots of great guitar playing. He has also penned a one-act play entitled, The Life and Times of Robert Johnson.[4]
Also in 1999, Jackson was signed to a recording contract by Electro-Fi Records.[3] I Claim Nothing But the Blues (2000), was followed by Blues 2.0 (2003).[2] The latter was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award, and the magazine, Blues Revue named it "one of the finest blues albums of this young decade."[3] Tell Me what You Say was Jackson's latest album release in 2006.[2]
He remains based in Chicago.
Jackie Wilson *09.06.1934
Jackie Wilson (* 9. Juni 1934 in Detroit; † 21. Januar 1984 in Mount Holly, New Jersey) war ein US-amerikanischer Rhythm and Blues- und Soul-Sänger der 50er und 60er Jahre.
Bereits in jungen Jahren erhielt er eine hohe Auszeichnung für Amateurboxer und zuerst wollte er diese Karriere fortsetzen, doch seine Mutter überzeugte ihn von seinem Gesangstalent und stimmte ihn schließlich um. Nach einer kurzen Zeit bei den Ready Gospel Singers schloss er sich den Thrillers an, wo er auch Hank Ballard kennenlernte. Als Wilson 1951 an einem Talentwettbewerb teilnahm, wurde Johnny Otis auf ihn aufmerksam. In der Folge davon nahm er unter der Leitung von Billy Ward zwei Lieder als „Sonny Wilson“ für das Label Dee Gee Records auf und ersetzte 1953 sein Vorbild Clyde McPhatter, der zu den Drifters wechselte, bei Billy Ward and the Dominoes. Bei denen blieb er jedoch nicht lange. Stattdessen unterschrieb er 1956 einen Vertrag bei Brunswick Records. In den Folgejahren hatte er einige Hits, die größtenteils Berry Gordy, Jr. geschrieben hatte, der bekannteste von ihnen war das flotte Reet Petite aus dem Jahre 1957. Bei Balladen wie To Be Loved bewies Wilson außerdem Talent zum Crooner.Etwas später lernte er Alan Freed kennen, bei dessen Weihnachts-Rock-’n’-Roll-Konzert er dabei war. Er sang auch den Song You Better Know It in Freeds Film Go Johnny Go. Wilsons Live-Auftritte erinnerten an die James Browns: Er spielte mit seiner Stimme, sang sanft und leise und kreischte dann wieder in eher hohen Tönen. Auf dem Album Doggin’ Around von 1960 ist ein solcher Auftritt zu hören.
Mitte der sechziger Jahre begann seine Karriere zu leiden, die eine kurze Wiederbelebung hatte, als er mit Karl Davis zusammenarbeitete, ein legendärer Chicagoer Produzent. Der Zusammenarbeit entsprangen zwei Hits, Whispers und Higher and Higher. Higher and Higher wurde 1999 in die Grammy Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Am 15. Februar 1961 wurde Wilson in einem Hotel in New York City von Juanita Jones, einer ehemaligen Geliebten, bei einem Eifersuchtsdrama durch eine Kugel schwer verletzt. Als er in Begleitung einer neuen Geliebten, Sam Cooke's Ex-Freundin Harlean Harris, vor seinem Hotelzimmer auftauchte, streckten die Schüsse ihn nieder. Die offizielle Version des Managements besagte, dass ein eifersüchtiger Fan damit gedroht hätte, sich zu erschießen und Wilson bei dem Versuch, den vermeintlichen Fan von der Tat abzuhalten, angeschossen wurde. Er musste sechs Wochen im Krankenhaus bleiben. Die Kugel verblieb im Körper, es bestand aber keine Gefahr mehr für sein Leben. 1965 ließ Wilson sich von seiner damaligen Frau scheiden und heiratete Harlean Harris, mit der er zeitlebens zusammenblieb. Bis 1967 brachte er noch zahlreiche Singles in die Charts, darunter Whispers und Higher and Higher (bekannt aus dem Film Ghostbusters II).
Später ließ der Erfolg merklich nach. In den frühen 1970er-Jahren erfolgte noch einmal eine kurze Hitwelle, doch sein Zenit war überschritten. Wilson beteiligte sich nun vorwiegend an Oldie-Revival-Touren. Bei einem dieser Auftritte, mit einer Revival-Band von Dick Clark, erlitt er am 29. September 1975 plötzlich einen Herzanfall. Als Folge seines Sturzes bei diesem Anfall – er fiel mit dem Kopf zuerst von der Bühne – lag Wilson bis zu seinem Tod im Koma. Während seiner Zeit im Koma soll er von Ärzten misshandelt worden sein, so sollen sie ihm unter anderem einen Arm gebrochen haben. Diese Vorwürfe konnten allerdings nie belegt werden.
Am 21. Januar 1984 starb er in Mount Holly und wurde in Detroit begraben. Mit dem Anfang 1985 veröffentlichten Titel Nightshift ehrten The Commodores Wilson mit der zweiten Strophe ihres Hits.
Postum erreichte Jackie Wilsons Version von Reet Petite Anfang 1987 noch einmal die Spitze der britischen Single-Charts und im gleichen Jahr wurde er in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American soul singer-songwriter and performer. Known as a tenor with a four octave vocal range, he was nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was considered a master showman, and one of the most dynamic and influential singers and performers in R&B and rock 'n' roll history.[1][2] Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he went solo in 1957 and recorded over 50 hit singles that spanned R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening. This included 16 R&B Top 10 Hits, including 6 R&B # 1's. On the Billboard Hot 100, he scored 14 Top 20 Pop Hits,6 of which made it into the Pop Top 10. During a 1975 benefit concert, he collapsed on stage from a heart attack and subsequently fell into a coma that persisted for nearly nine years until his death in 1984, at the age of 49. By this time, he had become one of the most influential artists of his generation.
A two-time Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee, Wilson was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.[3] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jackie Wilson #69 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[4]
Early years and career
Jack Leroy Wilson, Jr. was born on June 9, 1934, in Detroit, Michigan, the only son of Jack Sr. and Eliza Mae Wilson, as she lost two previous children. Eliza Mae was born on The Billups-Whitfield Place in Columbus, Mississippi. Her parents were Tom and Virginia Ransom. Jackie often visited his family in Columbus and was greatly influenced by the choir at Billups Chapel. Growing up in the rough Detroit area of Highland Park, Wilson joined a gang called the Shakers and often found himself in trouble. Wilson's father was frequently absent, as he was alcoholic and usually out of work. Wilson began singing at an early age, accompanying his mother, once a choir singer, to church. In his early teens Jackie joined a quartet, the Ever Ready Gospel Singers, which became a popular feature of churches in the area. Jackie was not very religious, but enjoyed singing and used the money he and his group earned performing to buy cheap wine which he began drinking at the age of nine.[5] Jack Sr. and Eliza separated shortly after Jackie turned nine.
Wilson dropped out of high school at the age of 15, having already been sentenced to detention in the Lansing Corrections system for juveniles twice. During his second stint in detention, he learned boxing and started performing in the amateur circuit in the Detroit area at the age of 16. His record in the Golden Gloves was 2 and 8. After his mother forced him to quit, Wilson got married to Freda Hood and became a father at 17. It is rumored that he fathered at least 10 other children prior to getting married and was forced to marry Hood by her father. He gave up boxing for music, first working at Lee's Sensation club as a solo singer,[6] then forming a group called the Falcons (not to be confused with The Falcons Wilson Pickett was part of), that included cousin Levi Stubbs, who later went on to lead the Four Tops (two more of Wilson's cousins, Hubert Johnson and Levi's brother Joe, later became members of The Contours). The other members joined Hank Ballard as part of The Midnighters.[7] including Alonzo Tucker & Billy Davis, who would work with Wilson several years later as a solo artist.
Jackie Wilson was soon discovered by talent agent Johnny Otis, who assigned him to join a group called the Thrillers. That group would later be known as The Royals (who would later evolve into R&B group, The Midnighters, but Wilson wasn't part of the group when it changed its name and signed with King Records). LaVern Baker, Little Willie John, Johnnie Ray and Della Reese were acts managed by Al Green (not to be confused with R&B singer Al Green, nor Albert "Al" Green of the now defunct National Records). Al Green owned two music publishing companies, Pearl Music and Merrimac Music, and Detroit's Flame Show Bar where Wilson met Baker.
After recording his first version of "Danny Boy" and a few other tracks on Dizzy Gillespie's record label Dee Gee Records under the name Sonny Wilson (his nickname), Wilson was eventually hired by Billy Ward in 1953 to join a group Ward formed in 1950 called The Dominoes, after Wilson's successful audition to replace the immensely popular Clyde McPhatter, who left the Dominoes and formed his own group, The Drifters.[8] Wilson almost blew his chance that day, showing up calling himself "Shit" Wilson and bragging about being a better singer than McPhatter.[9]
Billy Ward felt a stage name would fit The Dominoes' image, hence Jackie Wilson. Prior to leaving The Dominoes, McPhatter coached Wilson on the sound Billy Ward wanted for his group, influencing Wilson's singing style and stage presence. "I learned a lot from Clyde, that high-pitched choke he used and other things...Clyde McPhatter was my man. Clyde and Billy Ward."[6] Forties blues singer Roy Brown was also a major influence on him, and Wilson grew up listening to The Mills Brothers, The Ink Spots, Louis Jordan and Al Jolson.
Wilson was the group's lead singer for three years, but the Dominoes lost some of their stride with the departure of McPhatter. They were able to make appearances riding on the strength of the group's earlier hits, until 1956 when the Dominoes recorded Wilson with an unlikely interpretation of the pop hit "St. Therese of the Roses", giving The Dominoes another brief moment in the spotlight. Their only other post-McPhatter/Wilson successes were "Stardust", released July 15, 1957, and "Deep Purple", released October 7, 1957.[10] In 1957 Wilson set out to begin a solo career, leaving the Dominoes and collaborating with cousin Levi and got work at Detroit's Flame Show Bar. Later, Al Green worked out a deal with Decca Records, and Wilson was signed to their subsidiary label, Brunswick.
Solo stardom
Shortly after Wilson signed a solo contract with Brunswick, Al Green suddenly died. Green's business partner, Nat Tarnopol, took over as Wilson's manager (and later rose to president of Brunswick). Wilson's first single was released, "Reet Petite" from the album He's So Fine, which became a modest R&B success (and many years later, a huge international smash). The song was written by another former boxer, Berry Gordy, Jr.,[11] who co-wrote it with partner Roquel "Billy" Davis (who also went by the pseudonym Tyran Carlo) and Gordy's sister Gwendolyn. The trio composed and produced six further singles for Wilson, which included "To Be Loved", "I'm Wanderin'", "We Have Love", "That's Why (I Love You So)", "I'll Be Satisfied" and his late-1958 signature song, "Lonely Teardrops", which peaked at No. 7 on the pop charts, No. 1 on the R&B charts in the U.S., and established him as an R&B superstar known for his extraordinary, operatic multi-octave vocal range.[12]
Due to his fervor when performing, with his dynamic dance moves, singing and impeccable dress, he was soon christened "Mr. Excitement", a title he would keep for the remainder of his career. His stagecraft in his live shows inspired James Brown, Michael Jackson[13] and Elvis Presley, and a host of other artists that followed. Presley was so impressed by Wilson that Elvis made it a point to meet him, and the two instantly became good friends. In a photo of the two posing together, Presley's caption in the autograph reads "You got you a friend for life." Wilson was sometimes called "The Black Elvis".[14] Reportedly, when asked about this Presley said, "I guess that makes me the white Jackie Wilson." Wilson also said he was influenced by Presley too, saying "A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man’s music, when in fact, almost every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis."[15]
Wilson's powerful, electrifying live performances rarely failed to bring audiences to a state of frenzy.[16] His live performances consisted of knee-drops,[17][18] splits, spins, back-flips,[19][20] one-footed across-the-floor slides, removing his tie and jacket and throwing them off the stage, a lot of basic boxing steps (advance and retreat shuffling)[21] and one of his favorite routines, getting some of the less attractive girls in the audience to come up and kiss him. "If I kiss the ugliest girl in the audience," Wilson often said, "they'll all think they can have me and keep coming back and buying my records." Having women come up to kiss him is one reason Wilson kept bottles of mouthwash in his dressing room. Another reason was probably his attempt to hide the alcohol on his breath.
In 1958, Davis and Gordy left Wilson and Brunswick after royalty disputes escalated between them and Nat Tarnopol. Davis soon became a successful staff songwriter and producer for Chess Records, while Gordy borrowed $800 from his family and used money he earned from royalties writing for Wilson to start his own recording studio, Hitsville USA, the foundation of Motown Records in his native Detroit. Meanwhile, convinced that Wilson could venture out of R&B and rock and roll, Tarnopol had the singer record operatic ballads and easy listening material, pairing him with Decca Records' veteran arranger Dick Jacobs.
Wilson scored hits as he entered the 1960s with the No. 15 "Doggin' Around", the No. 1 pop ballad "Night", and "Baby Workout", another Top 10 hit (No. 5), which he composed with Midnighters member Alonzo Tucker. His songwriting alliance with Tucker also turned out other songs, including "No Pity (In The Naked City)" and "I'm So Lonely." Top 10 hits continued with "Alone At Last" (No. 8 in 1960) and "My Empty Arms" (No. 9 in 1961).
Also in 1961, Wilson recorded a tribute album to Al Jolson, Nowstalgia...You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet, which included the only album liner notes he ever wrote: "...to the greatest entertainer of this or any other era...I guess I have just about every recording he's ever made, and I rarely missed listening to him on the radio...During the three years I've been making records, I've had the ambition to do an album of songs, which, to me, represent the great Jolson heritage...This is simply my humble tribute to the one man I admire most in this business...to keep the heritage of Jolson alive."[22][23] The album was a commercial failure.
Following the success of "Baby Workout", Wilson experienced a lull in his career between 1964 and 1966 as Tarnopol and Brunswick Records released a succession of unsuccessful albums and singles. Despite the lack of sales success, he still made artistic gains as he recorded an album with Count Basie, as well as a series of duets with rhythm and blues legend Lavern Baker and gospel singer Linda Hopkins.
In 1966, he scored the first of two big comeback singles with established Chicago soul producer Carl Davis with "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher", a No. 6 Pop smash in 1967, which became one of his final pop hits. This was followed by "I Get the Sweetest Feeling", which, despite its modest initial chart success in the US (Billboard Pop #34), has since become one of his biggest international chart successes, becoming a Top 10 hit in the UK twice, in 1972 and in 1987, and a Top 20 hit in the Dutch Top 40, and has spawned numerous cover versions by other artists such as Edwin Starr, Will Young, Erma Franklin (Aretha's sister) and Liz McClarnon.
A key to his musical rebirth was that Davis insisted that Wilson no longer record with Brunswick's musicians in New York; instead, he would record with legendary Detroit musicians normally employed by Motown Records and also Davis' own Chicago-based session players. The Detroit musicians, known as The Funk Brothers, participated on Wilson's recordings due to their respect for Davis and Wilson.
By 1975, Wilson and The Chi-Lites were Brunswick's only significant artists left on the aging label's roster. Until then, Wilson continued to record singles that found success on the R&B chart, but found no significant pop chart success. His final hit, "You Got Me Walkin' ", written by Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites, was released in 1972 with the Chi-Lites backing him on vocals and instruments.
Personal life
Wilson's personal life was laced with tragedy. In 1960 in New Orleans, he was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer when fans tried to climb on stage. He assaulted a policeman who had shoved one of the fans. Wilson had a reputation for being short-tempered.[6]
On February 15, 1961, in Manhattan, Wilson was injured in a shooting. It is said the story behind this incident is that one of his girlfriends, Juanita Jones, shot and wounded him in a jealous rage when he returned to his Manhattan apartment with another woman, fashion model Harlean Harris, an ex-girlfriend of Sam Cooke's. Wilson's management supposedly concocted a story to protect Wilson's reputation; that Jones was an obsessed fan who had threatened to shoot herself, and that Wilson's intervention resulted in him being shot.[24] Wilson was shot in the stomach: The bullet would result in the loss of a kidney, and lodged too close to his spine to be operated on.[5] However, in early 1975, in an interview with author Arnold Shaw, Wilson maintained it actually was a zealous fan whom he did not know that shot him. "We also had some trouble in 1961. That was when some crazy chick took a shot at me and nearly put me away for good..."[25] Nonetheless, the story of the zealous fan was accepted, and no charges were brought against Jones. A month and a half later after the shooting incident, Jackie was discharged from the hospital,
At the time Jackie had declared annual earnings of $263,000, while the average salary a man earned then was just $5,000 a year. But he discovered that, despite being at the peak of success, he was broke. Around this time the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized Jackie's Detroit family home. Tarnopol and his accountants were supposed to take care of such matters. Fortunately, Jackie made arrangements with the IRS to make restitution on the unpaid taxes; he also re-purchased the family home at auction.[5] As far as money troubles went, this was not even the beginning for Wilson. Nat Tarnopol had taken advantage of Wilson, mismanaging his money since becoming his manager. He also had power-of-attorney over Wilson's finances, giving him complete control over Wilson's money.
Tarnopol and 18 other Brunswick executives were indicted on charges of mail fraud and tax evasion stemming from bribery and payola scandals in 1975. Also in the indictment was the charge that Tarnopol owed at least $1 million in royalties to Wilson. In 1976 Tarnopol and the others were found guilty; an appeals court overturned their conviction 18 months later. Although the conviction was overturned, judges went into detail, outlining that Tarnopol and Brunswick Records did defraud their artists of royalties, and that there was sufficient evidence for Wilson to file a lawsuit. However, a trial to sue Tarnopol for royalties never took place, as Wilson lay in a nursing home comatose. Wilson died riddled with debt to the IRS and Brunswick Records.[26]
In March 1967, Wilson and friend/drummer Jimmy Smith were arrested in South Carolina on "morals charges"; the two were entertaining two 24-year-old white women in their motel room.[9]
Freda Hood, Wilson's first wife, with whom he had four children, divorced him in 1965 after 14 years of marriage, frustrated with his notorious womanizing. Although the divorce was amicable, Freda would regret her decision.[5] His 16-year-old son, Jackie Jr, was shot and killed on a neighbor's porch in 1970. The death of Jackie Jr. devastated Wilson. He sank into a period of depression, and for the next couple of years remained mostly a recluse, drinking and using marijuana and cocaine.
More tragedy hit when two of Wilson's daughters died at a young age.[27] His daughter Sandra died in 1977 at the age of 24 of an apparent heart attack. Jacqueline Wilson was killed in 1988 in a drug related incident in Highland Park, Michigan.[28] Wilson's second marriage was to model Harlean Harris in 1967 with whom he had three children, but they separated soon after. Wilson later met and lived with Lynn Crochet. He was with Crochet until his heart attack in 1975. However, as he and Harris never officially divorced, Harris took the role of Wilson's caregiver for the singer's remaining nine years.
Wilson converted to Judaism as an adult.[29]
Patti LaBelle wrote in her biography that Wilson once tried to force himself on her in her teenage years, as she waited backstage to meet him after one of his performances.[30] Wilson is also said to be the father of author and speaker Alexyss K. Tylor, who claims that her mother was raped and impregnated by the entertainer.[31]
Death
On September 29, 1975, Wilson was one of the featured acts in Dick Clark's Good Ol' Rock and Roll Revue, hosted by the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He was in the middle of singing "Lonely Teardrops" when he suffered a heart attack, reportedly during the middle of the line "My heart is crying." When he collapsed on stage, audience members initially thought it was part of the act. Clark sensed something was wrong, then ordered the musicians to stop the music. Cornell Gunter of the Coasters, who was backstage, noticed Wilson was not breathing. Gunter was able to resuscitate him and Wilson was then rushed to a nearby hospital.[9]
Medical personnel worked nearly 30 minutes to stabilize his vitals, but the lack of oxygen to his brain caused him to slip into a coma. He briefly recovered in early 1976, and was able to take a few steps[32] but slipped back into a semi-comatose state. He was a resident of the Medford Leas Retirement Center in Medford, New Jersey when he was admitted into Memorial Hospital of Burlington County in Mount Holly, New Jersey due to having trouble taking nourishment, according to Wilson's attorney John Mulkerin.[33]
Jackie Wilson died on January 21, 1984, at age 49 from complications of pneumonia. He initially was buried in an unmarked grave at Westlawn Cemetery near Detroit.[34] In 1987, a fundraiser collected enough money to purchase a headstone.[9]
Tributes and legacy
On August 17, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio Jackie Wilson was inducted into The Official R&B Music Hall of Fame.
In 1985, The Commodores recorded "Nightshift" in memory of Wilson and soul singer Marvin Gaye, who had both died in 1984. Reaching No. 1 R&B and No. 3 pop in the U.S., and topping the Dutch singles chart, it was the group's biggest hit after the departure of Lionel Richie.
Van Morrison also recorded a tribute song called "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" on his 1972 album Saint Dominic's Preview. This song was later covered by Dexy's Midnight Runners. When the track was performed on the British TV show Top of the Pops, a picture of darts player Jocky Wilson was used instead. This has often been speculated to be a mistake but Dexy's frontman Kevin Rowland stated that it was a deliberate joke by the band.
Michael Jackson honored Jackie Wilson at the 1984 Grammy Awards. Jackson dedicated his Album of the Year Grammy for Thriller to Wilson, saying, "In the entertainment business, there are leaders and there are followers. And I just want to say that I think Jackie Wilson was a wonderful entertainer...I love you and thank you so much."[35]
Until Jackson's comments, Wilson's recording legacy had been dormant for almost a decade. Tarnopol owned Wilson's recordings due to Brunswick's separation from MCA, but the label had closed down, essentially deleting Wilson's considerable recorded legacy. When Jackson praised Wilson at the Grammys, interest in the legendary singer stirred, and Tarnopol released the first Wilson album (a two-record compilation) in almost nine years through Epic Records, Jackson's label at the time. Through Tarnopol's son, Wilson's music has become more available.
In the VH-1 5-part television special, Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America, fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Smokey Robinson and Bobby Womack both paid tribute to Wilson. Smokey explained that "Jackie Wilson was the most dynamic singer and performer that I think I've ever seen. Bobby added "He was the real Elvis Presley, as far as I'm concerned...and Elvis took a lot from him too."[36]
In his autobiography To Be Loved (named for one of the hit tunes he wrote for Wilson) Motown founder Berry Gordy stated that Wilson was "The greatest singer I've ever heard. The epitome of natural greatness. Unfortunately for some, he set the standard I'd be looking for in singers forever".[37]
Wilson is mentioned in the song "Gone But Not Forgotten" sung by artist TQ, which is a song dedicated to the memory of famous musicians who have died. The lyric goes "..and Jackie, will you teach me how to glide across the stage?"
Wilson is mentioned in the rap song "Thugz Mansion" by Tupac Shakur. The lyric is:
"Seen a show with Marvin Gaye last night,
It had me shook, sippin' peppermint schnapps
With Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke."
Wilson scored a posthumous hit when "Reet Petite" reached number one in the United
Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands in 1986. This success was likely due in part to a new
animated video made for the song, featuring a clay model of Wilson, that became hugely
popular on television. The following year he hit the UK charts again with "I Get the Sweetest
Feeling" (No. 3), and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" (No. 15).
Rita Coolidge covered "Higher and Higher" in 1977; her version reached No. 2 on the US pop
charts, earning a gold record.
In 1999, Wilson's original version of "Higher and Higher" and "Lonely Teardrops" were
inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame; both are on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500
Greatest Songs of All Time.
Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987; that same year, he was
portrayed in the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba by Howard Huntsberry.
Wilson is referenced in the 1986 song "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." by John Mellencamp.
Wilson and "Lonely Teardrops" are referenced in the 1993 song "Jupiter and Teardrop" by
Grant Lee Buffalo on their debut album Fuzzy.
In 1988, his version of "To Be Loved" was featured in the film Coming to America, when
Akeem and Lisa were falling in love. Akeem (Eddie Murphy) later came back home singing the
song loudly, waking up and infuriating his neighbors.
In 1989, "Higher and Higher" was featured in the film Ghostbusters II, the soundtrack album
of which featured a cover version of the song by Howard Huntsberry.
In 1992, Wilson was portrayed in the ABC miniseries by Grady Harrell in The Jacksons: An
American Dream
In 1994, Monkee Peter Tork recorded a bluegrass-rock cover of "Higher and Higher" on his
first solo album Stranger Things Have Happened. Tork regularly performs the song in concert.
In 2007, Wilson's music was featured in a film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's book Ecstasy:
Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
In September 2010, Wilson's song "That's Why (I Love You So)" appeared on Dick Clark's Rock,
Roll and Remember.
On November 18, 2011, the Black Ensemble Theater of Chicago produced a musical about
Wilson's life.
In 2014, artist Hozier released a song titled "Jackie and Wilson", a play on Wilson's name. The
song includes the lyrics "We'll name our children Jackie and Wilson and raise them on rhythm
and blues."
A two-time Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee, Wilson was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.[3] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jackie Wilson #69 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[4]
Early years and career
Jack Leroy Wilson, Jr. was born on June 9, 1934, in Detroit, Michigan, the only son of Jack Sr. and Eliza Mae Wilson, as she lost two previous children. Eliza Mae was born on The Billups-Whitfield Place in Columbus, Mississippi. Her parents were Tom and Virginia Ransom. Jackie often visited his family in Columbus and was greatly influenced by the choir at Billups Chapel. Growing up in the rough Detroit area of Highland Park, Wilson joined a gang called the Shakers and often found himself in trouble. Wilson's father was frequently absent, as he was alcoholic and usually out of work. Wilson began singing at an early age, accompanying his mother, once a choir singer, to church. In his early teens Jackie joined a quartet, the Ever Ready Gospel Singers, which became a popular feature of churches in the area. Jackie was not very religious, but enjoyed singing and used the money he and his group earned performing to buy cheap wine which he began drinking at the age of nine.[5] Jack Sr. and Eliza separated shortly after Jackie turned nine.
Wilson dropped out of high school at the age of 15, having already been sentenced to detention in the Lansing Corrections system for juveniles twice. During his second stint in detention, he learned boxing and started performing in the amateur circuit in the Detroit area at the age of 16. His record in the Golden Gloves was 2 and 8. After his mother forced him to quit, Wilson got married to Freda Hood and became a father at 17. It is rumored that he fathered at least 10 other children prior to getting married and was forced to marry Hood by her father. He gave up boxing for music, first working at Lee's Sensation club as a solo singer,[6] then forming a group called the Falcons (not to be confused with The Falcons Wilson Pickett was part of), that included cousin Levi Stubbs, who later went on to lead the Four Tops (two more of Wilson's cousins, Hubert Johnson and Levi's brother Joe, later became members of The Contours). The other members joined Hank Ballard as part of The Midnighters.[7] including Alonzo Tucker & Billy Davis, who would work with Wilson several years later as a solo artist.
Jackie Wilson was soon discovered by talent agent Johnny Otis, who assigned him to join a group called the Thrillers. That group would later be known as The Royals (who would later evolve into R&B group, The Midnighters, but Wilson wasn't part of the group when it changed its name and signed with King Records). LaVern Baker, Little Willie John, Johnnie Ray and Della Reese were acts managed by Al Green (not to be confused with R&B singer Al Green, nor Albert "Al" Green of the now defunct National Records). Al Green owned two music publishing companies, Pearl Music and Merrimac Music, and Detroit's Flame Show Bar where Wilson met Baker.
After recording his first version of "Danny Boy" and a few other tracks on Dizzy Gillespie's record label Dee Gee Records under the name Sonny Wilson (his nickname), Wilson was eventually hired by Billy Ward in 1953 to join a group Ward formed in 1950 called The Dominoes, after Wilson's successful audition to replace the immensely popular Clyde McPhatter, who left the Dominoes and formed his own group, The Drifters.[8] Wilson almost blew his chance that day, showing up calling himself "Shit" Wilson and bragging about being a better singer than McPhatter.[9]
Billy Ward felt a stage name would fit The Dominoes' image, hence Jackie Wilson. Prior to leaving The Dominoes, McPhatter coached Wilson on the sound Billy Ward wanted for his group, influencing Wilson's singing style and stage presence. "I learned a lot from Clyde, that high-pitched choke he used and other things...Clyde McPhatter was my man. Clyde and Billy Ward."[6] Forties blues singer Roy Brown was also a major influence on him, and Wilson grew up listening to The Mills Brothers, The Ink Spots, Louis Jordan and Al Jolson.
Wilson was the group's lead singer for three years, but the Dominoes lost some of their stride with the departure of McPhatter. They were able to make appearances riding on the strength of the group's earlier hits, until 1956 when the Dominoes recorded Wilson with an unlikely interpretation of the pop hit "St. Therese of the Roses", giving The Dominoes another brief moment in the spotlight. Their only other post-McPhatter/Wilson successes were "Stardust", released July 15, 1957, and "Deep Purple", released October 7, 1957.[10] In 1957 Wilson set out to begin a solo career, leaving the Dominoes and collaborating with cousin Levi and got work at Detroit's Flame Show Bar. Later, Al Green worked out a deal with Decca Records, and Wilson was signed to their subsidiary label, Brunswick.
Solo stardom
Shortly after Wilson signed a solo contract with Brunswick, Al Green suddenly died. Green's business partner, Nat Tarnopol, took over as Wilson's manager (and later rose to president of Brunswick). Wilson's first single was released, "Reet Petite" from the album He's So Fine, which became a modest R&B success (and many years later, a huge international smash). The song was written by another former boxer, Berry Gordy, Jr.,[11] who co-wrote it with partner Roquel "Billy" Davis (who also went by the pseudonym Tyran Carlo) and Gordy's sister Gwendolyn. The trio composed and produced six further singles for Wilson, which included "To Be Loved", "I'm Wanderin'", "We Have Love", "That's Why (I Love You So)", "I'll Be Satisfied" and his late-1958 signature song, "Lonely Teardrops", which peaked at No. 7 on the pop charts, No. 1 on the R&B charts in the U.S., and established him as an R&B superstar known for his extraordinary, operatic multi-octave vocal range.[12]
Due to his fervor when performing, with his dynamic dance moves, singing and impeccable dress, he was soon christened "Mr. Excitement", a title he would keep for the remainder of his career. His stagecraft in his live shows inspired James Brown, Michael Jackson[13] and Elvis Presley, and a host of other artists that followed. Presley was so impressed by Wilson that Elvis made it a point to meet him, and the two instantly became good friends. In a photo of the two posing together, Presley's caption in the autograph reads "You got you a friend for life." Wilson was sometimes called "The Black Elvis".[14] Reportedly, when asked about this Presley said, "I guess that makes me the white Jackie Wilson." Wilson also said he was influenced by Presley too, saying "A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man’s music, when in fact, almost every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis."[15]
Wilson's powerful, electrifying live performances rarely failed to bring audiences to a state of frenzy.[16] His live performances consisted of knee-drops,[17][18] splits, spins, back-flips,[19][20] one-footed across-the-floor slides, removing his tie and jacket and throwing them off the stage, a lot of basic boxing steps (advance and retreat shuffling)[21] and one of his favorite routines, getting some of the less attractive girls in the audience to come up and kiss him. "If I kiss the ugliest girl in the audience," Wilson often said, "they'll all think they can have me and keep coming back and buying my records." Having women come up to kiss him is one reason Wilson kept bottles of mouthwash in his dressing room. Another reason was probably his attempt to hide the alcohol on his breath.
In 1958, Davis and Gordy left Wilson and Brunswick after royalty disputes escalated between them and Nat Tarnopol. Davis soon became a successful staff songwriter and producer for Chess Records, while Gordy borrowed $800 from his family and used money he earned from royalties writing for Wilson to start his own recording studio, Hitsville USA, the foundation of Motown Records in his native Detroit. Meanwhile, convinced that Wilson could venture out of R&B and rock and roll, Tarnopol had the singer record operatic ballads and easy listening material, pairing him with Decca Records' veteran arranger Dick Jacobs.
Wilson scored hits as he entered the 1960s with the No. 15 "Doggin' Around", the No. 1 pop ballad "Night", and "Baby Workout", another Top 10 hit (No. 5), which he composed with Midnighters member Alonzo Tucker. His songwriting alliance with Tucker also turned out other songs, including "No Pity (In The Naked City)" and "I'm So Lonely." Top 10 hits continued with "Alone At Last" (No. 8 in 1960) and "My Empty Arms" (No. 9 in 1961).
Also in 1961, Wilson recorded a tribute album to Al Jolson, Nowstalgia...You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet, which included the only album liner notes he ever wrote: "...to the greatest entertainer of this or any other era...I guess I have just about every recording he's ever made, and I rarely missed listening to him on the radio...During the three years I've been making records, I've had the ambition to do an album of songs, which, to me, represent the great Jolson heritage...This is simply my humble tribute to the one man I admire most in this business...to keep the heritage of Jolson alive."[22][23] The album was a commercial failure.
Following the success of "Baby Workout", Wilson experienced a lull in his career between 1964 and 1966 as Tarnopol and Brunswick Records released a succession of unsuccessful albums and singles. Despite the lack of sales success, he still made artistic gains as he recorded an album with Count Basie, as well as a series of duets with rhythm and blues legend Lavern Baker and gospel singer Linda Hopkins.
In 1966, he scored the first of two big comeback singles with established Chicago soul producer Carl Davis with "Whispers (Gettin' Louder)" and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher", a No. 6 Pop smash in 1967, which became one of his final pop hits. This was followed by "I Get the Sweetest Feeling", which, despite its modest initial chart success in the US (Billboard Pop #34), has since become one of his biggest international chart successes, becoming a Top 10 hit in the UK twice, in 1972 and in 1987, and a Top 20 hit in the Dutch Top 40, and has spawned numerous cover versions by other artists such as Edwin Starr, Will Young, Erma Franklin (Aretha's sister) and Liz McClarnon.
A key to his musical rebirth was that Davis insisted that Wilson no longer record with Brunswick's musicians in New York; instead, he would record with legendary Detroit musicians normally employed by Motown Records and also Davis' own Chicago-based session players. The Detroit musicians, known as The Funk Brothers, participated on Wilson's recordings due to their respect for Davis and Wilson.
By 1975, Wilson and The Chi-Lites were Brunswick's only significant artists left on the aging label's roster. Until then, Wilson continued to record singles that found success on the R&B chart, but found no significant pop chart success. His final hit, "You Got Me Walkin' ", written by Eugene Record of the Chi-Lites, was released in 1972 with the Chi-Lites backing him on vocals and instruments.
Personal life
Wilson's personal life was laced with tragedy. In 1960 in New Orleans, he was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer when fans tried to climb on stage. He assaulted a policeman who had shoved one of the fans. Wilson had a reputation for being short-tempered.[6]
On February 15, 1961, in Manhattan, Wilson was injured in a shooting. It is said the story behind this incident is that one of his girlfriends, Juanita Jones, shot and wounded him in a jealous rage when he returned to his Manhattan apartment with another woman, fashion model Harlean Harris, an ex-girlfriend of Sam Cooke's. Wilson's management supposedly concocted a story to protect Wilson's reputation; that Jones was an obsessed fan who had threatened to shoot herself, and that Wilson's intervention resulted in him being shot.[24] Wilson was shot in the stomach: The bullet would result in the loss of a kidney, and lodged too close to his spine to be operated on.[5] However, in early 1975, in an interview with author Arnold Shaw, Wilson maintained it actually was a zealous fan whom he did not know that shot him. "We also had some trouble in 1961. That was when some crazy chick took a shot at me and nearly put me away for good..."[25] Nonetheless, the story of the zealous fan was accepted, and no charges were brought against Jones. A month and a half later after the shooting incident, Jackie was discharged from the hospital,
At the time Jackie had declared annual earnings of $263,000, while the average salary a man earned then was just $5,000 a year. But he discovered that, despite being at the peak of success, he was broke. Around this time the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized Jackie's Detroit family home. Tarnopol and his accountants were supposed to take care of such matters. Fortunately, Jackie made arrangements with the IRS to make restitution on the unpaid taxes; he also re-purchased the family home at auction.[5] As far as money troubles went, this was not even the beginning for Wilson. Nat Tarnopol had taken advantage of Wilson, mismanaging his money since becoming his manager. He also had power-of-attorney over Wilson's finances, giving him complete control over Wilson's money.
Tarnopol and 18 other Brunswick executives were indicted on charges of mail fraud and tax evasion stemming from bribery and payola scandals in 1975. Also in the indictment was the charge that Tarnopol owed at least $1 million in royalties to Wilson. In 1976 Tarnopol and the others were found guilty; an appeals court overturned their conviction 18 months later. Although the conviction was overturned, judges went into detail, outlining that Tarnopol and Brunswick Records did defraud their artists of royalties, and that there was sufficient evidence for Wilson to file a lawsuit. However, a trial to sue Tarnopol for royalties never took place, as Wilson lay in a nursing home comatose. Wilson died riddled with debt to the IRS and Brunswick Records.[26]
In March 1967, Wilson and friend/drummer Jimmy Smith were arrested in South Carolina on "morals charges"; the two were entertaining two 24-year-old white women in their motel room.[9]
Freda Hood, Wilson's first wife, with whom he had four children, divorced him in 1965 after 14 years of marriage, frustrated with his notorious womanizing. Although the divorce was amicable, Freda would regret her decision.[5] His 16-year-old son, Jackie Jr, was shot and killed on a neighbor's porch in 1970. The death of Jackie Jr. devastated Wilson. He sank into a period of depression, and for the next couple of years remained mostly a recluse, drinking and using marijuana and cocaine.
More tragedy hit when two of Wilson's daughters died at a young age.[27] His daughter Sandra died in 1977 at the age of 24 of an apparent heart attack. Jacqueline Wilson was killed in 1988 in a drug related incident in Highland Park, Michigan.[28] Wilson's second marriage was to model Harlean Harris in 1967 with whom he had three children, but they separated soon after. Wilson later met and lived with Lynn Crochet. He was with Crochet until his heart attack in 1975. However, as he and Harris never officially divorced, Harris took the role of Wilson's caregiver for the singer's remaining nine years.
Wilson converted to Judaism as an adult.[29]
Patti LaBelle wrote in her biography that Wilson once tried to force himself on her in her teenage years, as she waited backstage to meet him after one of his performances.[30] Wilson is also said to be the father of author and speaker Alexyss K. Tylor, who claims that her mother was raped and impregnated by the entertainer.[31]
Death
On September 29, 1975, Wilson was one of the featured acts in Dick Clark's Good Ol' Rock and Roll Revue, hosted by the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He was in the middle of singing "Lonely Teardrops" when he suffered a heart attack, reportedly during the middle of the line "My heart is crying." When he collapsed on stage, audience members initially thought it was part of the act. Clark sensed something was wrong, then ordered the musicians to stop the music. Cornell Gunter of the Coasters, who was backstage, noticed Wilson was not breathing. Gunter was able to resuscitate him and Wilson was then rushed to a nearby hospital.[9]
Medical personnel worked nearly 30 minutes to stabilize his vitals, but the lack of oxygen to his brain caused him to slip into a coma. He briefly recovered in early 1976, and was able to take a few steps[32] but slipped back into a semi-comatose state. He was a resident of the Medford Leas Retirement Center in Medford, New Jersey when he was admitted into Memorial Hospital of Burlington County in Mount Holly, New Jersey due to having trouble taking nourishment, according to Wilson's attorney John Mulkerin.[33]
Jackie Wilson died on January 21, 1984, at age 49 from complications of pneumonia. He initially was buried in an unmarked grave at Westlawn Cemetery near Detroit.[34] In 1987, a fundraiser collected enough money to purchase a headstone.[9]
Tributes and legacy
On August 17, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio Jackie Wilson was inducted into The Official R&B Music Hall of Fame.
In 1985, The Commodores recorded "Nightshift" in memory of Wilson and soul singer Marvin Gaye, who had both died in 1984. Reaching No. 1 R&B and No. 3 pop in the U.S., and topping the Dutch singles chart, it was the group's biggest hit after the departure of Lionel Richie.
Van Morrison also recorded a tribute song called "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" on his 1972 album Saint Dominic's Preview. This song was later covered by Dexy's Midnight Runners. When the track was performed on the British TV show Top of the Pops, a picture of darts player Jocky Wilson was used instead. This has often been speculated to be a mistake but Dexy's frontman Kevin Rowland stated that it was a deliberate joke by the band.
Michael Jackson honored Jackie Wilson at the 1984 Grammy Awards. Jackson dedicated his Album of the Year Grammy for Thriller to Wilson, saying, "In the entertainment business, there are leaders and there are followers. And I just want to say that I think Jackie Wilson was a wonderful entertainer...I love you and thank you so much."[35]
Until Jackson's comments, Wilson's recording legacy had been dormant for almost a decade. Tarnopol owned Wilson's recordings due to Brunswick's separation from MCA, but the label had closed down, essentially deleting Wilson's considerable recorded legacy. When Jackson praised Wilson at the Grammys, interest in the legendary singer stirred, and Tarnopol released the first Wilson album (a two-record compilation) in almost nine years through Epic Records, Jackson's label at the time. Through Tarnopol's son, Wilson's music has become more available.
In the VH-1 5-part television special, Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America, fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Smokey Robinson and Bobby Womack both paid tribute to Wilson. Smokey explained that "Jackie Wilson was the most dynamic singer and performer that I think I've ever seen. Bobby added "He was the real Elvis Presley, as far as I'm concerned...and Elvis took a lot from him too."[36]
In his autobiography To Be Loved (named for one of the hit tunes he wrote for Wilson) Motown founder Berry Gordy stated that Wilson was "The greatest singer I've ever heard. The epitome of natural greatness. Unfortunately for some, he set the standard I'd be looking for in singers forever".[37]
Wilson is mentioned in the song "Gone But Not Forgotten" sung by artist TQ, which is a song dedicated to the memory of famous musicians who have died. The lyric goes "..and Jackie, will you teach me how to glide across the stage?"
Wilson is mentioned in the rap song "Thugz Mansion" by Tupac Shakur. The lyric is:
"Seen a show with Marvin Gaye last night,
It had me shook, sippin' peppermint schnapps
With Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke."
Wilson scored a posthumous hit when "Reet Petite" reached number one in the United
Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands in 1986. This success was likely due in part to a new
animated video made for the song, featuring a clay model of Wilson, that became hugely
popular on television. The following year he hit the UK charts again with "I Get the Sweetest
Feeling" (No. 3), and "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" (No. 15).
Rita Coolidge covered "Higher and Higher" in 1977; her version reached No. 2 on the US pop
charts, earning a gold record.
In 1999, Wilson's original version of "Higher and Higher" and "Lonely Teardrops" were
inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame; both are on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500
Greatest Songs of All Time.
Wilson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987; that same year, he was
portrayed in the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba by Howard Huntsberry.
Wilson is referenced in the 1986 song "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." by John Mellencamp.
Wilson and "Lonely Teardrops" are referenced in the 1993 song "Jupiter and Teardrop" by
Grant Lee Buffalo on their debut album Fuzzy.
In 1988, his version of "To Be Loved" was featured in the film Coming to America, when
Akeem and Lisa were falling in love. Akeem (Eddie Murphy) later came back home singing the
song loudly, waking up and infuriating his neighbors.
In 1989, "Higher and Higher" was featured in the film Ghostbusters II, the soundtrack album
of which featured a cover version of the song by Howard Huntsberry.
In 1992, Wilson was portrayed in the ABC miniseries by Grady Harrell in The Jacksons: An
American Dream
In 1994, Monkee Peter Tork recorded a bluegrass-rock cover of "Higher and Higher" on his
first solo album Stranger Things Have Happened. Tork regularly performs the song in concert.
In 2007, Wilson's music was featured in a film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's book Ecstasy:
Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
In September 2010, Wilson's song "That's Why (I Love You So)" appeared on Dick Clark's Rock,
Roll and Remember.
On November 18, 2011, the Black Ensemble Theater of Chicago produced a musical about
Wilson's life.
In 2014, artist Hozier released a song titled "Jackie and Wilson", a play on Wilson's name. The
song includes the lyrics "We'll name our children Jackie and Wilson and raise them on rhythm
and blues."
Johnny Ace *09.06.1929
Johnny Ace, bürgerlicher Name John Marshall Alexander, (* 9. Juni 1929 in Memphis, Tennessee; † 25. Dezember 1954 in Houston, Texas) war ein US-amerikanischer Rhythm and Blues-Sänger.
Ace wurde als eines von neun Kindern eines Predigers geboren und erlangte vor allem durch seinen frühen und spektakulären Tod Bekanntheit. Er lernte Klavier zu spielen und trat nach dem Krieg in den Bars von Memphis auf und wurde Pianist in der Band von Adolph Duncan.[1] 1949 schloss er sich den Beagles Street Blue Boys an. Die zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch unbekannte Gruppe bestand zum Teil aus Musikern wie B.B. King und Bobby „Blue“ Bland, die in den Jahren darauf zu erfolgreichen Blues- und Rhythm and Blues-Interpreten werden sollten.
1951 hatte sich die Gruppe einen guten Ruf erspielt, erste Plattenaufnahmen folgten. Bei einer Studiosession musste Johnny Ace den indisponierten Bobby Bland ersetzen. Sein Gesangsstil gefiel dem Produzenten, mit dem Titel My Song erreichte der unbekannte Künstler auf Anhieb Platz 1 der R&B-Charts. Von diesem Zeitpunkt an trat er unter dem Künstlernamen „Johnny Ace“ auf („Johnny“ kam von Johnnie Ray, „Ace“ von den Four Aces; Künstler, die er sehr schätzte). Seine zweite Aufnahme Cross My Heart schaffte ebenfalls den Sprung an die Spitze der Charts, was allerdings die kleine Plattenfirma finanziell überforderte. Auf der Suche nach einem finanzkräftigen Partner geriet Ace an Don Robey, einem für seine Skrupellosigkeit berüchtigten Musikproduzenten und Veranstalter.
Seine nächste Platte, The Clock gelangte wieder auf den ersten Platz der Charts, ebenso Saving My Love for You. Das waren vier Nummer 1 Titel innerhalb von 12 Monaten. Don Robey schickte ihn zusammen mit Big Mama Thornton, Bobby Blue Bland und Junior Parker auf Tournee. Mitte des Jahres machten sich der Tourneestress und der Leistungsdruck bemerkbar. Seine nächste Platte Please Forgive Me war weniger erfolgreich, Ace begann zu trinken und umgab sich mit fragwürdigen Gestalten.
Am Heiligabend 1954 trank Johnny Ace nach einem Auftritt in Houston mit zwölf anderen Personen in seiner Garderobe. Dabei spielte er immer wieder mit einem Revolver, in den er eine Patrone geladen hatte. Er zielte auf die Anwesenden, drückte dabei mehrmals ab. Als einer der Gäste den Vorschlag machte, er solle doch gefälligst auf sich selbst zielen, hielt sich Ace den Revolver an die Schläfe, drückte ab und ein Schuss löste sich. Johnny Ace starb einige Stunden später im Krankenhaus.[2]
Postum wurde sein im Januar 1955 als Single veröffentlichter Titel Pledging My Love[3] zu seinem erfolgreichsten Titel, der zehn Wochen an der Spitze der R&B-Charts stand und in den Single-Charts Platz 17 erreichte.[4]
Gleichzeitig begann ein regelrechter Run auf die Platten von Johnny Ace, eine Begeisterung, die eine Reihe von Künstlern wie Johnny Fuller, Varetta Dillard, The Five Wings oder Johnny Otis mit Erinnerungsplatten an Johnny Ace für sich zu nutzen wussten. Paul Simon hat in seinem Album Hearts And Bones Johnny Ace ein Lied gewidmet (The Late Great Johnny Ace). Dave Alvin singt in seinem Album Eleven Eleven: Johnny Ace is dead.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Ace
John Marshall Alexander, Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm and blues singer. He scored a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s before dying of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Career
Alexander was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a preacher, and grew up near LeMoyne-Owen College. After serving in the navy during the Korean War, Alexander joined Adolph Duncan's Band as a pianist. He then joined the B. B. King band. Soon King departed for Los Angeles and vocalist Bobby Bland joined the army. Alexander took over vocal duties and renamed the band The Beale Streeters, also taking over King's WDIA radio show.
Becoming "Johnny Ace", he signed to Duke Records (originally a Memphis label associated with WDIA) in 1952. Urbane 'heart-ballad' "My Song," his first recording, topped the R&B charts for nine weeks in September.[1] ("My Song" was covered in 1968 by Aretha Franklin, on the flipside of "See Saw".)
Ace began heavy touring, often with Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. In the next two years, he had eight hits in a row, including "Cross My Heart," "Please Forgive Me," "The Clock," "Yes, Baby," "Saving My Love for You," and "Never Let Me Go."[2] In December, 1954 he was named the Most Programmed Artist of 1954 after a national DJ poll organized by U.S. trade weekly Cash Box.[3]
Ace's recordings sold very well for those times. Early in 1955, Duke Records announced that the three 1954 Johnny Ace recordings, along with Thornton's "Hound Dog", had sold more than 1,750,000 records.
Death
After touring for a year, Ace had been performing at the City Auditorium in Houston, Texas on Christmas Day 1954. During a break between sets, he was playing with a .22 caliber revolver. Members of his band said he did this often, sometimes shooting at roadside signs from their car.
It was widely reported that Ace killed himself playing Russian roulette.[4][5][6] Big Mama Thornton's bass player Curtis Tillman, however, who witnessed the event, said, "I will tell you exactly what happened! Johnny Ace had been drinking and he had this little pistol he was waving around the table and someone said ‘Be careful with that thing…’ and he said ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not loaded…see?’ and pointed it at himself with a smile on his face and ‘Bang!’—sad, sad thing. Big Mama ran out of the dressing room yelling ‘Johnny Ace just killed himself!"[7]
Thornton said in a written statement (included in the book The Late Great Johnny Ace) that Ace had been playing with the gun, but not playing Russian roulette. According to Thornton,[8] Ace pointed the gun at his girlfriend and another woman who were sitting nearby, but did not fire. He then pointed the gun toward himself, bragging that he knew which chamber was loaded. The gun went off, shooting him in the side of the head.
According to Nick Tosches, Ace actually shot himself with a .32 pistol, not a .22, and it happened little more than an hour after he had bought a brand new 1955 Oldsmobile.[9]
Ace's funeral was on January 9, 1955, at Memphis' Clayborn Temple AME church. It was attended by an estimated 5,000 people.[10]
"Pledging My Love"[6] became a posthumous R&B No. 1 hit for ten weeks beginning February 12, 1955. As Billboard bluntly put it, Ace's death "created one of the biggest demands for a record that has occurred since the death of Hank Williams just over two years ago." [11] His single sides were compiled and released as The Johnny Ace Memorial Album.
Tributes
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez performed "Never Let Me Go" on the Rolling Thunder Revue Tour late in 1975.
Elvis Presley recorded "Pledging My Love" in his last studio session in 1976. The song appeared on the Moody Blue album in 1977, his current LP at the time of his death.
Paul Simon wrote and performed the song "The Late Great Johnny Ace", in which a boy, upon hearing of the death of Ace, orders a photograph of the deceased singer, describing: "It came all the way from Texas / With a sad and simple face / And they signed it on the bottom / From the Late Great Johnny Ace." The song develops a touching counterpoint with the death of another Johnny - John Lennon. Simon also played "Pledging My Love" on his tour of Europe and North America in 2000.
David Allan Coe covered "Pledging My Love", introducing the song with his own recollections of hearing the news of Ace's death.
Johnny Ace is also namechecked by Root Boy Slim in "House Band in Hell" as well as by Dash Rip Rock in the song "Johnny Ace".[12]
Ace's song "Pledging My Love" appears in the 1973 Martin Scorsese film Mean Streets and John Carpenter's 1983 movie Christine, based on Stephen King's novel. The song also appears in the Abel Ferrara film Bad Lieutenant. The song also appears in the movie Back to the Future It is playing in the background of the scene with Marty and his mother in the yellow car. It is, however not credited.
The Teen Queens song "Eddie My Love" was originally titled "Johnny My Love" and was written in Johnny's memory.
The Swiss singer Polo Hofer and the Schmetterband wrote the song "Johnny Ace" in 1985; it was released on the album Giggerig.
Rock and Roll historian Harry Hepcat notes: "Johnny Ace was a crooner who sounded like Johnny Mathis with soul. ....Soon after the death of Johnny Ace, Varetta Dillard recorded 'Johnny Has Gone' for Savoy Records in early 1955. She incorporated many of Ace's song titles in the lyrics. This was the first of the many teen tragedy records that were to follow in the later 50s and early 1960s." [13] [14]
Dave Alvin's 2011 release, Eleven Eleven, contains a song describing his death, called "Johnny Ace is Dead."
Career
Alexander was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a preacher, and grew up near LeMoyne-Owen College. After serving in the navy during the Korean War, Alexander joined Adolph Duncan's Band as a pianist. He then joined the B. B. King band. Soon King departed for Los Angeles and vocalist Bobby Bland joined the army. Alexander took over vocal duties and renamed the band The Beale Streeters, also taking over King's WDIA radio show.
Becoming "Johnny Ace", he signed to Duke Records (originally a Memphis label associated with WDIA) in 1952. Urbane 'heart-ballad' "My Song," his first recording, topped the R&B charts for nine weeks in September.[1] ("My Song" was covered in 1968 by Aretha Franklin, on the flipside of "See Saw".)
Ace began heavy touring, often with Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton. In the next two years, he had eight hits in a row, including "Cross My Heart," "Please Forgive Me," "The Clock," "Yes, Baby," "Saving My Love for You," and "Never Let Me Go."[2] In December, 1954 he was named the Most Programmed Artist of 1954 after a national DJ poll organized by U.S. trade weekly Cash Box.[3]
Ace's recordings sold very well for those times. Early in 1955, Duke Records announced that the three 1954 Johnny Ace recordings, along with Thornton's "Hound Dog", had sold more than 1,750,000 records.
Death
After touring for a year, Ace had been performing at the City Auditorium in Houston, Texas on Christmas Day 1954. During a break between sets, he was playing with a .22 caliber revolver. Members of his band said he did this often, sometimes shooting at roadside signs from their car.
It was widely reported that Ace killed himself playing Russian roulette.[4][5][6] Big Mama Thornton's bass player Curtis Tillman, however, who witnessed the event, said, "I will tell you exactly what happened! Johnny Ace had been drinking and he had this little pistol he was waving around the table and someone said ‘Be careful with that thing…’ and he said ‘It’s okay! Gun’s not loaded…see?’ and pointed it at himself with a smile on his face and ‘Bang!’—sad, sad thing. Big Mama ran out of the dressing room yelling ‘Johnny Ace just killed himself!"[7]
Thornton said in a written statement (included in the book The Late Great Johnny Ace) that Ace had been playing with the gun, but not playing Russian roulette. According to Thornton,[8] Ace pointed the gun at his girlfriend and another woman who were sitting nearby, but did not fire. He then pointed the gun toward himself, bragging that he knew which chamber was loaded. The gun went off, shooting him in the side of the head.
According to Nick Tosches, Ace actually shot himself with a .32 pistol, not a .22, and it happened little more than an hour after he had bought a brand new 1955 Oldsmobile.[9]
Ace's funeral was on January 9, 1955, at Memphis' Clayborn Temple AME church. It was attended by an estimated 5,000 people.[10]
"Pledging My Love"[6] became a posthumous R&B No. 1 hit for ten weeks beginning February 12, 1955. As Billboard bluntly put it, Ace's death "created one of the biggest demands for a record that has occurred since the death of Hank Williams just over two years ago." [11] His single sides were compiled and released as The Johnny Ace Memorial Album.
Tributes
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez performed "Never Let Me Go" on the Rolling Thunder Revue Tour late in 1975.
Elvis Presley recorded "Pledging My Love" in his last studio session in 1976. The song appeared on the Moody Blue album in 1977, his current LP at the time of his death.
Paul Simon wrote and performed the song "The Late Great Johnny Ace", in which a boy, upon hearing of the death of Ace, orders a photograph of the deceased singer, describing: "It came all the way from Texas / With a sad and simple face / And they signed it on the bottom / From the Late Great Johnny Ace." The song develops a touching counterpoint with the death of another Johnny - John Lennon. Simon also played "Pledging My Love" on his tour of Europe and North America in 2000.
David Allan Coe covered "Pledging My Love", introducing the song with his own recollections of hearing the news of Ace's death.
Johnny Ace is also namechecked by Root Boy Slim in "House Band in Hell" as well as by Dash Rip Rock in the song "Johnny Ace".[12]
Ace's song "Pledging My Love" appears in the 1973 Martin Scorsese film Mean Streets and John Carpenter's 1983 movie Christine, based on Stephen King's novel. The song also appears in the Abel Ferrara film Bad Lieutenant. The song also appears in the movie Back to the Future It is playing in the background of the scene with Marty and his mother in the yellow car. It is, however not credited.
The Teen Queens song "Eddie My Love" was originally titled "Johnny My Love" and was written in Johnny's memory.
The Swiss singer Polo Hofer and the Schmetterband wrote the song "Johnny Ace" in 1985; it was released on the album Giggerig.
Rock and Roll historian Harry Hepcat notes: "Johnny Ace was a crooner who sounded like Johnny Mathis with soul. ....Soon after the death of Johnny Ace, Varetta Dillard recorded 'Johnny Has Gone' for Savoy Records in early 1955. She incorporated many of Ace's song titles in the lyrics. This was the first of the many teen tragedy records that were to follow in the later 50s and early 1960s." [13] [14]
Dave Alvin's 2011 release, Eleven Eleven, contains a song describing his death, called "Johnny Ace is Dead."
Jon Lord *09.06.1941
Jonathan[1][2][3] Douglas „Jon“ Lord (* 9. Juni 1941 in Leicester, England; † 16. Juli 2012 in London) war ein britischer Musiker, der in erster Linie als Mitglied der Hardrock-Band Deep Purple bekannt wurde. Lord gilt als einer der Wegbereiter der Kombination von Rock mit Klassik.
Leben
1950er und 1960er Jahre
Sowohl sein Vater als auch seine Tante waren Performance-Künstler, die ihr Talent als Duo mit einer lokalen Tanzgruppe zur Aufführung brachten. Erste musikalische Aktivitäten entwickelte Lord am Klavier der Familie, an dem er ab dem Alter von fünf Jahren klassischen Unterricht bekam. Als Teenager beeindruckte ihn die musikalische Performance von Jazz-Organisten, wie Jimmy Smith, und die von Pionieren des Rock-’n’-Roll-Pianos, wie Jerry Lee Lewis.
Mit neunzehn Jahren zog Lord 1960 nach London, wo er an der Central School of Speech and Drama Schauspiel studierte. Als sich 1963 davon das Drama Centre London abspaltete, wechselte Lord mit anderen Lehrern und Schülern dorthin und schloss dort 1964 sein Studium ab.
Von der Musik des Swinging London angezogen, begann Lord in diversen Jazz- und Rhythm-and-Blues-Combos zu spielen, die überwiegend in kleineren Kneipen und als Clubgigs in der Region London auftraten. Erste Erfolge konnte er mit der Bill Ashton Combo feiern, einer Jazzgruppe, die sich nach dem Saxofonspieler benannte.
1963 wechselte Jon Lord zu der von Derek Griffiths geleiteten Band Red Blood and his Bluesicians, was ihm ermöglichte, an seine erste elektrische Orgel zu kommen.
Nach eigener Aussage ist er in der Aufnahme des Kinks–Hits „You Really Got Me“ als Pianist zu hören.[4]
Die nächsten Jahre erspielte sich Jon Lord die Fähigkeiten zum Profimusiker. Er trat als Organist den bluesig-rockigeren Artwoods bei, deren Bandleader Art Wood, der ältere Bruder des späteren Rolling Stone Ron Wood, war. Die Artwoods veröffentlichten mehrere Singles und EPs, darunter ein heutiges Sammlerstück, Art Gallery, traten in Fernseh- und Radiosendungen auf und hatten viele Auftritte, schafften jedoch keine Hitparadenplatzierung, so dass sie sich bald wieder auflösten, nachdem ihr letzter Versuch, die Charts unter dem Pseudonym St. Valentine’s Day Massacre zu erreichen, ebenfalls scheiterte.
Ron Wood nahm mit Jon Lord später drei Instrumentalnummern unter dem Namen Santa Barbara Machine Head auf.
Deep Purple
The Flower Pot Men, die eher ein Gesangsensemble waren und einen psychedelischen Hit hatten, waren für eine gebuchte Tournee auf Musikersuche und engagierten Jon Lord sowie Nick Simper und den Schlagzeuger Carlo Little, der bei den Screaming Lord Sutch’s Savages bereits an Ritchie Blackmores Seite spielte.
Kurz darauf gründeten Jon Lord und Ritchie Blackmore Deep Purple, auch Nick Simper wurde als Bassist engagiert. Zwischen 1968 und 1976 galt Deep Purple als eine der populärsten und kreativsten Bands, wobei Jon Lords virtuoses Hammond-Orgelspiel maßgeblichen Anteil hatte.
Zwischen den Aufnahmen diverser Hardrockalben und zahlreichen Welttourneen mit Deep Purple fand er immer wieder Zeit für Soloprojekte. Zeitweise mit Unterstützung durch Deep Purple, wie 1969 bei Concerto for Group and Orchestra oder in Form von Soloalben, wie Sarabande oder Gemini Suite, verband er Rockmusik mit klassischer Musik. Für den Film The Last Rebel (1971) schrieb er mit Tony Ashton die Musik, die von Ashton, Gardner & Dyke eingespielt wurde.
Paice Ashton Lord und Whitesnake
Nachdem sich Deep Purple 1976 das erste Mal aufgelöst hatte, gründeten Jon Lord, Ian Paice und Tony Ashton die Band Paice Ashton Lord, die 1977 das Album Malice in Wonderland veröffentlichte. Nach einer Tournee und noch während der Vorbereitungen für ein weiteres Album löste sich Paice Ashton Lord schon 1978 wieder auf.
Jon Lord wurde daraufhin Keyboarder bei David Coverdales Whitesnake, wohin ihm 1979 Ian Paice folgte. Während der erfolgreichen Jahre bei Whitesnake gastierte Jon Lord auf diversen Alben von Cozy Powell, Graham Bonnet und vielen anderen und nahm mit Before I Forget ein weiteres Soloalbum auf.
Deep-Purple-Reunion und endgültiger Ausstieg aus der Band
Jon Lord, der Whitesnake 1984 zu Gunsten eines Neubeginns mit Deep Purple verlassen hatte, nahm mit der Gruppe weitere sechs Alben auf und gastierte mit ihr weltweit.
2002 trennten sich Deep Purple und Jon Lord, der sich nun Solo-Projekten widmete. Sein letztes Konzert mit Deep Purple gab er am 19. September 2002 in Ipswich (England).
Spätere Solo-Projekte
2003, er gastierte gerade für einige Monate mit Stücken seines vorletzten Soloalbums Pictured Within in Australien, gab Lord zusammen mit der lokalen Bluesband The Hoochie Coochie Men im Sydney Opera House ein Konzert, das später auf CD sowie auf DVD erschien.
Sein 2005 erschienenes Album Beyond the Notes besteht aus genreübergreifenden eigenwilligen Kompositionen. Auf ihm ist auch das Stück „The Sun Will Shine Again“ zu finden, das Lord für die ehemalige ABBA-Sängerin Anni-Frid Lyngstad schrieb und mit dem sich die schwedische Sängerin erstmals seit acht Jahren wieder live zeigte.
Zuletzt komponierte Lord zwei weitere klassische Werke: Das Durham Concerto, das er 2007 zusammen mit dem Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in der Kathedrale von Durham gab, ist eine Auftragskomposition anlässlich des 175-jährigen Jubiläums der University of Durham.[5] Boom of the Tingling Strings wurde 2008 zusammen mit dem Queensland Orchestra in Queensland uraufgeführt.
Am 9. August 2011 – er war gerade mit dem Jon Lord Blues Project auf Tournee – teilte Lord der Öffentlichkeit mit, dass er an Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs leide. Weiter sagte er alle Konzerte für das folgende Jahr ab. Am 16. Juli 2012 verstarb Jon Lord im Alter von 71 Jahren an den Folgen der Krankheit in London.[6][7] Bis zum Schluss hatte er im Studio an seinem letzten Album gearbeitet und auch noch der Abmischung beigewohnt. Nur wenige Tage vor seinem Tod wurde das Projekt fertiggestellt.
Stil und Wirken
Jon Lord verkaufte zusammen mit Deep Purple 200 Millionen Alben mit den unterschiedlichsten Musikstilen, von Jazz über Blues zu R&B, Klassik bis zu Hard Rock. Er komponierte zusammen mit seinen Deep-Purple-Kollegen Songs wie „Smoke on the Water“, „Black Night“, „Highway Star“, „Child in Time“, „Lazy“, „Fireball“, „Woman From Tokyo“ und „Burn“, die zu Klassikern der Rockmusik avancierten. Lord trat wiederholt mit den verschiedensten Musikern auf, u. a. George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Luciano Pavarotti, David Gilmour, Rick Wakeman, Pete York und Eric Clapton.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Lord
John Douglas "Jon" Lord (9 June 1941 – 16 July 2012)[1] was an English composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with Deep Purple, as well as Whitesnake, Paice Ashton Lord, The Artwoods, and The Flower Pot Men. In 1968 Lord co-founded Deep Purple, a hard rock band of which he was regarded as the leader until 1970. Together with the other members, he collaborated on most of his band's most popular songs. He and drummer Ian Paice were the only continuous presence in the band during the period from 1968 to 1976, and also from when it was reestablished in 1984 until Lord's retirement from Deep Purple in 2002. On 11 November 2010, he was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of Stevenson College in Edinburgh, Scotland. On 15 July 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree at De Montfort Hall by the University of Leicester.
Early life
Growing up in Leicester
Lord was born in Leicester on 9 June 1941 to Miriam (1912–1995; née Hudson) and Reginald Lord, growing up at 120 Averill Road[2] and retaining a strong bond with the city throughout his life. His father was an amateur saxophone musician and encouraged Lord from an early age. He studied classical piano from the age of five, with a local teacher, Frederick Alt, and this focus on a classical grounding to his material was a recurring trademark in his work, both in composition, arranging and his instrumental solos on piano, organ and electronic keyboards. In particular his influences ranged from J. S. Bach (a constant connection in his music and his keyboard improvisation) to Medieval popular music and the English tradition of Edward Elgar. He attended Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys between 1952 and 1958 where he gained O Level passes in French, music and mathematics, participated in amateur dramatics and the school choir alongside his organ and piano studies and then worked as a clerk in a solicitor's office for two years.[3]
Lord absorbed the blues sounds that played a key part in his rock career, principally the raw sounds of the great American blues organists Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff and "Brother" Jack McDuff ("Rock Candy"), as well as the stage showmanship of Jerry Lee Lewis and performers like Buddy Holly, who he saw perform at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester in March 1958.[4] The jazz-blues organ style of black R&B organ players in the 1950s and 1960s, using the trademark blues-organ sound of the Hammond organ (B3 and C3 models) and combining it with the Leslie speaker system (the well-known Hammond-Leslie speaker combination), were seminal influences on Lord. Lord also stated that he was heavily influenced by the organ-based progressive rock played by Vanilla Fudge after seeing that band perform in Great Britain in 1967, and earlier by the personal direction he received from British organ pioneer Graham Bond.[5]
Move to London
Lord moved to London in 1959–60, intent on an acting career and enrolling at the Central School of Speech and Drama, in London's Swiss Cottage. Following a celebrated student rebellion he became a founder of Drama Centre London, from where he graduated in 1964. Small acting parts followed, and Lord continued playing the piano and the organ in nightclubs and as a session musician to earn a living. He started his band career in London in 1960 with the jazz ensemble The Bill Ashton Combo. Ashton became a key figure in jazz education in Britain, creating what later became the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Between 1960 and 1963, Lord and Ashton both moved on to Red Bludd's Bluesicians (also known as The Don Wilson Quartet), the latter of which featured the singer Arthur "Art" Wood, brother of guitarist Ronnie Wood. Wood had previously sung with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and was a junior figure in the British blues movement. In this period, Lord's session credits included playing the keyboards in "You Really Got Me", The Kinks number one hit of 1964 however in a Guitar World interview Ray Davies of The Kinks stated it was actually Arthur Greenslade playing piano on that particular track.[6]
Following the break-up of Redd Bludd's Bluesicians in late 1963, Wood, Lord, and the drummer Red Dunnage put together a new band, The Art Wood Combo. This also included Derek Griffiths (guitar) and Malcolm Pool (bass guitar). Dunnage left in December 1964 to be replaced by Keef Hartley, who had previously replaced Ringo Starr in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. This band, later known as "The Artwoods", focused on the organ as the bluesy, rhythmic core of their sound, in common with the contemporary bands The Spencer Davis Group (Steve Winwood on organ) and The Animals (with Alan Price). They made appearances on the BBC's Saturday Club radio show and on such TV programs as Ready Steady Go!. It also performed abroad, and it appeared on the first Ready Steady Goes Live, promoting its first single the Lead Belly song "Sweet Mary" — but significant commercial success eluded it. Its only charting single was "I Take What I Want", which reached number 28 on 8 May 1966.
This band regrouped in 1967 as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre". This was an attempt to cash in on the 1930s gangster craze set off by the American film Bonnie and Clyde. Hartley left the band in 1967 to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Lord next founded the "Santa Barbara Machine Head", featuring Art's brother, Ronnie Wood, writing and recording three powerful keyboard-driven instrumental tracks, giving a preview of the future style of Deep Purple. Soon thereafter, Lord went on to cover for the keyboard player Billy Day in "The Flower Pot Men", where he met the bass guitarist Nick Simper along with drummer Carlo Little and guitarist Ged Peck. Lord and Simper then toured with this band in 1967 to promote its hit single "Let's Go To San Francisco", but the two men never recorded with this band.
Formation of Deep Purple
In early 1967, through his roommate Chris Curtis of the Searchers, Lord met businessman Tony Edwards who was looking to invest in the music business alongside partners Ron Hire and John Coletta (HEC Enterprises). Session guitarist Ritchie Blackmore was called in and he met Lord for the first time, but Chris Curtis's erratic behaviour led the trio nowhere. Edwards was impressed enough by Jon Lord to ask him to form a band after Curtis faded out. Simper was contacted, and Blackmore was recalled from Hamburg. Although top British player Bobby Woodman was the first choice as drummer, during the auditions for a singer, Rod Evans of "The Maze" came in with his own drummer, Ian Paice. Blackmore, who had been impressed by Paice's drumming when he met him in 1967, set up an audition for Paice as well. The band was called the "Roundabout" at first and began rehearsals at Deeves Hall in Hertfordshire. By March 1968, this became the "Mark 1" line-up of "Deep Purple": Lord, Simper, Blackmore, Paice, and Evans. Lord also helped form the band "Boz" with some of its recordings being produced by Derek Lawrence. "Boz" included Boz Burrell (later of King Crimson and Bad Company), Blackmore (guitarist), Paice (drummer), Chas Hodges (bass guitarist).
Deep Purple
1968–1970
It was in these three years that Lord's trademark keyboard sound emerged. Ignoring the emergence of the Moog synthesizer, as pioneered in rock by such players as Keith Emerson, Lord began experimenting with a keyboard sound produced by the Hammond organ by driving it through Marshall speakers in an effort to match the attack and volume of Blackmore's guitar. Lord's version was heavier than a blues sound, and it often featured distortion and a far harder, industrial type sound that became the trademark Jon Lord organ sound, admired by fans and peers alike but rarely replicated. Both Emerson and Rick Wakeman publicly expressed admiration for Lord's mould-breaking work on the organ. This delivered a rhythmic foundation to complement Blackmore's speed and virtuosity on lead guitar. Lord also loved the sound of an RMI 368 Electra-Piano and Harpsichord, which he used on such songs as "Demon's Eye" and "Space Truckin'". In 1973 Lord's original Hammond C3 gave out and he purchased another from Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac. Also around this time, Lord and his keyboard technician, Mike Phillips, combined his Hammond C3 Organ with the RMI. (Lord kept this particular Hammond C3 until his retirement from the band in 2002, when he passed it to successor Don Airey. That instrument was retired from stage use a few years later, as it had become "pretty knackered" according to Airey.)[7]
Lord pushed the Hammond-Leslie sound through Marshall amplification, creating a growling, heavy, mechanical sound which allowed Lord to compete with Blackmore as a soloist, with an organ that sounded as prominent as the lead guitar. Said one reviewer, "many have tried to imitate [Lord's] style, and all failed."[8] Said Lord himself, "There's a way of playing a Hammond [that's] different. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that you can play a Hammond with a piano technique. Well, you can, but it sounds like you are playing a Hammond with a piano technique. Really, you have to learn how to play an organ. It's a legato technique; it's a technique to achieve legato on a non-legato instrument."[9] In early Deep Purple recordings, Lord had appeared to be the leader of the band.[10] Despite the cover songs "Hush" and "Kentucky Woman" becoming hits in North America, Deep Purple never made chart success in the UK until the Concerto for Group and Orchestra album (1970). Lord's willingness later to play many of the key rhythm parts gave Blackmore the freedom to let loose both live and on record. On Deep Purple's second and third albums, Lord began indulging his ambition to fuse rock with classical music. An early example of this is the song "Anthem" from the album The Book of Taliesyn (1968), but a more prominent example is the song "April" from the band's self-titled third album (1969). The song is recorded in three parts: 1. Lord and Blackmore only, on keyboards and acoustic guitar, respectively; 2. an orchestral arrangement complete with strings; and 3. the full rock band with vocals. Lord's ambition enhanced his reputation among fellow musicians, but caused tension within the group. Blackmore agreed to go along with Lord's experimentation, provided he was given his head on the next band album.[8]
The resulting Concerto For Group and Orchestra (in 1969) was one of rock's earliest attempts to fuse two distinct musical idioms. Performed live at the Royal Albert Hall on 24 September 1969 (with new band members Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, Evans and Simper having been fired), it was recorded by the BBC and later released as an album. The Concerto gave Deep Purple its first highly publicised taste of mainstream fame and gave Lord the confidence to believe that his experiment and his compositional skill had a future, as well as giving Lord the opportunity to work with established classical figures, such as conductor Sir Malcolm Arnold, who brought his skills to bear by helping Lord realise the work and to protect him from the inevitable disdain of the older members of the orchestra.
1970–1976
Purple began work on Deep Purple in Rock, released by their new label Harvest in 1970 and now recognised as one of hard rock's key early works. Lord and Blackmore competed to out-dazzle each other, often in classical-style, midsection 'call and answer' improvisation (on tracks like "Speed King"), something they employed to great effect live. Ian Gillan said that Lord provided the idea on the main organ riff for "Child in Time" although the riff was also based on It's a Beautiful Day's 1969 psychedelic hit song "Bombay Calling".[11] Lord's experimental solo on "Hard Lovin' Man" (complete with police-siren interpolation) from this album was his personal favourite among his Deep Purple studio performances.
Deep Purple released a sequence of albums between 1971's Fireball and 1975's Come Taste the Band. Gillan and Glover left in 1973 and Blackmore in 1975, and the band disintegrated in 1976. The highlights of Lord's Purple work in the period include the 1972 album Machine Head (featuring his rhythmic underpinnings on "Smoke on the Water" and "Space Truckin'", plus the organ solos on "Highway Star" and "Lazy"), the sonic bombast of the Made in Japan live album (1972), an extended, effect-laden solo on "Rat Bat Blue" from the Who Do We Think We Are album (1973), and his overall playing on the Burn album from 1974. Roger Glover would later describe Lord as a true "Zen-archer soloist", someone whose best keyboard improvisation often came at the first attempt. Lord's strict reliance on the Hammond C3 organ sound, as opposed to the synthesizer experimentation of his contemporaries, places him firmly in the jazz-blues category as a band musician and far from the progressive-rock sound of Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. Lord rarely ventured into the synthesizer territory on Purple albums, often limiting his experimentation to the use of the ring modulator with the Hammond, to give live performances on tracks like Space Truckin' a distinctive 'spacey' sound. Instances of his Deep Purple synthesizer use (he became an endorser of the ARP Oyssey) include "'A' 200", the final track from Burn, and "Love Child" on the Come Taste the Band album.[citation needed]
In early 1973 Lord stated:
We're as valid as anything by Beethoven. (NME, March 1973[12])
As a composer
Lord continued to focus on his classical aspirations alongside his Deep Purple career. The BBC, buoyed by the success of the Concerto, commissioned him to write another piece and the resulting "Gemini Suite" was performed by Deep Purple and the Light Music Society under Malcolm Arnold at the Royal Festival Hall in September 1970, and then in Munich with the Kammerorchester conducted by Eberhard Schoener in January 1972. It then became the basis for Lord's first solo album, Gemini Suite, released in November 1972, with vocals by Yvonne Elliman and Tony Ashton and with the London Symphony Orchestra backing a band that included Albert Lee on guitar.
Lord's collaboration with the highly experimental and supportive Schoener resulted in a second live performance of the Suite in late 1973 and a new Lord album with Schoener, entitled Windows, in 1974. It proved to be Lord's most experimental work and was released to mixed reactions. However, the dalliances with Bach on Windows and the pleasure of collaborating with Schoener resulted in perhaps Lord's most confident solo work and perhaps his strongest orchestral album, Sarabande, recorded in Germany in September 1975 with the Philharmonia Hungarica conducted by Schoener.
Composed of eight pieces (from the opening sweep of Fantasia to the Finale), at least five pieces form the typical construction of a baroque dance suite. The key pieces (Sarabande, Gigue, Bouree, Pavane and Caprice) feature rich orchestration complemented sometimes by the interpolation of rock themes, played by a session band comprising Pete York, Mark Nauseef and Andy Summers, with organ and synthesizers played by Lord.
In March 1974, Lord and Paice had collaborated with friend Tony Ashton on First of the Big Bands, credited to 'Ashton & Lord' and featuring a rich array of session talent, including Carmine Appice, Ian Paice, Peter Frampton and Pink Floyd saxophonist/sessioner, Dick Parry. They performed much of the set live at the London Palladium in September 1974.
This formed the basis of Lord's first post-Deep Purple project Paice Ashton Lord, which lasted only a year and spawned a single album, Malice in Wonderland in 1977, recorded at Musicland Studios Musicland Studios at the Arabella Hotel in Munich. He created an informal group of friends and collaborators including Ashton, Paice, Bernie Marsden, Boz Burrell and later, Bad Company's Mick Ralphs, Simon Kirke and others. Over the same period, Lord guested on albums by Maggie Bell, Nazareth and even folk artist Richard Digance. Eager to pay off a huge tax bill upon his return the UK in the late-1970s (Purple's excesses included their own tour jet and a home Lord rented in Malibu from actress Ann-Margret and where he wrote the Sarabande album), Lord joined former Deep Purple band member David Coverdale's new band, Whitesnake in August 1978 (Ian Paice joined them in 1980 and stayed till 1982).
Whitesnake, 1978–1984
Lord's job in Whitesnake was largely limited to adding colour (or, in his own words, a 'halo') to round out a blues-rock sound that already accommodated two lead guitarists, Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody. He added a Yamaha CP-70 electric piano to his set-up and finally a huge bank of synthesizers onstage courtesy of Moog (MiniMoog, Opus, Polymoog) so he could play the 12-bar blues the band often required and recreate string section and other effects. Such varied work is evident on tracks like "Here I Go Again", "Wine, Women and Song", "She's a Woman" and "Till the Day I Die". A number of singles entered the UK chart, taking the now 40-something Lord onto Top of the Pops with regularity between 1980 and 1983. He later expressed frustration that he was a poorly paid hired-hand, but fans saw little of this discord and Whitesnake's commercial success kept him at the forefront of readers' polls as heavy rock's foremost keyboard maestro. His dissatisfaction (and Coverdale's eagerness to revamp the band's line-up and lower the average age to help crack the US market) smoothed the way for the reformation of Deep Purple Mk II in 1984.
Jon Lord's last Whitesnake concert took place in the Swedish TV programme Måndagsbörsen in 16 April 1984.
During his tenure in Whitesnake, Lord had the opportunity to record two distinctly different solo albums. 1982s Before I Forget featured a largely conventional eight-song line-up, no orchestra and with the bulk of the songs being either mainstream rock tracks ("Hollywood Rock And Roll", "Chance on a Feeling"), or – specifically on side two – a series of very English classical piano ballads sung by mother and daughter duo, Vicki Brown and Sam Brown (wife and daughter of entertainer Joe Brown) and vocalist Elmer Gantry as well as piano and synthesiser instrumentals such as Burntwood, named after Lord's home. The album also boasted the cream of British rock talent, including session drummer (and National Youth Jazz Orchestra alumnus) Simon Phillips, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Simon Kirke, Boz Burrell and Mick Ralphs.
Additionally, Lord was commissioned by producer Patrick Gamble for Central Television to write the soundtrack for their 1984 TV series, Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, based on the book by Edith Holden, with an orchestra conducted by Alfred Ralston and with a distinctly gentle, pastoral series of themes composed by Lord. Lord became firmly established as a member of UK rock's "Oxfordshire mansion aristocracy" – with a home, Burntwood Hall, set in 23.5 acres (9.5 ha) at Goring-on-Thames, complete with its own cricket pitch and a hand-painted Challen baby grand piano, previously owned by Shirley Bassey. He was asked to guest on albums by friends George Harrison (Gone Troppo from 1982) and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour (1984's About Face), Cozy Powell (Octopus in 1983) and to play on an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic, Wind in the Willows. He composed and produced the score for White Fire (1984), which consisted largely of two songs performed by Limelight. In 1985 he made a brief appearance as a member of The Singing Rebel's band (which also featured Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) in the Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais scripted film Water (1985)(Handmade Films).
In the 1980s he was also a member of an all-star band called Olympic Rock & Blues Circus fronted by Pete York and featuring a rotating line-up of the likes of Miller Anderson, Tony Ashton, Brian Auger, Zoot Money, Colin Hodgkinson, Chris Farlowe and many others. Olympic Rock & Blues Circus toured primarily in Germany between 1981 and 1989. Some musicians, including Lord, took part in York's TV musical extravaganza Superdrumming between 1987 and 1989.
Later work, 1984–2006
Lord's re-emergence with Deep Purple in 1984 resulted in huge audiences for the reformed Mk II line-up, including 1985s second largest grossing tour in the US and an appearance in front of 80,000 rain-soaked fans headlining Knebworth on 22 June 1985, all to support the Perfect Strangers album. Playing with a rejuvenated Mk. II Purple line-up (including spells at a health farm to get the band including Lord into shape) and being onstage and in the studio with Blackmore, gave Lord the chance to push himself once again. His 'rubato' classical opening sequence to the album's opener, "Knocking at Your Back Door" (complete with F-Minor to G polychordal harmony sequence), gave Lord the chance to do his most powerful work for years, including the song "Perfect Strangers". Further Deep Purple albums followed, often of varying quality, and by the late-1990s, Lord was clearly keen to explore new avenues for his musical career.
In 1997, he created perhaps his most personal work to date, Pictured Within, released in 1998 with a European tour to support it. Lord's mother Miriam had died in August 1995 and the album is a deeply affecting piece, inflected at all stages by Lord's sense of grief. Recorded largely in Lord's home-away-from-home, the city of Cologne, the album's themes are Elgarian and alpine in equal measure. Lord signed to Virgin Classics to release it, and perhaps saw it as the first stage in his eventual departure from Purple to embark on a low-key and altogether more gentle solo career. One song from Pictured Within, entitled "Wait A While" was later covered by Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø on her 2003/2004 album My Heart. Lord finally retired from Deep Purple amicably in 2002, preceded by a knee injury that eventually resolved itself without surgery. He said subsequently, "Leaving Deep Purple was just as traumatic as I had always suspected it would be and more so – if you see what I mean". He even dedicated a song to it on 2004's solo effort, Beyond the Notes, called "De Profundis". The album was recorded in Bonn with producer Mario Argandoña between June and July 2004.
Pictured Within and Beyond the Notes provide the most personal work by Lord, and together, have what his earlier solo work perhaps lacks, a very clear musical voice that is quintessentially his. Together, both albums are uniquely crafted, mature pieces from a man in touch with himself and his spirituality. Lord slowly built a small, but distinct position and fan base for himself in Europe. He collaborated with former ABBA superstar and family friend, Frida (Anni-Frid Lyngstad,) on the 2004 track, "The Sun Will Shine Again" (with lyrics by Sam Brown) and performed with her across Europe. He subsequently also performed European concerts to première the 2007-scheduled Boom of the Tingling Strings orchestral piece.
In 2003 he also returned to his beloved R-n-B/blues heritage to record an album of standards in Sydney, with Australia's Jimmy Barnes, entitled Live in the Basement, by Jon Lord and the Hoochie Coochie Men, showing himself to be one of British rock music's most eclectic and talented instrumentalists. Lord was also happy to support the Sam Buxton Sunflower Jam Healing Trust and in September 2006, performed at a star-studded event to support the charity led by Ian Paice's wife, Jacky (twin sister of Lord's wife Vicky). Featured artists on stage with Lord included Paul Weller, Robert Plant, Phil Manzanera, Ian Paice and Bernie Marsden.
Final work, after 2006
Two Lord compositions, Boom of the Tingling Strings and "Disguises (Suite for String Orchestra)", were recorded in Denmark in 2006 and released in April 2008 on EMI Classics. Both featured the Odense Symfoniorkester, conducted by Paul Mann. Additionally, a second Hoochie Coochie Men album was recorded in July 2006 in London. This album, Danger – White Men Dancing, was released in October 2007. His Durham Concerto, commissioned by Durham University for its 175th anniversary celebrations, received its world premiere on 20 October 2007 in Durham Cathedral by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and featured soloists Lord on Hammond Organ, Kathryn Tickell on Northumbrian pipes, Matthew Barley on cello and Ruth Palmer on violin.[13] It became a hit in Classic FM's "Hall of Fame", alongside his piano concerto Boom of the Tingling Strings.[14]
Lord played piano on George Harrison's posthumously released Brainwashed album (2002) and became an important member of Harrison's social circle in Oxfordshire (Lord by now living at Hill House, in Fawley, Henley-On-Thames), the two having first met at Abbey Road studios in the late 1960s.[15] He was also a close friend of John Mortimer, whom he had accompanied on many occasions during Mortimer's performances of "Mortimer Miscellany". In 2007, Lord joined Derek Griffiths, Colin Martin and Malcolm Pool at an Artwoods reunion at the ART Tribute night, at York House in Twickenham. Ali Mackenzie took over Art Wood's role on vocals, and Chris Hunt played drums. They were joined on stage by guitarist Ronnie Wood and vocalist Geno Washington. Lord released his solo album To Notice Such Things on 29 March 2010.[16] Titled after the main work—a six movement suite for solo flute, piano and string orchestra—the album was inspired by, and was dedicated to, the memory of Jon's dear friend Sir John Mortimer, the English barrister, dramatist, screenwriter, author and creator of British television series Rumpole of the Bailey, who died in January 2009. On its first day of release, the album entered Amazon's Movers And Shakers index, nestling at No. 12 at the end of the day.[17] Six days later it entered the UK's official classical chart at No. 4.[18] Lord had been commissioned to compose a concerto for Hammond organ and orchestra with special parts for tympani. The piece was to be premiered with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra with Tom Vissgren on tympani in Oslo, Norway in the Spring of 2012. With Vladimir Ashkenazy and Josef Suk, Lord was one of three artistic sponsors of Toccata Classics.
In July 2011, Lord performed his final live concert appearance, the Sunflower Jam at the Royal Albert Hall, where he premiered his joint composition with Rick Wakeman.[19] At that point, they had begun informal discussion on recording an album together. Up until 2011, Lord had also been working on material with recently formed rock supergroup WhoCares, also featuring singer Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, guitarist Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, second guitarist Mikko Lindström from HIM, bassist Jason Newsted formerly from Metallica and drummer Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden, specifically the composition "Out of My Mind", in addition to new compositions with Steve Balsamo and a Hammond Organ Concerto.[20][21] Lord subsequently cancelled a performance of his Durham Concerto in Hagen, Germany,[22] for what his website said was a continuation of his medical treatment (the concert, scheduled for 6 July 2012, would have been his return to live performance after treatment).[23]
Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra was effectively recommissioned by him, recorded in Liverpool and at Abbey Road Studios across 2011 and under post-production in 2012 with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performing, conducted by long-time collaborator, conductor Paul Mann. The recording was at completion at the time of Lord's death, with Lord having been able to review the final master recordings. The album and DVD were subsequently released in 2012.
Personal life
Lord's first marriage, from 1969 to 1981, was to Judith Feldman, with whom he had one daughter, Sara. Lord's second wife, Vickie Gibbs was a former girlfriend of Purple band-mate Glenn Hughes and twin sister of Ian Paice's wife, Jacky Paice (founder of the charity Sunflower Jam). The sisters' father was Frank Gibbs, owner of the Oakley House Country Club in Brewood, South Staffordshire. Jon and Vickie also had one daughter, Amy.[24]
In July 2011, Lord was found to be suffering from pancreatic cancer. After treatment in both England and in Israel,[25] he died on 16 July 2012 at the London Clinic after suffering from a pulmonary embolism.[26][27][28][29] His interment was at Saint Mary the Virgin Church in Hambleden.
Influence and legacy
Lars Ulrich, founding member and drummer in Metallica commented, "Ever since my father took me to see them in 1973 in Copenhagen, at the impressionable age of 9, Deep Purple has been the most constant, continuous and inspiring musical presence in my life. They have meant more to me than any other band in existence, and have had an enormous part in shaping who I am. We can all be guilty of lightly throwing adjectives like 'unique,' 'one-of-a-kind' and 'pioneering' around when we want to describe our heroes and the people who've moved us, but there are no more fitting words than those right now and there simply was no musician like Jon Lord in the history of hard rock. Nobody. Period.There was nobody that played like him. There was nobody that sounded like him. There was nobody that wrote like him. There was nobody that looked like him. There was nobody more articulate, gentlemanly, warm, or fucking cooler that ever played keyboards or got anywhere near a keyboard. What he did was all his own".[30]
Former keyboard player of rock band Yes, Rick Wakeman, who was a friend of Lord's, said he was "a great fan" and added "We were going to write and record an album before he became ill. His contribution to music and to classic rock was immeasurable and I will miss him terribly." In mid-2013, Wakeman presented a BBC One East Midlands-produced TV programme about Lord and his connection to the town of his birth.[31]
Singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad (ABBA), who described Jon Lord as her "dearest friend", paid him tribute at the 2013 edition of Zermatt Unplugged, the annual music festival which both he and she served as patrons. "He was graceful, intelligent, polite, with a strong integrity," she said. "(He) had a strong empathy and a great deal of humour for his own and other people's weaknesses."[32]
Keyboardist Keith Emerson said of Lord's death, "Jon left us now but his music and inspiration will live forever. I am deeply saddend by his departure".[33] In a later interview in November 2013, he added, "In the early years I remember being quite jealous of Jon Lord – may he rest in peace. In September 1969 I heard he was debuting his "Concerto For Group & Orchestra" at the Royal Albert Hall, with none other than Malcolm Arnold conducting. Wow! I had to go along and see that. Jon and I ribbed each other, we were pretty much pals, but I walked away and thought: 'Shit, in a couple of weeks' time I'm going to be recording The Nice's Five Bridges Suite ... not at the Albert Hall but at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon!' A much more prosaic venue. Later, Jon wanted me to play on his solo album, Gemini Suite, but that was around the time ELP were breaking big and we were touring. He was a lovely guy, a real gentleman." [34]
A concert tribute to Lord took place on 4 April 2014 at the Royal Albert Hall. Performers and presenters included Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Alfie Boe, Jeremy Irons, Joe Brown, Glenn Hughes, Miller Anderson and Steve Balsamo.[citation needed]
In December 2012 the Mayor of Leicester, Sir Peter Soulsby, joined the campaign to honour Lord with a blue plaque at his childhood home at 120 Averill Road, where he lived until he was twenty, saying it would be "an important reminder of the city's contribution to the world of contemporary music".
Early life
Growing up in Leicester
Lord was born in Leicester on 9 June 1941 to Miriam (1912–1995; née Hudson) and Reginald Lord, growing up at 120 Averill Road[2] and retaining a strong bond with the city throughout his life. His father was an amateur saxophone musician and encouraged Lord from an early age. He studied classical piano from the age of five, with a local teacher, Frederick Alt, and this focus on a classical grounding to his material was a recurring trademark in his work, both in composition, arranging and his instrumental solos on piano, organ and electronic keyboards. In particular his influences ranged from J. S. Bach (a constant connection in his music and his keyboard improvisation) to Medieval popular music and the English tradition of Edward Elgar. He attended Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys between 1952 and 1958 where he gained O Level passes in French, music and mathematics, participated in amateur dramatics and the school choir alongside his organ and piano studies and then worked as a clerk in a solicitor's office for two years.[3]
Lord absorbed the blues sounds that played a key part in his rock career, principally the raw sounds of the great American blues organists Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff and "Brother" Jack McDuff ("Rock Candy"), as well as the stage showmanship of Jerry Lee Lewis and performers like Buddy Holly, who he saw perform at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester in March 1958.[4] The jazz-blues organ style of black R&B organ players in the 1950s and 1960s, using the trademark blues-organ sound of the Hammond organ (B3 and C3 models) and combining it with the Leslie speaker system (the well-known Hammond-Leslie speaker combination), were seminal influences on Lord. Lord also stated that he was heavily influenced by the organ-based progressive rock played by Vanilla Fudge after seeing that band perform in Great Britain in 1967, and earlier by the personal direction he received from British organ pioneer Graham Bond.[5]
Move to London
Lord moved to London in 1959–60, intent on an acting career and enrolling at the Central School of Speech and Drama, in London's Swiss Cottage. Following a celebrated student rebellion he became a founder of Drama Centre London, from where he graduated in 1964. Small acting parts followed, and Lord continued playing the piano and the organ in nightclubs and as a session musician to earn a living. He started his band career in London in 1960 with the jazz ensemble The Bill Ashton Combo. Ashton became a key figure in jazz education in Britain, creating what later became the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Between 1960 and 1963, Lord and Ashton both moved on to Red Bludd's Bluesicians (also known as The Don Wilson Quartet), the latter of which featured the singer Arthur "Art" Wood, brother of guitarist Ronnie Wood. Wood had previously sung with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and was a junior figure in the British blues movement. In this period, Lord's session credits included playing the keyboards in "You Really Got Me", The Kinks number one hit of 1964 however in a Guitar World interview Ray Davies of The Kinks stated it was actually Arthur Greenslade playing piano on that particular track.[6]
Following the break-up of Redd Bludd's Bluesicians in late 1963, Wood, Lord, and the drummer Red Dunnage put together a new band, The Art Wood Combo. This also included Derek Griffiths (guitar) and Malcolm Pool (bass guitar). Dunnage left in December 1964 to be replaced by Keef Hartley, who had previously replaced Ringo Starr in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. This band, later known as "The Artwoods", focused on the organ as the bluesy, rhythmic core of their sound, in common with the contemporary bands The Spencer Davis Group (Steve Winwood on organ) and The Animals (with Alan Price). They made appearances on the BBC's Saturday Club radio show and on such TV programs as Ready Steady Go!. It also performed abroad, and it appeared on the first Ready Steady Goes Live, promoting its first single the Lead Belly song "Sweet Mary" — but significant commercial success eluded it. Its only charting single was "I Take What I Want", which reached number 28 on 8 May 1966.
This band regrouped in 1967 as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre". This was an attempt to cash in on the 1930s gangster craze set off by the American film Bonnie and Clyde. Hartley left the band in 1967 to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Lord next founded the "Santa Barbara Machine Head", featuring Art's brother, Ronnie Wood, writing and recording three powerful keyboard-driven instrumental tracks, giving a preview of the future style of Deep Purple. Soon thereafter, Lord went on to cover for the keyboard player Billy Day in "The Flower Pot Men", where he met the bass guitarist Nick Simper along with drummer Carlo Little and guitarist Ged Peck. Lord and Simper then toured with this band in 1967 to promote its hit single "Let's Go To San Francisco", but the two men never recorded with this band.
Formation of Deep Purple
In early 1967, through his roommate Chris Curtis of the Searchers, Lord met businessman Tony Edwards who was looking to invest in the music business alongside partners Ron Hire and John Coletta (HEC Enterprises). Session guitarist Ritchie Blackmore was called in and he met Lord for the first time, but Chris Curtis's erratic behaviour led the trio nowhere. Edwards was impressed enough by Jon Lord to ask him to form a band after Curtis faded out. Simper was contacted, and Blackmore was recalled from Hamburg. Although top British player Bobby Woodman was the first choice as drummer, during the auditions for a singer, Rod Evans of "The Maze" came in with his own drummer, Ian Paice. Blackmore, who had been impressed by Paice's drumming when he met him in 1967, set up an audition for Paice as well. The band was called the "Roundabout" at first and began rehearsals at Deeves Hall in Hertfordshire. By March 1968, this became the "Mark 1" line-up of "Deep Purple": Lord, Simper, Blackmore, Paice, and Evans. Lord also helped form the band "Boz" with some of its recordings being produced by Derek Lawrence. "Boz" included Boz Burrell (later of King Crimson and Bad Company), Blackmore (guitarist), Paice (drummer), Chas Hodges (bass guitarist).
Deep Purple
1968–1970
It was in these three years that Lord's trademark keyboard sound emerged. Ignoring the emergence of the Moog synthesizer, as pioneered in rock by such players as Keith Emerson, Lord began experimenting with a keyboard sound produced by the Hammond organ by driving it through Marshall speakers in an effort to match the attack and volume of Blackmore's guitar. Lord's version was heavier than a blues sound, and it often featured distortion and a far harder, industrial type sound that became the trademark Jon Lord organ sound, admired by fans and peers alike but rarely replicated. Both Emerson and Rick Wakeman publicly expressed admiration for Lord's mould-breaking work on the organ. This delivered a rhythmic foundation to complement Blackmore's speed and virtuosity on lead guitar. Lord also loved the sound of an RMI 368 Electra-Piano and Harpsichord, which he used on such songs as "Demon's Eye" and "Space Truckin'". In 1973 Lord's original Hammond C3 gave out and he purchased another from Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac. Also around this time, Lord and his keyboard technician, Mike Phillips, combined his Hammond C3 Organ with the RMI. (Lord kept this particular Hammond C3 until his retirement from the band in 2002, when he passed it to successor Don Airey. That instrument was retired from stage use a few years later, as it had become "pretty knackered" according to Airey.)[7]
Lord pushed the Hammond-Leslie sound through Marshall amplification, creating a growling, heavy, mechanical sound which allowed Lord to compete with Blackmore as a soloist, with an organ that sounded as prominent as the lead guitar. Said one reviewer, "many have tried to imitate [Lord's] style, and all failed."[8] Said Lord himself, "There's a way of playing a Hammond [that's] different. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that you can play a Hammond with a piano technique. Well, you can, but it sounds like you are playing a Hammond with a piano technique. Really, you have to learn how to play an organ. It's a legato technique; it's a technique to achieve legato on a non-legato instrument."[9] In early Deep Purple recordings, Lord had appeared to be the leader of the band.[10] Despite the cover songs "Hush" and "Kentucky Woman" becoming hits in North America, Deep Purple never made chart success in the UK until the Concerto for Group and Orchestra album (1970). Lord's willingness later to play many of the key rhythm parts gave Blackmore the freedom to let loose both live and on record. On Deep Purple's second and third albums, Lord began indulging his ambition to fuse rock with classical music. An early example of this is the song "Anthem" from the album The Book of Taliesyn (1968), but a more prominent example is the song "April" from the band's self-titled third album (1969). The song is recorded in three parts: 1. Lord and Blackmore only, on keyboards and acoustic guitar, respectively; 2. an orchestral arrangement complete with strings; and 3. the full rock band with vocals. Lord's ambition enhanced his reputation among fellow musicians, but caused tension within the group. Blackmore agreed to go along with Lord's experimentation, provided he was given his head on the next band album.[8]
The resulting Concerto For Group and Orchestra (in 1969) was one of rock's earliest attempts to fuse two distinct musical idioms. Performed live at the Royal Albert Hall on 24 September 1969 (with new band members Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, Evans and Simper having been fired), it was recorded by the BBC and later released as an album. The Concerto gave Deep Purple its first highly publicised taste of mainstream fame and gave Lord the confidence to believe that his experiment and his compositional skill had a future, as well as giving Lord the opportunity to work with established classical figures, such as conductor Sir Malcolm Arnold, who brought his skills to bear by helping Lord realise the work and to protect him from the inevitable disdain of the older members of the orchestra.
1970–1976
Purple began work on Deep Purple in Rock, released by their new label Harvest in 1970 and now recognised as one of hard rock's key early works. Lord and Blackmore competed to out-dazzle each other, often in classical-style, midsection 'call and answer' improvisation (on tracks like "Speed King"), something they employed to great effect live. Ian Gillan said that Lord provided the idea on the main organ riff for "Child in Time" although the riff was also based on It's a Beautiful Day's 1969 psychedelic hit song "Bombay Calling".[11] Lord's experimental solo on "Hard Lovin' Man" (complete with police-siren interpolation) from this album was his personal favourite among his Deep Purple studio performances.
Deep Purple released a sequence of albums between 1971's Fireball and 1975's Come Taste the Band. Gillan and Glover left in 1973 and Blackmore in 1975, and the band disintegrated in 1976. The highlights of Lord's Purple work in the period include the 1972 album Machine Head (featuring his rhythmic underpinnings on "Smoke on the Water" and "Space Truckin'", plus the organ solos on "Highway Star" and "Lazy"), the sonic bombast of the Made in Japan live album (1972), an extended, effect-laden solo on "Rat Bat Blue" from the Who Do We Think We Are album (1973), and his overall playing on the Burn album from 1974. Roger Glover would later describe Lord as a true "Zen-archer soloist", someone whose best keyboard improvisation often came at the first attempt. Lord's strict reliance on the Hammond C3 organ sound, as opposed to the synthesizer experimentation of his contemporaries, places him firmly in the jazz-blues category as a band musician and far from the progressive-rock sound of Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. Lord rarely ventured into the synthesizer territory on Purple albums, often limiting his experimentation to the use of the ring modulator with the Hammond, to give live performances on tracks like Space Truckin' a distinctive 'spacey' sound. Instances of his Deep Purple synthesizer use (he became an endorser of the ARP Oyssey) include "'A' 200", the final track from Burn, and "Love Child" on the Come Taste the Band album.[citation needed]
In early 1973 Lord stated:
We're as valid as anything by Beethoven. (NME, March 1973[12])
As a composer
Lord continued to focus on his classical aspirations alongside his Deep Purple career. The BBC, buoyed by the success of the Concerto, commissioned him to write another piece and the resulting "Gemini Suite" was performed by Deep Purple and the Light Music Society under Malcolm Arnold at the Royal Festival Hall in September 1970, and then in Munich with the Kammerorchester conducted by Eberhard Schoener in January 1972. It then became the basis for Lord's first solo album, Gemini Suite, released in November 1972, with vocals by Yvonne Elliman and Tony Ashton and with the London Symphony Orchestra backing a band that included Albert Lee on guitar.
Lord's collaboration with the highly experimental and supportive Schoener resulted in a second live performance of the Suite in late 1973 and a new Lord album with Schoener, entitled Windows, in 1974. It proved to be Lord's most experimental work and was released to mixed reactions. However, the dalliances with Bach on Windows and the pleasure of collaborating with Schoener resulted in perhaps Lord's most confident solo work and perhaps his strongest orchestral album, Sarabande, recorded in Germany in September 1975 with the Philharmonia Hungarica conducted by Schoener.
Composed of eight pieces (from the opening sweep of Fantasia to the Finale), at least five pieces form the typical construction of a baroque dance suite. The key pieces (Sarabande, Gigue, Bouree, Pavane and Caprice) feature rich orchestration complemented sometimes by the interpolation of rock themes, played by a session band comprising Pete York, Mark Nauseef and Andy Summers, with organ and synthesizers played by Lord.
In March 1974, Lord and Paice had collaborated with friend Tony Ashton on First of the Big Bands, credited to 'Ashton & Lord' and featuring a rich array of session talent, including Carmine Appice, Ian Paice, Peter Frampton and Pink Floyd saxophonist/sessioner, Dick Parry. They performed much of the set live at the London Palladium in September 1974.
This formed the basis of Lord's first post-Deep Purple project Paice Ashton Lord, which lasted only a year and spawned a single album, Malice in Wonderland in 1977, recorded at Musicland Studios Musicland Studios at the Arabella Hotel in Munich. He created an informal group of friends and collaborators including Ashton, Paice, Bernie Marsden, Boz Burrell and later, Bad Company's Mick Ralphs, Simon Kirke and others. Over the same period, Lord guested on albums by Maggie Bell, Nazareth and even folk artist Richard Digance. Eager to pay off a huge tax bill upon his return the UK in the late-1970s (Purple's excesses included their own tour jet and a home Lord rented in Malibu from actress Ann-Margret and where he wrote the Sarabande album), Lord joined former Deep Purple band member David Coverdale's new band, Whitesnake in August 1978 (Ian Paice joined them in 1980 and stayed till 1982).
Whitesnake, 1978–1984
Lord's job in Whitesnake was largely limited to adding colour (or, in his own words, a 'halo') to round out a blues-rock sound that already accommodated two lead guitarists, Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody. He added a Yamaha CP-70 electric piano to his set-up and finally a huge bank of synthesizers onstage courtesy of Moog (MiniMoog, Opus, Polymoog) so he could play the 12-bar blues the band often required and recreate string section and other effects. Such varied work is evident on tracks like "Here I Go Again", "Wine, Women and Song", "She's a Woman" and "Till the Day I Die". A number of singles entered the UK chart, taking the now 40-something Lord onto Top of the Pops with regularity between 1980 and 1983. He later expressed frustration that he was a poorly paid hired-hand, but fans saw little of this discord and Whitesnake's commercial success kept him at the forefront of readers' polls as heavy rock's foremost keyboard maestro. His dissatisfaction (and Coverdale's eagerness to revamp the band's line-up and lower the average age to help crack the US market) smoothed the way for the reformation of Deep Purple Mk II in 1984.
Jon Lord's last Whitesnake concert took place in the Swedish TV programme Måndagsbörsen in 16 April 1984.
During his tenure in Whitesnake, Lord had the opportunity to record two distinctly different solo albums. 1982s Before I Forget featured a largely conventional eight-song line-up, no orchestra and with the bulk of the songs being either mainstream rock tracks ("Hollywood Rock And Roll", "Chance on a Feeling"), or – specifically on side two – a series of very English classical piano ballads sung by mother and daughter duo, Vicki Brown and Sam Brown (wife and daughter of entertainer Joe Brown) and vocalist Elmer Gantry as well as piano and synthesiser instrumentals such as Burntwood, named after Lord's home. The album also boasted the cream of British rock talent, including session drummer (and National Youth Jazz Orchestra alumnus) Simon Phillips, Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Simon Kirke, Boz Burrell and Mick Ralphs.
Additionally, Lord was commissioned by producer Patrick Gamble for Central Television to write the soundtrack for their 1984 TV series, Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, based on the book by Edith Holden, with an orchestra conducted by Alfred Ralston and with a distinctly gentle, pastoral series of themes composed by Lord. Lord became firmly established as a member of UK rock's "Oxfordshire mansion aristocracy" – with a home, Burntwood Hall, set in 23.5 acres (9.5 ha) at Goring-on-Thames, complete with its own cricket pitch and a hand-painted Challen baby grand piano, previously owned by Shirley Bassey. He was asked to guest on albums by friends George Harrison (Gone Troppo from 1982) and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour (1984's About Face), Cozy Powell (Octopus in 1983) and to play on an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic, Wind in the Willows. He composed and produced the score for White Fire (1984), which consisted largely of two songs performed by Limelight. In 1985 he made a brief appearance as a member of The Singing Rebel's band (which also featured Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) in the Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais scripted film Water (1985)(Handmade Films).
In the 1980s he was also a member of an all-star band called Olympic Rock & Blues Circus fronted by Pete York and featuring a rotating line-up of the likes of Miller Anderson, Tony Ashton, Brian Auger, Zoot Money, Colin Hodgkinson, Chris Farlowe and many others. Olympic Rock & Blues Circus toured primarily in Germany between 1981 and 1989. Some musicians, including Lord, took part in York's TV musical extravaganza Superdrumming between 1987 and 1989.
Later work, 1984–2006
Lord's re-emergence with Deep Purple in 1984 resulted in huge audiences for the reformed Mk II line-up, including 1985s second largest grossing tour in the US and an appearance in front of 80,000 rain-soaked fans headlining Knebworth on 22 June 1985, all to support the Perfect Strangers album. Playing with a rejuvenated Mk. II Purple line-up (including spells at a health farm to get the band including Lord into shape) and being onstage and in the studio with Blackmore, gave Lord the chance to push himself once again. His 'rubato' classical opening sequence to the album's opener, "Knocking at Your Back Door" (complete with F-Minor to G polychordal harmony sequence), gave Lord the chance to do his most powerful work for years, including the song "Perfect Strangers". Further Deep Purple albums followed, often of varying quality, and by the late-1990s, Lord was clearly keen to explore new avenues for his musical career.
In 1997, he created perhaps his most personal work to date, Pictured Within, released in 1998 with a European tour to support it. Lord's mother Miriam had died in August 1995 and the album is a deeply affecting piece, inflected at all stages by Lord's sense of grief. Recorded largely in Lord's home-away-from-home, the city of Cologne, the album's themes are Elgarian and alpine in equal measure. Lord signed to Virgin Classics to release it, and perhaps saw it as the first stage in his eventual departure from Purple to embark on a low-key and altogether more gentle solo career. One song from Pictured Within, entitled "Wait A While" was later covered by Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø on her 2003/2004 album My Heart. Lord finally retired from Deep Purple amicably in 2002, preceded by a knee injury that eventually resolved itself without surgery. He said subsequently, "Leaving Deep Purple was just as traumatic as I had always suspected it would be and more so – if you see what I mean". He even dedicated a song to it on 2004's solo effort, Beyond the Notes, called "De Profundis". The album was recorded in Bonn with producer Mario Argandoña between June and July 2004.
Pictured Within and Beyond the Notes provide the most personal work by Lord, and together, have what his earlier solo work perhaps lacks, a very clear musical voice that is quintessentially his. Together, both albums are uniquely crafted, mature pieces from a man in touch with himself and his spirituality. Lord slowly built a small, but distinct position and fan base for himself in Europe. He collaborated with former ABBA superstar and family friend, Frida (Anni-Frid Lyngstad,) on the 2004 track, "The Sun Will Shine Again" (with lyrics by Sam Brown) and performed with her across Europe. He subsequently also performed European concerts to première the 2007-scheduled Boom of the Tingling Strings orchestral piece.
In 2003 he also returned to his beloved R-n-B/blues heritage to record an album of standards in Sydney, with Australia's Jimmy Barnes, entitled Live in the Basement, by Jon Lord and the Hoochie Coochie Men, showing himself to be one of British rock music's most eclectic and talented instrumentalists. Lord was also happy to support the Sam Buxton Sunflower Jam Healing Trust and in September 2006, performed at a star-studded event to support the charity led by Ian Paice's wife, Jacky (twin sister of Lord's wife Vicky). Featured artists on stage with Lord included Paul Weller, Robert Plant, Phil Manzanera, Ian Paice and Bernie Marsden.
Final work, after 2006
Two Lord compositions, Boom of the Tingling Strings and "Disguises (Suite for String Orchestra)", were recorded in Denmark in 2006 and released in April 2008 on EMI Classics. Both featured the Odense Symfoniorkester, conducted by Paul Mann. Additionally, a second Hoochie Coochie Men album was recorded in July 2006 in London. This album, Danger – White Men Dancing, was released in October 2007. His Durham Concerto, commissioned by Durham University for its 175th anniversary celebrations, received its world premiere on 20 October 2007 in Durham Cathedral by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and featured soloists Lord on Hammond Organ, Kathryn Tickell on Northumbrian pipes, Matthew Barley on cello and Ruth Palmer on violin.[13] It became a hit in Classic FM's "Hall of Fame", alongside his piano concerto Boom of the Tingling Strings.[14]
Lord played piano on George Harrison's posthumously released Brainwashed album (2002) and became an important member of Harrison's social circle in Oxfordshire (Lord by now living at Hill House, in Fawley, Henley-On-Thames), the two having first met at Abbey Road studios in the late 1960s.[15] He was also a close friend of John Mortimer, whom he had accompanied on many occasions during Mortimer's performances of "Mortimer Miscellany". In 2007, Lord joined Derek Griffiths, Colin Martin and Malcolm Pool at an Artwoods reunion at the ART Tribute night, at York House in Twickenham. Ali Mackenzie took over Art Wood's role on vocals, and Chris Hunt played drums. They were joined on stage by guitarist Ronnie Wood and vocalist Geno Washington. Lord released his solo album To Notice Such Things on 29 March 2010.[16] Titled after the main work—a six movement suite for solo flute, piano and string orchestra—the album was inspired by, and was dedicated to, the memory of Jon's dear friend Sir John Mortimer, the English barrister, dramatist, screenwriter, author and creator of British television series Rumpole of the Bailey, who died in January 2009. On its first day of release, the album entered Amazon's Movers And Shakers index, nestling at No. 12 at the end of the day.[17] Six days later it entered the UK's official classical chart at No. 4.[18] Lord had been commissioned to compose a concerto for Hammond organ and orchestra with special parts for tympani. The piece was to be premiered with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra with Tom Vissgren on tympani in Oslo, Norway in the Spring of 2012. With Vladimir Ashkenazy and Josef Suk, Lord was one of three artistic sponsors of Toccata Classics.
In July 2011, Lord performed his final live concert appearance, the Sunflower Jam at the Royal Albert Hall, where he premiered his joint composition with Rick Wakeman.[19] At that point, they had begun informal discussion on recording an album together. Up until 2011, Lord had also been working on material with recently formed rock supergroup WhoCares, also featuring singer Ian Gillan from Deep Purple, guitarist Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath, second guitarist Mikko Lindström from HIM, bassist Jason Newsted formerly from Metallica and drummer Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden, specifically the composition "Out of My Mind", in addition to new compositions with Steve Balsamo and a Hammond Organ Concerto.[20][21] Lord subsequently cancelled a performance of his Durham Concerto in Hagen, Germany,[22] for what his website said was a continuation of his medical treatment (the concert, scheduled for 6 July 2012, would have been his return to live performance after treatment).[23]
Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra was effectively recommissioned by him, recorded in Liverpool and at Abbey Road Studios across 2011 and under post-production in 2012 with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performing, conducted by long-time collaborator, conductor Paul Mann. The recording was at completion at the time of Lord's death, with Lord having been able to review the final master recordings. The album and DVD were subsequently released in 2012.
Personal life
Lord's first marriage, from 1969 to 1981, was to Judith Feldman, with whom he had one daughter, Sara. Lord's second wife, Vickie Gibbs was a former girlfriend of Purple band-mate Glenn Hughes and twin sister of Ian Paice's wife, Jacky Paice (founder of the charity Sunflower Jam). The sisters' father was Frank Gibbs, owner of the Oakley House Country Club in Brewood, South Staffordshire. Jon and Vickie also had one daughter, Amy.[24]
In July 2011, Lord was found to be suffering from pancreatic cancer. After treatment in both England and in Israel,[25] he died on 16 July 2012 at the London Clinic after suffering from a pulmonary embolism.[26][27][28][29] His interment was at Saint Mary the Virgin Church in Hambleden.
Influence and legacy
Lars Ulrich, founding member and drummer in Metallica commented, "Ever since my father took me to see them in 1973 in Copenhagen, at the impressionable age of 9, Deep Purple has been the most constant, continuous and inspiring musical presence in my life. They have meant more to me than any other band in existence, and have had an enormous part in shaping who I am. We can all be guilty of lightly throwing adjectives like 'unique,' 'one-of-a-kind' and 'pioneering' around when we want to describe our heroes and the people who've moved us, but there are no more fitting words than those right now and there simply was no musician like Jon Lord in the history of hard rock. Nobody. Period.There was nobody that played like him. There was nobody that sounded like him. There was nobody that wrote like him. There was nobody that looked like him. There was nobody more articulate, gentlemanly, warm, or fucking cooler that ever played keyboards or got anywhere near a keyboard. What he did was all his own".[30]
Former keyboard player of rock band Yes, Rick Wakeman, who was a friend of Lord's, said he was "a great fan" and added "We were going to write and record an album before he became ill. His contribution to music and to classic rock was immeasurable and I will miss him terribly." In mid-2013, Wakeman presented a BBC One East Midlands-produced TV programme about Lord and his connection to the town of his birth.[31]
Singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad (ABBA), who described Jon Lord as her "dearest friend", paid him tribute at the 2013 edition of Zermatt Unplugged, the annual music festival which both he and she served as patrons. "He was graceful, intelligent, polite, with a strong integrity," she said. "(He) had a strong empathy and a great deal of humour for his own and other people's weaknesses."[32]
Keyboardist Keith Emerson said of Lord's death, "Jon left us now but his music and inspiration will live forever. I am deeply saddend by his departure".[33] In a later interview in November 2013, he added, "In the early years I remember being quite jealous of Jon Lord – may he rest in peace. In September 1969 I heard he was debuting his "Concerto For Group & Orchestra" at the Royal Albert Hall, with none other than Malcolm Arnold conducting. Wow! I had to go along and see that. Jon and I ribbed each other, we were pretty much pals, but I walked away and thought: 'Shit, in a couple of weeks' time I'm going to be recording The Nice's Five Bridges Suite ... not at the Albert Hall but at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon!' A much more prosaic venue. Later, Jon wanted me to play on his solo album, Gemini Suite, but that was around the time ELP were breaking big and we were touring. He was a lovely guy, a real gentleman." [34]
A concert tribute to Lord took place on 4 April 2014 at the Royal Albert Hall. Performers and presenters included Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Alfie Boe, Jeremy Irons, Joe Brown, Glenn Hughes, Miller Anderson and Steve Balsamo.[citation needed]
In December 2012 the Mayor of Leicester, Sir Peter Soulsby, joined the campaign to honour Lord with a blue plaque at his childhood home at 120 Averill Road, where he lived until he was twenty, saying it would be "an important reminder of the city's contribution to the world of contemporary music".
Jon Lord - When A Blindman Cries Live (Jimmy Barnes)
Skip James *09.06.1902
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (* 21. Juni 1902 in Yazoo City, Mississippi; † 3. Oktober 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) war ein US-amerikanischer Bluesmusiker.
Nehemiah Curtis James wuchs auf der Woodbine plantation nahe Bentonia auf. Als Kind erhielt er den Spitznamen "Skippy", der erst anlässlich seiner ersten Plattenaufnahmen im Jahre 1931 zu "Skip" verkürzt wurde. Er lernte zunächst Klavier und Orgel in der Sonntagsschule, später Gitarre bei Henry Stuckey, den er später als wichtigen Einfluss auf seine Musik angab [1]. Um 1918 begann er in Memphis (Tennessee) als Musiker zu arbeiten.
1931 nahm er für Paramount (nach seiner eigenen Erinnerung) 26 Stücke auf, von denen allerdings nur 18 veröffentlicht wurden.
Mit der Wirtschaftskrise endete seine musikalische Karriere. 1932 wurde er baptistischer Laienprediger.
Während des Folk-Revivals ist er 1964 von John Fahey, Bill Barth (später einer der Gründer von The Insect Trust) und Henry Vestine (später Bandmitglied von Canned Heat) im Tunica County Hospital (Mississippi) "wiederentdeckt" worden und trat im gleichen Jahr mit Mississippi John Hurt beim Newport Folk Festival auf. Es folgten zahlreiche Konzerte und mehrere LPs mit Neueinspielungen und Zusammenstellungen seiner Vorkriegs-Aufnahmen.
1969 erlag Skip James einem Krebsleiden.
Herausragendes Stilmittel war seine ungewöhnliche Falsettstimme und sein filigranes Fingerpicking. Er nutzte verschiedene offene Gitarrenstimmungen (e-moll, d-moll, A-Dur) und erreichte so außergewöhnliche Klangfarben.
Am bekanntesten sind wohl seine Stücke I'm so glad, das in der Version von Cream zum Hit wurde und der Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues, der im Film O Brother, Where Art Thou? der Gebrüder Coen von Chris Thomas King vorgetragen wurde. Weitere Coverversionen nahm unter anderem Johnny Winter auf.
Im Dokumentarfilm Soul of a man von Wim Wenders, war James eine der drei porträtierten Musikerpersönlichkeiten (neben J. B. Lenoir und Blind Willie Johnson).
Eine Schlüsselrolle nimmt auch James Devil Got My Woman in dem Film Ghost World von Terry Zwigoff ein.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_James
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9,[1] 1902 – October 3, 1969)[2] was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. Born in Bentonia, Mississippi, United States, he died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He first learned to play guitar from another bluesman from the area, Henry Stuckey. His guitar playing is noted for its dark, minor sound, played in an open D-minor tuning with an intricate fingerpicking technique. James first recorded for Paramount Records in 1931, but these recordings sold poorly due to the Great Depression, and he drifted into obscurity. After a long absence from the public eye, James was "rediscovered" in 1964 by three blues enthusiasts, helping further the blues and folk music revival of the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, James appeared at several folk and blues festivals and gave live concerts around the country, also recording several albums for various record labels.
His songs have influenced several generations of musicians, being adapted or covered by Kansas Joe McCoy, Robert Johnson, Alan Wilson, Cream, Deep Purple, Chris Thomas King, Alvin Youngblood Hart, The Derek Trucks Band, Beck, Big Sugar, Eric Clapton, John Martyn, Lucinda Williams and Rory Block. He is hailed as "one of the seminal figures of the blues."[3]
Biography
Early years
James was born near Bentonia, Mississippi.[2] His father was a converted bootlegger turned preacher.[4] As a youth, James heard local musicians such as Henry Stuckey and brothers Charlie and Jesse Sims and began playing the organ in his teens. He worked on road construction and levee-building crews in his native Mississippi in the early 1920s, and wrote what is perhaps his earliest song, "Illinois Blues", about his experiences as a laborer.
He began playing guitar in open D-minor tuning[5]
1920s and 1930s
In early 1931, James auditioned for Jackson, Mississippi, record shop owner and talent scout H. C. Speir, who placed blues performers with a variety of record labels including Paramount Records.[4] On the strength of this audition, James traveled to Grafton, Wisconsin to record for Paramount.[4] James's 1931 work is considered idiosyncratic among pre-war blues recordings, and formed the basis of his reputation as a musician.
As is typical of his era, James recorded a variety of material – blues and spirituals, cover versions and original compositions – frequently blurring the lines between genres and sources. For example, "I'm So Glad" was derived from a 1927 song by Art Sizemore and George A. Little entitled "So Tired", which had been recorded in 1928 by both Gene Austin and Lonnie Johnson (the latter under the title "I'm So Tired of Livin' All Alone"). Biographer Stephen Calt, echoing the opinion of several critics, considered the finished product totally original, "one of the most extraordinary examples of fingerpicking found in guitar music".[6]
Several of the Grafton recordings, such as "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", "Devil Got My Woman", "Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader", and "22-20 Blues" (the basis for Robert Johnson's better-known "32-20 Blues", and the band name for the English group 22-20s), have proven similarly influential. Very few original copies of James's Paramount 78 RPMs have survived.
The Great Depression struck just as James' recordings were hitting the market. Sales were poor as a result, and James gave up performing the blues to become the choir director in his father's church.[4] James himself was later ordained as a minister in both the Baptist and Methodist denominations, but the extent of his involvement in religious activities is unknown.[4]
Disappearance, rediscovery, and legacy
For the next thirty years, James recorded nothing and drifted in and out of music. He was virtually unknown to listeners until about 1960. In 1964 blues enthusiasts John Fahey, Bill Barth, and Henry Vestine found him in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi. According to Calt, the "rediscovery" of both James and of Son House at virtually the same moment was the start of the "blues revival" in the US.[6] In July 1964 James, along with other rediscovered performers, appeared at the Newport Folk Festival.[4] Several photographs by Dick Waterman captured this first performance in over 30 years. Throughout the remainder of the decade, he recorded for the Takoma, Melodeon, and Vanguard labels and played various engagements until his death in Philadelphia from cancer in 1969.[4][7]
Although James was not initially covered as frequently as other rediscovered musicians, British rock band Cream recorded "I'm So Glad"[3] (a studio version and a live version), providing James with the only windfall of his career.[2] Deep Purple also covered "I'm So Glad," on Shades of Deep Purple. John Martyn covered "Devil Got My Woman", titled as "I'd Rather be the Devil" on his album Solid Air and played it live throughout his career. English blues rock band 22-20s named themselves after "22-20 Blues."[8]
Since his death, James's music has become more available and prevalent than during his lifetime – his 1931 recordings, along with several rediscovery recordings and concerts, have found their way onto numerous compact discs, drifting in and out of print. His influence is still felt among contemporary bluesmen. Gregg Allman recorded 'Devil Got My Woman' on his 2011 "Low Country Blues". James also left a mark on Hollywood, as well, with Chris Thomas King's cover of "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" on O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and the 1931 "Devil Got My Woman" featured in the plot and soundtrack of Ghost World. In recent times, British post-rock band Hope of the States released a song partially focused on the life of Skip James entitled "Nehemiah", which charted at number 30 in the UK Singles Chart.[9] "He's a Mighty Good Leader" was also covered by Beck on his 1994 album One Foot in the Grave.
In 2004, Wim Wenders directed the film The Soul of a Man (the second part of The Blues, a series produced by Martin Scorsese), focusing on the music of Blind Willie Johnson, J.B. Lenoir and Skip James.[10] Skip James was not filmed before the 1960s. Keith B. Brown took the part of young Skip James in the scenes about his youth in the documentary. Wenders used many songs from James, some performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Beck, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, James 'Blood' Ulmer, T-Bone Burnett, Eagle Eye Cherry, Shemekia Copeland, Garland Jeffreys, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, Marc Ribot, Lucinda Williams, and Cassandra Wilson.[11]
Personality
James was known to be an aloof and moody person.[12] "Skip James, you never knew. Skip could be sunshine, or thunder and lightning depending on his whim of the moment" commented Dick Spottswood.[12]
Musical style
James as guitarist
James often played his guitar with an open D-minor tuning (D-A-D-F-A-D), resulting in the "deep" sound of the 1931 recordings. James purportedly learned this tuning from his musical mentor, the unrecorded bluesman Henry Stuckey.[citation needed] Stuckey in turn was said to have acquired it from Bahamanian soldiers during the First World War,[citation needed] despite the fact that his service card shows he didn't serve overseas. Robert Johnson also recorded in this tuning, his "Hell Hound on My Trail" being based on James' "Devil Got My Woman."[2] James' classically-informed, finger-picking style was fast and clean, using the entire register of the guitar with heavy, hypnotic bass lines.[citation needed] James' style of playing had more in common with the Piedmont blues of the East Coast than with the Delta blues of his native Mississippi.
The "Bentonia School"
James is sometimes associated with the Bentonia School, which is either a subgenre of blues music or a style of playing it.[2] Calt, in his 1994 biography of James, I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues, maintains that there was indeed no style of blues that originated in Bentonia, and that this is simply a notion of later blues writers who overestimated the provinciality of Mississippi during the early 20th century, when railways linked small towns, and who failed to see that in the case of Jack Owens, "the 'tradition' he bore primarily consisted of musical scraps from James' table". Owens and other musicians who may have been contemporaries of James were not recorded until the 1960s revival period. As such, the extent to which the work of said musicians is indicative of any "school", and whether James originated it or was simply a "member", remains an open question.
He first learned to play guitar from another bluesman from the area, Henry Stuckey. His guitar playing is noted for its dark, minor sound, played in an open D-minor tuning with an intricate fingerpicking technique. James first recorded for Paramount Records in 1931, but these recordings sold poorly due to the Great Depression, and he drifted into obscurity. After a long absence from the public eye, James was "rediscovered" in 1964 by three blues enthusiasts, helping further the blues and folk music revival of the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, James appeared at several folk and blues festivals and gave live concerts around the country, also recording several albums for various record labels.
His songs have influenced several generations of musicians, being adapted or covered by Kansas Joe McCoy, Robert Johnson, Alan Wilson, Cream, Deep Purple, Chris Thomas King, Alvin Youngblood Hart, The Derek Trucks Band, Beck, Big Sugar, Eric Clapton, John Martyn, Lucinda Williams and Rory Block. He is hailed as "one of the seminal figures of the blues."[3]
Biography
Early years
James was born near Bentonia, Mississippi.[2] His father was a converted bootlegger turned preacher.[4] As a youth, James heard local musicians such as Henry Stuckey and brothers Charlie and Jesse Sims and began playing the organ in his teens. He worked on road construction and levee-building crews in his native Mississippi in the early 1920s, and wrote what is perhaps his earliest song, "Illinois Blues", about his experiences as a laborer.
He began playing guitar in open D-minor tuning[5]
1920s and 1930s
In early 1931, James auditioned for Jackson, Mississippi, record shop owner and talent scout H. C. Speir, who placed blues performers with a variety of record labels including Paramount Records.[4] On the strength of this audition, James traveled to Grafton, Wisconsin to record for Paramount.[4] James's 1931 work is considered idiosyncratic among pre-war blues recordings, and formed the basis of his reputation as a musician.
As is typical of his era, James recorded a variety of material – blues and spirituals, cover versions and original compositions – frequently blurring the lines between genres and sources. For example, "I'm So Glad" was derived from a 1927 song by Art Sizemore and George A. Little entitled "So Tired", which had been recorded in 1928 by both Gene Austin and Lonnie Johnson (the latter under the title "I'm So Tired of Livin' All Alone"). Biographer Stephen Calt, echoing the opinion of several critics, considered the finished product totally original, "one of the most extraordinary examples of fingerpicking found in guitar music".[6]
Several of the Grafton recordings, such as "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues", "Devil Got My Woman", "Jesus Is A Mighty Good Leader", and "22-20 Blues" (the basis for Robert Johnson's better-known "32-20 Blues", and the band name for the English group 22-20s), have proven similarly influential. Very few original copies of James's Paramount 78 RPMs have survived.
The Great Depression struck just as James' recordings were hitting the market. Sales were poor as a result, and James gave up performing the blues to become the choir director in his father's church.[4] James himself was later ordained as a minister in both the Baptist and Methodist denominations, but the extent of his involvement in religious activities is unknown.[4]
Disappearance, rediscovery, and legacy
For the next thirty years, James recorded nothing and drifted in and out of music. He was virtually unknown to listeners until about 1960. In 1964 blues enthusiasts John Fahey, Bill Barth, and Henry Vestine found him in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi. According to Calt, the "rediscovery" of both James and of Son House at virtually the same moment was the start of the "blues revival" in the US.[6] In July 1964 James, along with other rediscovered performers, appeared at the Newport Folk Festival.[4] Several photographs by Dick Waterman captured this first performance in over 30 years. Throughout the remainder of the decade, he recorded for the Takoma, Melodeon, and Vanguard labels and played various engagements until his death in Philadelphia from cancer in 1969.[4][7]
Although James was not initially covered as frequently as other rediscovered musicians, British rock band Cream recorded "I'm So Glad"[3] (a studio version and a live version), providing James with the only windfall of his career.[2] Deep Purple also covered "I'm So Glad," on Shades of Deep Purple. John Martyn covered "Devil Got My Woman", titled as "I'd Rather be the Devil" on his album Solid Air and played it live throughout his career. English blues rock band 22-20s named themselves after "22-20 Blues."[8]
Since his death, James's music has become more available and prevalent than during his lifetime – his 1931 recordings, along with several rediscovery recordings and concerts, have found their way onto numerous compact discs, drifting in and out of print. His influence is still felt among contemporary bluesmen. Gregg Allman recorded 'Devil Got My Woman' on his 2011 "Low Country Blues". James also left a mark on Hollywood, as well, with Chris Thomas King's cover of "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" on O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and the 1931 "Devil Got My Woman" featured in the plot and soundtrack of Ghost World. In recent times, British post-rock band Hope of the States released a song partially focused on the life of Skip James entitled "Nehemiah", which charted at number 30 in the UK Singles Chart.[9] "He's a Mighty Good Leader" was also covered by Beck on his 1994 album One Foot in the Grave.
In 2004, Wim Wenders directed the film The Soul of a Man (the second part of The Blues, a series produced by Martin Scorsese), focusing on the music of Blind Willie Johnson, J.B. Lenoir and Skip James.[10] Skip James was not filmed before the 1960s. Keith B. Brown took the part of young Skip James in the scenes about his youth in the documentary. Wenders used many songs from James, some performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Beck, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, James 'Blood' Ulmer, T-Bone Burnett, Eagle Eye Cherry, Shemekia Copeland, Garland Jeffreys, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, Marc Ribot, Lucinda Williams, and Cassandra Wilson.[11]
Personality
James was known to be an aloof and moody person.[12] "Skip James, you never knew. Skip could be sunshine, or thunder and lightning depending on his whim of the moment" commented Dick Spottswood.[12]
Musical style
James as guitarist
James often played his guitar with an open D-minor tuning (D-A-D-F-A-D), resulting in the "deep" sound of the 1931 recordings. James purportedly learned this tuning from his musical mentor, the unrecorded bluesman Henry Stuckey.[citation needed] Stuckey in turn was said to have acquired it from Bahamanian soldiers during the First World War,[citation needed] despite the fact that his service card shows he didn't serve overseas. Robert Johnson also recorded in this tuning, his "Hell Hound on My Trail" being based on James' "Devil Got My Woman."[2] James' classically-informed, finger-picking style was fast and clean, using the entire register of the guitar with heavy, hypnotic bass lines.[citation needed] James' style of playing had more in common with the Piedmont blues of the East Coast than with the Delta blues of his native Mississippi.
The "Bentonia School"
James is sometimes associated with the Bentonia School, which is either a subgenre of blues music or a style of playing it.[2] Calt, in his 1994 biography of James, I'd Rather Be the Devil: Skip James and the Blues, maintains that there was indeed no style of blues that originated in Bentonia, and that this is simply a notion of later blues writers who overestimated the provinciality of Mississippi during the early 20th century, when railways linked small towns, and who failed to see that in the case of Jack Owens, "the 'tradition' he bore primarily consisted of musical scraps from James' table". Owens and other musicians who may have been contemporaries of James were not recorded until the 1960s revival period. As such, the extent to which the work of said musicians is indicative of any "school", and whether James originated it or was simply a "member", remains an open question.
Tony Spinner *09.06.1963
Tony Spinner (* 9. Juni 1963 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri) ist ein US-amerikanischer Gitarrist und Sänger.
Karriere
Bereits als Kind war Spinner sehr an Musik interessiert. Mit acht Jahren nahm er erstmals Gitarren- und Klavierunterricht. Im Alter von 14 Jahren begann er, ernsthaft Gitarre zu spielen nachdem er Alvin Lee und Jimi Hendrix im Fernsehen gesehen hatte. Erste Auftritte in kleineren Konzerten hatte er bereits während seiner Zeit an der Highschool.
Sein erstes Soloalbum Saturn Blues veröffentlichte Spinner 1993. Zwei Jahre später folgte My ’64 und 1996 Crosstown Sessions. 1999 wurde ihm von der Rockband Toto angeboten, sie auf deren Mindfields-Tour zu begleiten. Dieses Angebot nahm Spinner an und war seitdem fester Bestandteil der Band auf Tour bis zu deren Auflösung 2008. Außerdem hat er auch an deren Alben Through The Looking Glass (2003) und Falling in Between (2006) mitgearbeitet. Spinner übernahm live sogar im Titel „Stop lovin' you“, den im Original Joseph Williams auf dem Album The Seventh One einsang, den Leadgesang.
Seit 2001 tourt Spinner mit der Tony Spinner Band durch Nordamerika und Europa. 2003 arbeitete er mit an dem Tribute-Album Voodoo Crossing – a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Ein Jahr später schloss er die Arbeiten zu seinem vierten Album Chicks and Guitars ab und veröffentlichte die Platte.
Karriere
Bereits als Kind war Spinner sehr an Musik interessiert. Mit acht Jahren nahm er erstmals Gitarren- und Klavierunterricht. Im Alter von 14 Jahren begann er, ernsthaft Gitarre zu spielen nachdem er Alvin Lee und Jimi Hendrix im Fernsehen gesehen hatte. Erste Auftritte in kleineren Konzerten hatte er bereits während seiner Zeit an der Highschool.
Sein erstes Soloalbum Saturn Blues veröffentlichte Spinner 1993. Zwei Jahre später folgte My ’64 und 1996 Crosstown Sessions. 1999 wurde ihm von der Rockband Toto angeboten, sie auf deren Mindfields-Tour zu begleiten. Dieses Angebot nahm Spinner an und war seitdem fester Bestandteil der Band auf Tour bis zu deren Auflösung 2008. Außerdem hat er auch an deren Alben Through The Looking Glass (2003) und Falling in Between (2006) mitgearbeitet. Spinner übernahm live sogar im Titel „Stop lovin' you“, den im Original Joseph Williams auf dem Album The Seventh One einsang, den Leadgesang.
Seit 2001 tourt Spinner mit der Tony Spinner Band durch Nordamerika und Europa. 2003 arbeitete er mit an dem Tribute-Album Voodoo Crossing – a tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Ein Jahr später schloss er die Arbeiten zu seinem vierten Album Chicks and Guitars ab und veröffentlichte die Platte.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Spinner
Tony Spinner (born June 9, 1963 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri), is an American rock and blues singer and guitarist who toured with Toto from 1999 until their break-up in 2008. Spinner was personally selected by David Paich as a backup guitarist and backing vocalist and would perform lead vocals on the song "Stop Loving You," originally performed by former Toto member Joseph Williams. When Toto reformed in 2010, Spinner was not invited to re-join the touring band.
In fall 2010, Tony Spinner joined Paul Gilbert on his "Fuzz Universe" European tour.
In fall 2010, Tony Spinner joined Paul Gilbert on his "Fuzz Universe" European tour.
TONY SPINNER "MY SIXTY FOUR CHEVY"
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