1913 Helen Humes*
2013 Bobby Bland+
2013 Little Willie Littlefield+
Peter Bonzo Radványi*
Happy Birthday
Helen Humes *23.06.1913
Helen Humes (* 23. Juni 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky; † 9. September 1981 in Santa Monica, Kalifornien) war eine US-amerikanische Jazz- und Blues-Sängerin.
Helen Humes bekam ihr Talent sozusagen schon von ihren Eltern, die häufig im Duett in ihrer Kirchengemeinde sangen, in die Wiege gelegt. 1927 bereits begleitete sie Sylvester Weaver bei einigen seiner letzten Aufnahmen. 1937 zog sie nach Albany und wurde Sängerin bei der Big Band von Harry James. Mit ihm nahm sie unter anderem die Titel Jubilee, I Can Dream Can't I und That's The Dreamer In Me auf. Außerdem arbeitete sie in den späten 1930er Jahren mit dem Big-Band-Leader Count Basie, der sie im Cotton Club in Cincinnati entdeckt hatte. Er lud sie ein, die Nachfolge von Billie Holiday in seiner Band anzutreten. Einer ihrer größten Erfolge aus dieser Zeit war Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea.
In den 40er und 50er Jahren, inzwischen in Kalifornien, arbeitete Helen Humes mit verschiedenen Bands und anderen Blues- und Jazzinterpreten, darunter auch Nat King Cole und nahm einige Schallplatten für Discovery auf. Einer ihrer Erfolge aus dieser Zeit ist Be-baba-leba. 1950 sang Humes Benny Carters Rock Me to Sleep und schaffte es damit, zwischen dem „Big Band Jazz Swing“ und dem Rhythm and Blues eine Brücke zu schlagen.
Als Humes Mutter 1973 starb, verkaufte sie alle ihre Schallplatten und ihr Klavier und wollte nicht mehr singen. Stanley Dance, ein Musikkritiker, konnte sie überreden, zusammen mit Count Basie beim Newport Jazz Festival 1973 aufzutreten. Aber erst in den späten 70er Jahren setzte sie ihre Karriere fort. Sie lebte noch einige Zeit auf Hawaii und in Australien, bevor sie nach Santa Monica in Kalifornien umzog, wo sie 1981 starb.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Humes
Helen Humes (June 23, 1913 – September 9, 1981)[1] was an American jazz and blues singer.
Humes was successively a teenage blues singer, band vocalist with Count Basie, saucy R&B diva and a mature interpreter of the classy popular song.[2] Along with other well-known jazz singers of the swing era Helen Humes helped to shape and define the sound of vocal swing music.
Early life
Born on June 23, 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky to parents Emma Johnson and John Henry Humes. She grew up as an only child, her mother worked as a schoolteacher and her father was the first black attorney in town. In an interview, Humes recalled her parents singing to each other around the house, also both singing in the church choir.[3]
Helen was introduced to music in the church, singing in the choir and getting piano and organ lessons at Sunday school. The Sunday school music lessons were given by Bessie Allen, who taught music to any child who wanted to learn. From Bessie's Sunday School music lessons, Helen began occasionally playing the piano in a small and locally traveling dance band called the Dandies. This constant involvement in music would lead Helen to her singing career in the mid 1920s.[4]
Career
Early career
Helen's career began with her first vocal performance at an amateur contest in 1926. She sang "When You're A Long, Long Way From Home" and "I'm in Love with You, That's Why" when her talents were noticed by a guitarist in the band. Sylvester Weaver who recorded for Okeh records recommended her to talent scout and producer Tommy Rockwell.[5] At the age of 14 Helen recorded an album in St. Louis, singing a number of blues songs. Two years later, a second recording session was held in New York, and this time she was accompanied by pianist J. C. Johnson.[6] Despite this introduction to the music world, Helen wouldn't make another record for another ten years. She would spend those years completing her high school degree, taking finance courses, working at a bank, as a waitress, and as a secretary for her father. She stayed home for a while, eventually leaving to visit friends in Buffalo, New York. While there, Helen was invited to sing a few songs at the Spider Web, a local cabaret in town. This brief performance turned into an audition, which turned in to a $35 a week job. She stayed in Buffalo singing with this small group led by Al Sears where they worked together for a good amount of time.
Cincinnati Cotton Club
While Helen was home in Louisville (she said she always returned home at least twice a year) she got a call from Sears who was in Cincinnati. He wanted her to sing at Cincinnati's Cotton Club. The Cotton Club was an important venue in the development of the Cincinnati music scene. It was an integrated club that booked and promoted a lot of black entertainers.[7] Helen moved to Cincinnati in 1936 and sang there with Sears' band again at the Cotton Club.
Count Basie first heard and approached Helen while she was performing at the Cotton Club. It was 1937 when he asked her to join his touring band to replace Billie Holiday. He told her that she would be paid $35 a week and she responded, "Oh shucks, I make that here and don't have to go no place!"[3] Not long after this encounter, Helen moved to New York City in 1937 where John Hammond, an influential talent scout and producer of the 20th century, heard her singing with Sears' band at the Renaissance Club. Through Hammond, she became a recording vocalist with Harry James' big band. Her swing recordings with James included "Jubilee", "I Can Dream, Can't I?", Jimmy Dorsey's composition "It's The Dreamer In Me", and "Song of the Wanderer". In March 1938 Hammond was able to convince Humes to join Count Basie's Orchestra, where she would stay for four years.
The Count Basie Orchestra
In The Count Basie Orchestra, Humes gained acclaim as a singer of ballads and popular songs. While she was also a talented blues singer, Jimmy Rushing, another member of The Count Basie Orchestra at the time, held domain over the blues vocals.[8] Her vocals with Basie's band included "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and "Moonlight Serenade".
On December 24, 1939, Humes performed with the Count Basie Orchestra and James P. Johnson at John Hammond's second concert of From Spirituals to Swing. After this concert at Carnegie Hall, most of Humes' time spent with the Basie Orchestra was spent on the road. In a 1973 oral history Helen described life on tour,
I used to pretend I was asleep on the Basie bus, so the boys wouldn't think I was hearing their rough talk. I'd sew buttons on and cook for them, too…in places where it was difficult to get anything to eat…down south. I wasn't interested in drinking and keeping late hours…but my kidneys couldn't stand the punishment of those long rides… then too I got tired of singing the same songs.[3]
This would be the reason for Humes' leaving the group in 1942, as her health was in bad shape and the stress of being on tour was too much.
Café Society and solo career
While home again in Louisville in 1942, Helen was called by John Hammond and invited to sing at Café Society in New York. She performed frequently here accompanied by pianists Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. During that year, she also performed at the Three Deuces, at the Famous Door with Benny Carter (February), at the Village Vanguard with Eddie Heywood, and on tour with the big band led by the trombonist Ernie Fields.[9]
In 1944, Helen made the decision to move to Los Angeles, California. While in California, Humes spent a lot of time in the studio, producing solo work, as well as movie soundtracks. Some of the movie soundtracks she recorded were Panic in the Streets and My Blue Heaven. Helen also spent some time on the screen, performing in a musical film by Dizzy Gillespie, titled Jivin' in Be-Bop .[6] In addition to this, Helen performed and toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic for five seasons. In 1945, Helen recorded her most popular songs, two jump blues tunes Be-Baba-Leba (Philo, 1945) and Million Dollar Secret (Modern, 1950).[2] Despite this, Humes' career stagnated. From the late 1940s to mid 1950s Helen made a few recordings, working with different bands and vocalists, including Nat King Cole, but she was not nearly as active as she had been. In 1950 Humes recorded Benny Carter's "Rock Me to Sleep". She managed to bridge the gap between big band jazz swing and rhythm and blues.
In 1956, Helen toured Australia with Red Norvo, vibraphonist. Their tour was very well received, and she returned again in 1962 and 1964. She made appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival (1959) and Monterey Jazz Festival (1960, 1962).[9] Also in 1962, Helen toured Europe with the first American Folk Blues Festival.[10]
Helen returned to the US in 1967 to take care of her ailing mother. At this point she viewed her singing career as a part of her past. She took a job at a local ammunition plant, sold her record player and her records and stopped singing. From 1967 to 1973, she was in retirement and would have remained that way had it not been for Stanley Dance. Dance convinced Helen to return in a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival (1973). The Newport Jazz Festival launched Helen on a whole new career.[11] The festival was followed with multiple European engagements and some French made albums on Black and Blue. She also sang regularly at the Cookery in New York City (1974-1977).
Throughout the late 1970s, Helen would perform sporadically in America, while also performing at European venues and festivals, for instance at the prestigious Nice Jazz Festival in the mid-1970s. In 1980, she recorded her final album, self-titled Helen on Muse Records. She received the Music Industry of France Award in 1973, and the key to the city of Louisville in 1975.[12]
On the topic of the trajectory of her career, Helen said this: "I'm not trying to be a star! I want to work and be happy and just go along and have my friends – and that's my career."[11]
Death
Helen Humes died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, in 1981 at the age of 68. At her funeral, her family requested that people donate money for cancer research rather than bringing flowers.[13] She is buried at the Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.[14]
Style and reviews
Helen Humes' range was from G3-C5 as she stated in a letter written in preparation for a European tour to Buck Clayton (the arranger) along with a list of her preferred songs.[3] According to many critics, her voice was versatile, suiting pop songs and ballads as well as blues tunes.[15] She was compared to Ethel Waters and Mildred Bailey from early in her career, and was often recorded singing the blues post-Basie. In an interview with Whitney Balliet, Helen explained, "I've been called a blues singer, a jazz singer, and a ballad singer – well, I'm all three, which means I'm just a singer."[16] A review from Downbeat Magazine of her albums Talk of the Town, Helen Comes Back, and Helen Humes with Red Norvo and His Orchestra said the following about her collaboration with Red Norvo:
Norvo's sparkling vibes are the ideal compliment to Helen's lithe, light timbered clarity…Helen is in particularly fine voice…[with] an uncanny resemblance to early Ella [Fitzgerald] in her sound and phrasing.[15]
The review of Helen Comes Back was not as positive, though not at the fault of the vocalist, saying that,
Blues dominates [the album]…[and] although her voice is delightful, the material is too simple to challenge her…Helen is a great deal more than a blues shouter.[15]
Some reviews in the Washington Post of her last performances, in Maryland (1978) and Washington DC (1980), described her as "beaming and genial at 65" (1978). The reviews gave insight on her versatile vocals, "her characteristically light voice [turning] rough as she belted out…'You Can Take My Man But You Can't Keep Him Long'." They also described Helen's use of back phrasing, reminiscent of Billie Holiday's signature style of phrasing a melody in an intimate, personal fashion.
Humes was successively a teenage blues singer, band vocalist with Count Basie, saucy R&B diva and a mature interpreter of the classy popular song.[2] Along with other well-known jazz singers of the swing era Helen Humes helped to shape and define the sound of vocal swing music.
Early life
Born on June 23, 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky to parents Emma Johnson and John Henry Humes. She grew up as an only child, her mother worked as a schoolteacher and her father was the first black attorney in town. In an interview, Humes recalled her parents singing to each other around the house, also both singing in the church choir.[3]
Helen was introduced to music in the church, singing in the choir and getting piano and organ lessons at Sunday school. The Sunday school music lessons were given by Bessie Allen, who taught music to any child who wanted to learn. From Bessie's Sunday School music lessons, Helen began occasionally playing the piano in a small and locally traveling dance band called the Dandies. This constant involvement in music would lead Helen to her singing career in the mid 1920s.[4]
Career
Early career
Helen's career began with her first vocal performance at an amateur contest in 1926. She sang "When You're A Long, Long Way From Home" and "I'm in Love with You, That's Why" when her talents were noticed by a guitarist in the band. Sylvester Weaver who recorded for Okeh records recommended her to talent scout and producer Tommy Rockwell.[5] At the age of 14 Helen recorded an album in St. Louis, singing a number of blues songs. Two years later, a second recording session was held in New York, and this time she was accompanied by pianist J. C. Johnson.[6] Despite this introduction to the music world, Helen wouldn't make another record for another ten years. She would spend those years completing her high school degree, taking finance courses, working at a bank, as a waitress, and as a secretary for her father. She stayed home for a while, eventually leaving to visit friends in Buffalo, New York. While there, Helen was invited to sing a few songs at the Spider Web, a local cabaret in town. This brief performance turned into an audition, which turned in to a $35 a week job. She stayed in Buffalo singing with this small group led by Al Sears where they worked together for a good amount of time.
Cincinnati Cotton Club
While Helen was home in Louisville (she said she always returned home at least twice a year) she got a call from Sears who was in Cincinnati. He wanted her to sing at Cincinnati's Cotton Club. The Cotton Club was an important venue in the development of the Cincinnati music scene. It was an integrated club that booked and promoted a lot of black entertainers.[7] Helen moved to Cincinnati in 1936 and sang there with Sears' band again at the Cotton Club.
Count Basie first heard and approached Helen while she was performing at the Cotton Club. It was 1937 when he asked her to join his touring band to replace Billie Holiday. He told her that she would be paid $35 a week and she responded, "Oh shucks, I make that here and don't have to go no place!"[3] Not long after this encounter, Helen moved to New York City in 1937 where John Hammond, an influential talent scout and producer of the 20th century, heard her singing with Sears' band at the Renaissance Club. Through Hammond, she became a recording vocalist with Harry James' big band. Her swing recordings with James included "Jubilee", "I Can Dream, Can't I?", Jimmy Dorsey's composition "It's The Dreamer In Me", and "Song of the Wanderer". In March 1938 Hammond was able to convince Humes to join Count Basie's Orchestra, where she would stay for four years.
The Count Basie Orchestra
In The Count Basie Orchestra, Humes gained acclaim as a singer of ballads and popular songs. While she was also a talented blues singer, Jimmy Rushing, another member of The Count Basie Orchestra at the time, held domain over the blues vocals.[8] Her vocals with Basie's band included "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and "Moonlight Serenade".
On December 24, 1939, Humes performed with the Count Basie Orchestra and James P. Johnson at John Hammond's second concert of From Spirituals to Swing. After this concert at Carnegie Hall, most of Humes' time spent with the Basie Orchestra was spent on the road. In a 1973 oral history Helen described life on tour,
I used to pretend I was asleep on the Basie bus, so the boys wouldn't think I was hearing their rough talk. I'd sew buttons on and cook for them, too…in places where it was difficult to get anything to eat…down south. I wasn't interested in drinking and keeping late hours…but my kidneys couldn't stand the punishment of those long rides… then too I got tired of singing the same songs.[3]
This would be the reason for Humes' leaving the group in 1942, as her health was in bad shape and the stress of being on tour was too much.
Café Society and solo career
While home again in Louisville in 1942, Helen was called by John Hammond and invited to sing at Café Society in New York. She performed frequently here accompanied by pianists Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. During that year, she also performed at the Three Deuces, at the Famous Door with Benny Carter (February), at the Village Vanguard with Eddie Heywood, and on tour with the big band led by the trombonist Ernie Fields.[9]
In 1944, Helen made the decision to move to Los Angeles, California. While in California, Humes spent a lot of time in the studio, producing solo work, as well as movie soundtracks. Some of the movie soundtracks she recorded were Panic in the Streets and My Blue Heaven. Helen also spent some time on the screen, performing in a musical film by Dizzy Gillespie, titled Jivin' in Be-Bop .[6] In addition to this, Helen performed and toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic for five seasons. In 1945, Helen recorded her most popular songs, two jump blues tunes Be-Baba-Leba (Philo, 1945) and Million Dollar Secret (Modern, 1950).[2] Despite this, Humes' career stagnated. From the late 1940s to mid 1950s Helen made a few recordings, working with different bands and vocalists, including Nat King Cole, but she was not nearly as active as she had been. In 1950 Humes recorded Benny Carter's "Rock Me to Sleep". She managed to bridge the gap between big band jazz swing and rhythm and blues.
In 1956, Helen toured Australia with Red Norvo, vibraphonist. Their tour was very well received, and she returned again in 1962 and 1964. She made appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival (1959) and Monterey Jazz Festival (1960, 1962).[9] Also in 1962, Helen toured Europe with the first American Folk Blues Festival.[10]
Helen returned to the US in 1967 to take care of her ailing mother. At this point she viewed her singing career as a part of her past. She took a job at a local ammunition plant, sold her record player and her records and stopped singing. From 1967 to 1973, she was in retirement and would have remained that way had it not been for Stanley Dance. Dance convinced Helen to return in a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival (1973). The Newport Jazz Festival launched Helen on a whole new career.[11] The festival was followed with multiple European engagements and some French made albums on Black and Blue. She also sang regularly at the Cookery in New York City (1974-1977).
Throughout the late 1970s, Helen would perform sporadically in America, while also performing at European venues and festivals, for instance at the prestigious Nice Jazz Festival in the mid-1970s. In 1980, she recorded her final album, self-titled Helen on Muse Records. She received the Music Industry of France Award in 1973, and the key to the city of Louisville in 1975.[12]
On the topic of the trajectory of her career, Helen said this: "I'm not trying to be a star! I want to work and be happy and just go along and have my friends – and that's my career."[11]
Death
Helen Humes died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, in 1981 at the age of 68. At her funeral, her family requested that people donate money for cancer research rather than bringing flowers.[13] She is buried at the Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.[14]
Style and reviews
Helen Humes' range was from G3-C5 as she stated in a letter written in preparation for a European tour to Buck Clayton (the arranger) along with a list of her preferred songs.[3] According to many critics, her voice was versatile, suiting pop songs and ballads as well as blues tunes.[15] She was compared to Ethel Waters and Mildred Bailey from early in her career, and was often recorded singing the blues post-Basie. In an interview with Whitney Balliet, Helen explained, "I've been called a blues singer, a jazz singer, and a ballad singer – well, I'm all three, which means I'm just a singer."[16] A review from Downbeat Magazine of her albums Talk of the Town, Helen Comes Back, and Helen Humes with Red Norvo and His Orchestra said the following about her collaboration with Red Norvo:
Norvo's sparkling vibes are the ideal compliment to Helen's lithe, light timbered clarity…Helen is in particularly fine voice…[with] an uncanny resemblance to early Ella [Fitzgerald] in her sound and phrasing.[15]
The review of Helen Comes Back was not as positive, though not at the fault of the vocalist, saying that,
Blues dominates [the album]…[and] although her voice is delightful, the material is too simple to challenge her…Helen is a great deal more than a blues shouter.[15]
Some reviews in the Washington Post of her last performances, in Maryland (1978) and Washington DC (1980), described her as "beaming and genial at 65" (1978). The reviews gave insight on her versatile vocals, "her characteristically light voice [turning] rough as she belted out…'You Can Take My Man But You Can't Keep Him Long'." They also described Helen's use of back phrasing, reminiscent of Billie Holiday's signature style of phrasing a melody in an intimate, personal fashion.
Peter Bonzo Radványi *23.06.
Bonzo & The Resonators
ist das musikalische Projekt des Veteranen der slowakischen Bluesszene, Sänger und Slide-Gitarristen Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi. Seit er die Blues/Rock-Band „The Mother-In-Law“ - der er in den vergangenen Jahren als Frontmann angehörte - verließ, tat er sich unter anderen mit den jungeren begabten Musikern Ivan Tomovič - guitar, Roman Mečiar - guitar, Roman Horváth – harmonica und anderen, zusammen. Gemeinsam bringen sie ihre eigenen Songs, sowie Coversongs - auf höchstem Bluesniveau - in akustischer oder elektrisch unterstützter Form - zum Ausdruck. Seit 2005 mit Bonzo & The Resonators spielt auch renomierte Mundharmonikaspieler Erich "Boboš" Procházka.
Mit ihrer dynamischen Musik besuchten „Bonzo & The Resonators“ in der Vergangenheit unzählige Musikclubs, Vereine und diverse Festivals. Unter anderem in der Slowakei, Tschechien, Deutschland, Ungarn, Slowenien und im März 2005 gastierte Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi als Solist auf der Insel Taiwan, wo er am dortigen „1st Festival für Blues“ gastierte.
Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi wurde im Jahre 1996 von der slowakischen Blues Association zum „Musiker des Jahres“ gewählt. Zwei Jahre später, im Jahre 1998 hatten „Bonzo“ & „Mother-In-Law“ die erste Live-CD - in der kurzen Geschichte des slowakischen Blues – aufgenommen, wofür sie auch einen Award verliehen bekamen und wurden zur „Blues-Band des Jahres“ gewählt.Neben zwei weiteren CD`s mit der Gruppe „Mother-In-Law“, nahm Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi noch zusammen mit einem weiteren slowakischen Bluesmusiker namens „Ľuboš Beňa“ ein Akustik-Album mit dem Titel „Handmade Music“ auf. Weiters nahm er eine CD mit dem Titel „Two Sides of Bonzo“ auf. Seine letzte CD trägt den Titel „Live 2004“ und wurde an diversen Festivals an denen „Bonzo & The Resonators“ im Jahre 2004 aufgetreten waren, aufgenommen.
Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi hält jeden Montag beim slowakischen Rundfunk „Radio Devin“ eine einstündige Blues-Sendung, genannt „Bluesnenie“. Weiters ist „Bonzo“ Co-Gründer und Festivaldirektor des seit mittlerweile 15 Jahren stattfindenden „Dobrofest“ in der slowakischen Stadt „Trnava“.
Mit ihrer dynamischen Musik besuchten „Bonzo & The Resonators“ in der Vergangenheit unzählige Musikclubs, Vereine und diverse Festivals. Unter anderem in der Slowakei, Tschechien, Deutschland, Ungarn, Slowenien und im März 2005 gastierte Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi als Solist auf der Insel Taiwan, wo er am dortigen „1st Festival für Blues“ gastierte.
Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi wurde im Jahre 1996 von der slowakischen Blues Association zum „Musiker des Jahres“ gewählt. Zwei Jahre später, im Jahre 1998 hatten „Bonzo“ & „Mother-In-Law“ die erste Live-CD - in der kurzen Geschichte des slowakischen Blues – aufgenommen, wofür sie auch einen Award verliehen bekamen und wurden zur „Blues-Band des Jahres“ gewählt.Neben zwei weiteren CD`s mit der Gruppe „Mother-In-Law“, nahm Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi noch zusammen mit einem weiteren slowakischen Bluesmusiker namens „Ľuboš Beňa“ ein Akustik-Album mit dem Titel „Handmade Music“ auf. Weiters nahm er eine CD mit dem Titel „Two Sides of Bonzo“ auf. Seine letzte CD trägt den Titel „Live 2004“ und wurde an diversen Festivals an denen „Bonzo & The Resonators“ im Jahre 2004 aufgetreten waren, aufgenommen.
Peter „Bonzo“ Radványi hält jeden Montag beim slowakischen Rundfunk „Radio Devin“ eine einstündige Blues-Sendung, genannt „Bluesnenie“. Weiters ist „Bonzo“ Co-Gründer und Festivaldirektor des seit mittlerweile 15 Jahren stattfindenden „Dobrofest“ in der slowakischen Stadt „Trnava“.
Bonzo & The Resonators
is the music project of veteran of Slovak blues scene, singer and slide guitar (resonator guitar) player Peter "Bonzo" Radványi. Since he left the bluesrock group The Blues Mother-In-Law, which he fronted in the past years, he surrounded himself with talented musicians: Ivan Tomovič - guitar, Roman Mečiar - guitar, Roman Horváth - harmonica etc. He offers with them in acoustic or electric form his own songs and covers of the welknown blues standards. Since the end of the year 2005 you can see on stage with The Resdonators also the blues harp virtuoso Erich "Boboš" Procházka.
Bonzo and the Resonators visited with their dynamic music already countless clubs and festivals in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia and in march 2005 he visited island Taiwan, where he was playing as soloist on Taiwan´s first blues festival the Blues & Bar-B-Q Bash.
Bonzo Radványi was awarded in 1996 by Slovak Blues Society as Bluesman of the Year and two years later get another award with the group The Blues Mother-In-Law for the first live CD in the history of Slovak blues. Besides two CD´s with Blues Mother in Law, Bonzo recorded acoustic album Handmade Music together with another Slovak resonator bluesplayer Ľuboš Beňa, has one compilation CD Two Sides of Bonzo and the newest one called Live 2004 offers recordings from several festivals with Bonzo & The Resonators.
He also broadcasts every Monday evening in Slovak Radio Devin his blues hour called Bluesnenie and he is the co-founder and executive director of the International music festival Dobrofest-Trnava.
is the music project of veteran of Slovak blues scene, singer and slide guitar (resonator guitar) player Peter "Bonzo" Radványi. Since he left the bluesrock group The Blues Mother-In-Law, which he fronted in the past years, he surrounded himself with talented musicians: Ivan Tomovič - guitar, Roman Mečiar - guitar, Roman Horváth - harmonica etc. He offers with them in acoustic or electric form his own songs and covers of the welknown blues standards. Since the end of the year 2005 you can see on stage with The Resdonators also the blues harp virtuoso Erich "Boboš" Procházka.
Bonzo and the Resonators visited with their dynamic music already countless clubs and festivals in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia and in march 2005 he visited island Taiwan, where he was playing as soloist on Taiwan´s first blues festival the Blues & Bar-B-Q Bash.
Bonzo Radványi was awarded in 1996 by Slovak Blues Society as Bluesman of the Year and two years later get another award with the group The Blues Mother-In-Law for the first live CD in the history of Slovak blues. Besides two CD´s with Blues Mother in Law, Bonzo recorded acoustic album Handmade Music together with another Slovak resonator bluesplayer Ľuboš Beňa, has one compilation CD Two Sides of Bonzo and the newest one called Live 2004 offers recordings from several festivals with Bonzo & The Resonators.
He also broadcasts every Monday evening in Slovak Radio Devin his blues hour called Bluesnenie and he is the co-founder and executive director of the International music festival Dobrofest-Trnava.
BENA & RADVANYI - LAUBA PEŁNO BLUESA - CHORZÓW 18 VIII 2012 [HD]
R.I.P.
Bobby Bland +23.06.2013
Bobby „Blue“ Bland (* 27. Januar 1930 in Rosemark, Tennessee; eigentlich Robert Calvin Bland; † 23. Juni 2013 in Memphis, Tennessee[1]) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues- und Soulsänger.
Bland wuchs in Memphis (Tennessee) auf, wo er schon als Teenager in verschiedenen Gospelchören sang. Später trat er der Rhythm-and-Blues-Band The Beale Streeters bei. Dort lernte er auch populäre Musiker wie Rosco Gordon, Johnny Ace, Earl Forrest und Junior Parker kennen. Es folgten erste Studio-Aufnahmen zusammen mit Ike Turner. Doch schon kurz nach seiner ersten Single-Produktion Army Blues musste er 1951 zum Wehrdienst. 1953 zog Bland nach Houston um, wo er Sieger eines Talentwettbewerbes wurde und die Single It’s My Life aufnahm.
Dadurch wurde die Plattenfirma Duke Records auf ihn aufmerksam, und 1957 tauchte Bland mit Farther Up the Road erstmals in den US-amerikanischen Pop-Charts auf. Bis 1970 war er fast durchgehend in den Top 10 der Rhythm-and-Blues-Charts vertreten und schaffte es mit zahlreichen Titeln auch in die obere Hälfte der Pop-Charts. Die meisten seiner Songs waren Werke des Komponisten-Teams Joe Scott, Don Robey und Deadric Malone. Bei seinen Live-Auftritten wurde Bland meist von der Gospel-Girlgroup The Bland Dolls begleitet.
Anfang der 1970er Jahre kehrte Bland Duke Records den Rücken, nachdem die Erfolge nachgelassen hatten. Stattdessen unterschrieb er 1973 bei ABC Records. Seine dortige Debüt-LP His California Album schaffte zwar keine nennenswerten Erfolge, bekam jedoch sehr gute Kritiken. Blands Produzent Steve Barri unterlegte die schwarze Blues-Musik nun mit Elementen weißer Rockmusik. Auch auf der 1974er Produktion Dreamer kann man diese Veränderung hören. Die LP Together for the First Time … Live eine Live-Mitschnitt zusammen mit B. B. King wurde Blands bis dahin größter Erfolg und erreichte Gold-Status. 1976 folgte Together Again … Live. Dieses zweite Live-Album mit King erreichte nicht so gute Verkaufszahlen wie das erste.
Ab 1979 erschienen Blands Platten bei MCA Records. Von seinen dortigen Alben erreichten immerhin fünf die Rhythm-and-Blues-Charts, in den Pop-Charts war er jedoch nicht mehr anzutreffen. Er betätigte sich nun vor allem im Show-Entertainment, wofür er einiges an Geld kassierte. Seine Songs erhielten jedoch miserable Kritiken. Trotzdem zeigten sich viele Fans, als er 1982 durch Großbritannien tourte. 1985 unterschrieb bei dem Label Malaco Records aus Jackson (Mississippi) und verabschiedete sich damit aus dem Show-Business. Nachdem er lange Zeit ohne seinen Beinamen „Blue“ aufgetreten war, nahm er diesen wieder auf und spielte nun auch wieder traditionsbewusste Bluesmusik. Mit der 1989 aufgenommenen Single Midnight Run schaffte er es noch einmal stolze 70 Wochen lang in die Rhythm-and-Blues-Charts. Nach 1990 tourte Bland mehrfach mit B. B. King und trat noch häufig in ausverkauften Arenen auf. Seine Alben Portrait of the Blues (1991) und Years of Tears (1993) erhielten ausgezeichnete Kritiken.
1992 erfolgte seine Aufnahme in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[2] und er erhielt einen Pioneer Award der R&B Foundation. Bei der Verleihung der Grammy Awards 1997 erhielt er einen Grammy für sein Lebenswerk.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Bland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-B3bWwK_Bk
Robert Calvin "Bobby" Bland (January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), née Brooks, also known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer.
Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B.[1] He was described as "among the great storytellers of blues and soul music... [who] created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed."[2] He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues";[3] his music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.[4]
Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.[5] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]
Biography
Early life
Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in the small town of Barretville, Tennessee.[6][1][7] His father was I. J. Brooks, who abandoned the family not long after Robert's birth. Robert later acquired the name "Bland" from his stepfather, Leroy Bridgeforth, who was also called Leroy Bland.[7] Bobby Bland never went to school, and remained illiterate throughout his life.[8]
After moving to Memphis with his mother in 1947, Bland started singing with local gospel groups there, including amongst others The Miniatures. Eager to expand his interests, he began frequenting the city's famous Beale Street where he became associated with an ad hoc circle of aspiring musicians including B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker and Johnny Ace, who collectively took the name of the Beale Streeters.[1][2][9]
Early career
Between 1950 and 1952, he recorded unsuccessful singles for Modern Records and, at Ike Turner's suggestion, for Sun Records—who licensed their recordings to the Chess label—before signing for Duke Records.[8] Bland's recordings from the early 1950s show him striving for individuality, but any progress was halted by a two-year spell in the U.S. Army, during which time he performed in a band with singer Eddie Fisher.[10]
When Bland returned to Memphis in 1954 he found several of his former associates, including Johnny Ace, enjoying considerable success. He joined Ace's revue, and returned to Duke Records, which by that time had started to be run by Houston entrepreneur Don Robey. According to biographer Charles Farley, "Robey handed Bobby a new contract, which Bobby could not read, and helped Bobby sign his name on it". The deal gave Bland just half a cent per record sold, instead of the industry standard of 2 cents.[8]
Bland released his first single for Duke in 1955.[9] In 1956 he began touring on the "chitlin' circuit" with Junior Parker in a revue called Blues Consolidated, initially doubling as Parker's valet and driver, roles he also reportedly fulfilled for B.B. King and Rosco Gordon.[11] He began recording for Duke with bandleader Bill Harvey and arranger Joe Scott, asserting his characteristic vocal style and, with Harvey and Scott, beginning to craft the melodic big band blues singles for which he became famous, often accompanied by guitarist Wayne Bennett.[8] Unlike many blues musicians, Bland played no instrument.[3]
Commercial success
His first chart success came in 1957 with the R&B chart no. 1 hit "Farther Up the Road", which also reached no.43 on the Billboard Hot 100, and followed it up with a series of hits on the R&B chart including "Little Boy Blue" (1958).[12] He also shared an album with Parker, Blues Consolidated, in 1958.[2] Bland's craft was most clearly heard on a series of early 1960s releases including "Cry Cry Cry", "I Pity The Fool"—an R&B chart no.1 in 1961—and "Turn On Your Love Light", which became a much-covered standard. Despite credits to the contrary—often claimed by Robey—many such classic works were written by Joe Scott.[1] Bland also recorded a hit version of T-Bone Walker's "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)", which was wrongly given the title of a different song, "Stormy Monday Blues".[2]
His final R&B No.1 came with "That's The Way Love Is" in 1963.[12] However, he continued to enjoy a consistent run of R&B chart entries throughout the mid-1960s. Never truly breaking into the mainstream market, Bland's highest charting song on the pop chart, "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" peaked at #20 in the same week in 1964 that the Beatles held down the top five spots. Bland's records mostly sold on the R&B market rather than achieving crossover success. He had 23 Top Ten hits on the Billboard R&B charts, and in the 1996 Top R&B book by Joel Whitburn, Bland was ranked the #13 all-time top charting artist.[12]
Later career
Financial pressures forced the singer to cut his touring band and in 1968 the group broke up. He suffered from depression and became increasingly dependent on alcohol,[1] but stopped drinking in 1971. His record company Duke Records was sold by owner Don Robey to the larger ABC Records group. This resulted in several successful and critically acclaimed contemporary blues/soul albums including His California Album and Dreamer, arranged by Michael Omartian and produced by ABC staff man Steve Barri. The albums, including the later "follow-up" in 1977 Reflections in Blue, were all recorded in Los Angeles and featured many of the city's top session musicians at the time.
The first single released from His California Album, "This Time I'm Gone For Good" took Bland back into the pop Top 50 for the first time since 1964 and made the R&B top 10 in late 1973. The lead-off track from Dreamer, "Ain't No Love In the Heart of the City", was a strong R&B hit. Later it would surface again in 1978 by the hard rock band Whitesnake featuring singer David Coverdale. Much later it was sampled by Kanye West on Jay-Z's hip hop album The Blueprint (2001). The song is also featured on the soundtrack of the crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) starring Matthew McConaughey.[13] The follow-up, "I Wouldn't Treat A Dog" was his biggest R&B hit for some years, climbing to #3 in late 1974, but as usual his strength was never the pop chart (where it hit #88). Subsequent attempts at adding a disco/Barry White flavor were mostly unsuccessful. A return to his roots in 1980 for a tribute album to his mentor Joe Scott, produced by music veterans Monk Higgins and Al Bell, resulted in the album Sweet Vibrations, but it failed to sell well outside of his traditional "chitlin circuit" base.
In 1985, Bland was signed by Malaco Records, specialists in traditional Southern black music for whom he made a series of albums while continuing to tour and appear at concerts with fellow blues singer B. B. King. The two had collaborated for two albums in the 1970s. Despite occasional age-related ill health, Bland continued to record new albums for Malaco and perform occasional tours alone, with guitarist/producer Angelo Earl and also with B.B. King, plus appearances at blues and soul festivals worldwide. Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B. B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]
Collaborations and tributes
The Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison was an early adherent of Bland, covering "Turn On Your Love Light" while with the band Them (he later covered "Ain't Nothing You Can't Do" on his 1974 live album It's Too Late to Stop Now) and has on occasion had Bland as a guest singer at his concerts. He also included a previously unreleased version of a March 2000 duet of Morrison and Bland singing "Tupelo Honey" on his 2007 compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3.
In 2008 the British singer and lead vocalist of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall, released an album, Tribute to Bobby, containing songs associated with Bland. The album reached 18 in the UK Albums Chart.[14][15]
Death
Bland continued performing until shortly before his death. He died on June 23, 2013, at his home in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, after what family members described as "an ongoing illness". He was 83.[7][16][17][18] After his death, his son told news media that Bland had recently told his son (Rodd) that musician James Cotton was his half-brother.
Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B.[1] He was described as "among the great storytellers of blues and soul music... [who] created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed."[2] He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues";[3] his music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.[4]
Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.[5] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]
Biography
Early life
Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in the small town of Barretville, Tennessee.[6][1][7] His father was I. J. Brooks, who abandoned the family not long after Robert's birth. Robert later acquired the name "Bland" from his stepfather, Leroy Bridgeforth, who was also called Leroy Bland.[7] Bobby Bland never went to school, and remained illiterate throughout his life.[8]
After moving to Memphis with his mother in 1947, Bland started singing with local gospel groups there, including amongst others The Miniatures. Eager to expand his interests, he began frequenting the city's famous Beale Street where he became associated with an ad hoc circle of aspiring musicians including B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker and Johnny Ace, who collectively took the name of the Beale Streeters.[1][2][9]
Early career
Between 1950 and 1952, he recorded unsuccessful singles for Modern Records and, at Ike Turner's suggestion, for Sun Records—who licensed their recordings to the Chess label—before signing for Duke Records.[8] Bland's recordings from the early 1950s show him striving for individuality, but any progress was halted by a two-year spell in the U.S. Army, during which time he performed in a band with singer Eddie Fisher.[10]
When Bland returned to Memphis in 1954 he found several of his former associates, including Johnny Ace, enjoying considerable success. He joined Ace's revue, and returned to Duke Records, which by that time had started to be run by Houston entrepreneur Don Robey. According to biographer Charles Farley, "Robey handed Bobby a new contract, which Bobby could not read, and helped Bobby sign his name on it". The deal gave Bland just half a cent per record sold, instead of the industry standard of 2 cents.[8]
Bland released his first single for Duke in 1955.[9] In 1956 he began touring on the "chitlin' circuit" with Junior Parker in a revue called Blues Consolidated, initially doubling as Parker's valet and driver, roles he also reportedly fulfilled for B.B. King and Rosco Gordon.[11] He began recording for Duke with bandleader Bill Harvey and arranger Joe Scott, asserting his characteristic vocal style and, with Harvey and Scott, beginning to craft the melodic big band blues singles for which he became famous, often accompanied by guitarist Wayne Bennett.[8] Unlike many blues musicians, Bland played no instrument.[3]
Commercial success
His first chart success came in 1957 with the R&B chart no. 1 hit "Farther Up the Road", which also reached no.43 on the Billboard Hot 100, and followed it up with a series of hits on the R&B chart including "Little Boy Blue" (1958).[12] He also shared an album with Parker, Blues Consolidated, in 1958.[2] Bland's craft was most clearly heard on a series of early 1960s releases including "Cry Cry Cry", "I Pity The Fool"—an R&B chart no.1 in 1961—and "Turn On Your Love Light", which became a much-covered standard. Despite credits to the contrary—often claimed by Robey—many such classic works were written by Joe Scott.[1] Bland also recorded a hit version of T-Bone Walker's "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)", which was wrongly given the title of a different song, "Stormy Monday Blues".[2]
His final R&B No.1 came with "That's The Way Love Is" in 1963.[12] However, he continued to enjoy a consistent run of R&B chart entries throughout the mid-1960s. Never truly breaking into the mainstream market, Bland's highest charting song on the pop chart, "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" peaked at #20 in the same week in 1964 that the Beatles held down the top five spots. Bland's records mostly sold on the R&B market rather than achieving crossover success. He had 23 Top Ten hits on the Billboard R&B charts, and in the 1996 Top R&B book by Joel Whitburn, Bland was ranked the #13 all-time top charting artist.[12]
Later career
Financial pressures forced the singer to cut his touring band and in 1968 the group broke up. He suffered from depression and became increasingly dependent on alcohol,[1] but stopped drinking in 1971. His record company Duke Records was sold by owner Don Robey to the larger ABC Records group. This resulted in several successful and critically acclaimed contemporary blues/soul albums including His California Album and Dreamer, arranged by Michael Omartian and produced by ABC staff man Steve Barri. The albums, including the later "follow-up" in 1977 Reflections in Blue, were all recorded in Los Angeles and featured many of the city's top session musicians at the time.
The first single released from His California Album, "This Time I'm Gone For Good" took Bland back into the pop Top 50 for the first time since 1964 and made the R&B top 10 in late 1973. The lead-off track from Dreamer, "Ain't No Love In the Heart of the City", was a strong R&B hit. Later it would surface again in 1978 by the hard rock band Whitesnake featuring singer David Coverdale. Much later it was sampled by Kanye West on Jay-Z's hip hop album The Blueprint (2001). The song is also featured on the soundtrack of the crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) starring Matthew McConaughey.[13] The follow-up, "I Wouldn't Treat A Dog" was his biggest R&B hit for some years, climbing to #3 in late 1974, but as usual his strength was never the pop chart (where it hit #88). Subsequent attempts at adding a disco/Barry White flavor were mostly unsuccessful. A return to his roots in 1980 for a tribute album to his mentor Joe Scott, produced by music veterans Monk Higgins and Al Bell, resulted in the album Sweet Vibrations, but it failed to sell well outside of his traditional "chitlin circuit" base.
In 1985, Bland was signed by Malaco Records, specialists in traditional Southern black music for whom he made a series of albums while continuing to tour and appear at concerts with fellow blues singer B. B. King. The two had collaborated for two albums in the 1970s. Despite occasional age-related ill health, Bland continued to record new albums for Malaco and perform occasional tours alone, with guitarist/producer Angelo Earl and also with B.B. King, plus appearances at blues and soul festivals worldwide. Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B. B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]
Collaborations and tributes
The Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison was an early adherent of Bland, covering "Turn On Your Love Light" while with the band Them (he later covered "Ain't Nothing You Can't Do" on his 1974 live album It's Too Late to Stop Now) and has on occasion had Bland as a guest singer at his concerts. He also included a previously unreleased version of a March 2000 duet of Morrison and Bland singing "Tupelo Honey" on his 2007 compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3.
In 2008 the British singer and lead vocalist of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall, released an album, Tribute to Bobby, containing songs associated with Bland. The album reached 18 in the UK Albums Chart.[14][15]
Death
Bland continued performing until shortly before his death. He died on June 23, 2013, at his home in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, after what family members described as "an ongoing illness". He was 83.[7][16][17][18] After his death, his son told news media that Bland had recently told his son (Rodd) that musician James Cotton was his half-brother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-B3bWwK_Bk
Little Willie Littlefield +23.06.2013
Little Willie Littlefield (* 16. September 1931 in El Campo, Texas; † 23. Juni 2013 in den Niederlanden[1]) war ein US-amerikanischer Boogie-Woogie-Pianist, -Sänger und Songwriter.
Über Littlefields Kindheit und frühe Plattenkarriere ist wenig bekannt. Er lernte Klavier und Gitarre unter dem Einfluss seiner Baptistengemeinde. Erste Aufnahmen machte er 1948 für das kleine Rhythm & Blues-Label Eddie’s Records in Houston. Im August 1949 wurde er von einem der Inhaber des mächtigen R&B-Labels Modern Records - Jules Bihari - entdeckt[2]; dieser war auf der Suche nach einem talentierten Bluesinterpreten wie Amos Milburn[3]. Die erste Aufnahmesession für Modern fand noch in Houston statt, wo Littlefield mit seinem Freund Don Wilkerson (Tenorsaxophon) am 1. März 1949 den Titel Drinkin‘ Hardacol[4] aufnahm. Am 1. Juli 1949 folgte Farewell, das als A-Seite der im Oktober 1949 erschienenen Single (Modern #709) diente und gleich Rang fünf der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade erreichte. Kurz danach zog Littlefield nach Los Angeles, dem Standort von Modern Records. Hier entstand der noch erfolgreichere Titel It’s Midnight, der nach Veröffentlichung im August 1949 gar den dritten Rang der Charts erklomm. Innerhalb von drei Monaten entstanden mit der Begleitband Jimmy „Maxwell Street“ Davis (Saxophon), Chuck Norris und Johnny Moore (Gitarre) sowie Al Wichard und Jessie Price (Schlagzeug) bis Dezember 1949 insgesamt 22 Titel, doch weitere Singles aus diesem Repertoire gelangten nicht mehr in die Charts. Nach insgesamt 13 Singles verließ er Modern Records im Jahr 1952 und erhielt einen Plattenvertrag mit dem noch jungen Label Federal Records, einem Tochterlabel von King Records.Neues Plattenlabel
Bei Federal wurde er produziert von Ralph Bass. Bereits aus seiner ersten Aufnahmesession ging das von Leiber/Stoller komponierte Kansas City hervor, das Produzent Bass in „K.C. Loving“ umbenannte, weil es flotter klang. Der Song wurde am 18. August 1952 aufgenommen und nach Veröffentlichung am 29. Dezember 1952 als Federal #12110 ebenfalls chartmäßig nicht wahrgenommen, aber Jahre später entwickelte er sich unter dem ursprünglichen Titel Kansas City mit über 300 Versionen zu einem der am meisten gecoverten Rock'n'Roll-Songs[5]. Enormen Bekanntheitsgrad erreichte hiermit Wilbert Harrison, dessen Version von Kansas City im Jahr 1959 drei Millionen Mal verkauft wurde[6]. Am 18. August 1952 wurden noch drei weitere Leiber/Stoller-Kompositionen aufgenommen, nämlich Pleading At Midnight (B-Seite von K.C. Loving) und Striking on You Baby / Blood is Redder Than Wine. Ralph Bass gelang es jedoch nicht, Littlefield in die Hitparade zurückzubringen. Am 30. Oktober 1953 war dann für Littlefield bei Federal Records die letzte Aufnahmesession anberaumt, aus der vier Titel hervorgingen. Auch die hieraus gepressten zwei Singles blieben ohne Resonanz.
Zäsur
Die gesundheitlichen Folgen eines schweren Autounfalls im Jahr 1954 hinderten ihn an Auftritten und Plattenaufnahmen. Erst im Juni 1957 veröffentlicht das Don Barksdale gehörende Rhythm Records in San Francisco eine Platte von ihm, die jedoch genauso erfolglos bleibt wie die nächsten vier Singles. Seine selbstkomponierte Single Ruby-Baby erscheint hier im November 1957. Seither konzentrierte sich Littlefield auf seine eigentliche Stärke - die Liveauftritte insbesondere bei Musikfestivals ab 1978 in Europa. Er erhielt eine Rolle in dem australischen Film Love in Limbo (Just one Night), einer Komödie über Liebe und Rock & Roll, die am 20. Mai 1993 in Australien in die Kinos kam.
Nach zahlreichen Auftritten auf verschiedenen Festivals, unter anderem auf dem Montreux Jazz Festival, legte er im Jahre 2000 eine 5-jährige kreative Pause ein. Littlefield lebte zuletzt in den Niederlanden und spielte dort häufig auf dem jährlich stattfindenden International Boogie Woogie Festival Holland mit, aber tourte auch durch Deutschland und Österreich, 2007, mit Michael Pewny.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Willie_Littlefield
Willie Littlefield, billed as Little Willie Littlefield (September 16, 1931 – June 23, 2013),[2] was an American R&B and boogie-woogie pianist and singer[3] whose early recordings "formed a vital link between boogie-woogie and rock and roll".[3] Littlefield was regarded a teenage wonder and overnight sensation when in 1949 at the age of 18 he popularised the triplet piano style on his Modern Records debut single "It's Midnight".[4] He also recorded the first version of the song "Kansas City" — originally issued as "K. C. Lovin'" — in 1952.
Career
Littlefield was born in El Campo, Texas, and grew up in Houston with his mother. By 1947, at the age of sixteen, Littlefield was already a local attraction on many of Houston's Dowling Street clubs and was recording for local record shop proprietor Eddie Henry who ran his own label, "Eddie's".[5] He formed his first band with saxophonist Don Wilkerson, a school friend.[3]
Littlefield was strongly influenced by boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. A particular favourite of his was Ammons' Swanee River Boogie, which he later recorded for Eddie's Records.[5] Other major influences on Littlefield's style were Texas musicians Charles Brown and Amos Milburn[2] Littlefield learned most of their "chops" and soon developed his own distinctive "triplet style", which, by the early 1950s, was widely copied in the R&B field, particularly by Fats Domino who incorporated it into his successful New Orleans rhythms.[5]
His first recording, "Little Willie’s Boogie" was a hit in Texas in 1949, and brought him to the attention of Jules Bihari, one of the Bihari brothers of Modern Records in Los Angeles, California, who were searching for a performer to rival the success of Amos Milburn.[3] Bihari flew to Houston in July 1949 to investigate the city's black entertainment venues and heard of a "teenage wonder boy pianist" who was causing a stir at the Eldorado Ballroom. Bihari went to hear Littlefield and soon arranged for an audition at a local studio. The session was captured on acetate disc, with Bihari, clearly audible in the background, calling for Littlefield to play the popular R&B tunes of the day.[5]
Back at Modern Records, he recorded "It's Midnight", which became a national hit reaching #3 on the Billboard R&B chart. Its follow-up, "Farewell", reached #5 on the R&B chart.[6] He became a major nightclub attraction and recorded with West Coast musicians such as Maxwell Davis. Don Wilkerson, Littlefield's old school buddy and the leading saxman in his band, also travelled to Los Angeles, but Milburn promptly stole him to lead his own new band 'The Aladdin Chickenshackers'.[5]
Modern Records booked Littlefield for three recording sessions during October 1949, followed by more sessions in the following two months at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. During these three months alone, over 22 sides were cut - an unusual output when compared to most other artists who averaged only two sessions a year. Other musicians for these sessions included saxophonists Maxwell Davis and Buddy Floyd, guitarists Chuck Norris and Johnny Moore, and drummers Al Wichard and Jessie Price.[5] One of his 1950 recordings, "Happy Pay Day", a song written by Jack Holmes, was later rewritten by Holmes with entirely different lyrics as "The Blacksmith Blues", which became a hit for Ella Mae Morse.[7]
In 1951, his duet with Little Lora Wiggins, "I've Been Lost", reached #10 on the R&B chart.[6] In 1952 he moved to the Federal subsidiary of King Records, his first session producing "K. C. Loving", written by Leiber and Stoller and later re-recorded by Wilbert Harrison as "Kansas City".
By 1957 Littlefield had moved to Northern California and continued to record for Don Barksdale's Rhythm label in San Francisco where he produced the single "Ruby, Ruby".[5] Littlefield’s recording and his subsequent releases were not successful, although he remained a popular club act in the San Francisco area.
In the late 1970s he toured Europe successfully, settling in the Netherlands and releasing a number of albums from 1982 into the late 1990s for the Oldie Blues label from Martin van Olderen.[8]
Being on the road for more than 50 years, Littlefield stopped touring in 2000. After five years of retirement in his adopted home country The Netherlands, Little Willie Littlefield decided to play again starting in 2006. "I went fishing for five years - now I know every herring in Holland by name - it got boring. I feel great and I want to be back with my audience", Little Willie declared.[9]
In his later years Littlefield continued to perform occasionally, mainly at festivals, particularly in the UK. In 2008 he played at the 20th Burnley Blues Festival and in July 2009 at the 5th annual UK Boogie Woogie Festival at Sturminster Newton in Dorset. Having appeared at Shakedown Blues Club, at Castor Hall, near Castor, Peterborough in 2006, Littlefield made a return appearance in October 2010.[10]
He died at his home in Voorthuizen, the Netherlands, in 2013 at the age of 81. He had cancer.
Career
Littlefield was born in El Campo, Texas, and grew up in Houston with his mother. By 1947, at the age of sixteen, Littlefield was already a local attraction on many of Houston's Dowling Street clubs and was recording for local record shop proprietor Eddie Henry who ran his own label, "Eddie's".[5] He formed his first band with saxophonist Don Wilkerson, a school friend.[3]
Littlefield was strongly influenced by boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. A particular favourite of his was Ammons' Swanee River Boogie, which he later recorded for Eddie's Records.[5] Other major influences on Littlefield's style were Texas musicians Charles Brown and Amos Milburn[2] Littlefield learned most of their "chops" and soon developed his own distinctive "triplet style", which, by the early 1950s, was widely copied in the R&B field, particularly by Fats Domino who incorporated it into his successful New Orleans rhythms.[5]
His first recording, "Little Willie’s Boogie" was a hit in Texas in 1949, and brought him to the attention of Jules Bihari, one of the Bihari brothers of Modern Records in Los Angeles, California, who were searching for a performer to rival the success of Amos Milburn.[3] Bihari flew to Houston in July 1949 to investigate the city's black entertainment venues and heard of a "teenage wonder boy pianist" who was causing a stir at the Eldorado Ballroom. Bihari went to hear Littlefield and soon arranged for an audition at a local studio. The session was captured on acetate disc, with Bihari, clearly audible in the background, calling for Littlefield to play the popular R&B tunes of the day.[5]
Back at Modern Records, he recorded "It's Midnight", which became a national hit reaching #3 on the Billboard R&B chart. Its follow-up, "Farewell", reached #5 on the R&B chart.[6] He became a major nightclub attraction and recorded with West Coast musicians such as Maxwell Davis. Don Wilkerson, Littlefield's old school buddy and the leading saxman in his band, also travelled to Los Angeles, but Milburn promptly stole him to lead his own new band 'The Aladdin Chickenshackers'.[5]
Modern Records booked Littlefield for three recording sessions during October 1949, followed by more sessions in the following two months at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. During these three months alone, over 22 sides were cut - an unusual output when compared to most other artists who averaged only two sessions a year. Other musicians for these sessions included saxophonists Maxwell Davis and Buddy Floyd, guitarists Chuck Norris and Johnny Moore, and drummers Al Wichard and Jessie Price.[5] One of his 1950 recordings, "Happy Pay Day", a song written by Jack Holmes, was later rewritten by Holmes with entirely different lyrics as "The Blacksmith Blues", which became a hit for Ella Mae Morse.[7]
In 1951, his duet with Little Lora Wiggins, "I've Been Lost", reached #10 on the R&B chart.[6] In 1952 he moved to the Federal subsidiary of King Records, his first session producing "K. C. Loving", written by Leiber and Stoller and later re-recorded by Wilbert Harrison as "Kansas City".
By 1957 Littlefield had moved to Northern California and continued to record for Don Barksdale's Rhythm label in San Francisco where he produced the single "Ruby, Ruby".[5] Littlefield’s recording and his subsequent releases were not successful, although he remained a popular club act in the San Francisco area.
In the late 1970s he toured Europe successfully, settling in the Netherlands and releasing a number of albums from 1982 into the late 1990s for the Oldie Blues label from Martin van Olderen.[8]
Being on the road for more than 50 years, Littlefield stopped touring in 2000. After five years of retirement in his adopted home country The Netherlands, Little Willie Littlefield decided to play again starting in 2006. "I went fishing for five years - now I know every herring in Holland by name - it got boring. I feel great and I want to be back with my audience", Little Willie declared.[9]
In his later years Littlefield continued to perform occasionally, mainly at festivals, particularly in the UK. In 2008 he played at the 20th Burnley Blues Festival and in July 2009 at the 5th annual UK Boogie Woogie Festival at Sturminster Newton in Dorset. Having appeared at Shakedown Blues Club, at Castor Hall, near Castor, Peterborough in 2006, Littlefield made a return appearance in October 2010.[10]
He died at his home in Voorthuizen, the Netherlands, in 2013 at the age of 81. He had cancer.
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