1929 Screamin’ Jay Hawkins*
1938 Ian Andrew Robert Stewart*
1939 Brian Auger*
1939 Dion DiMucci*
1941 Lonnie Mack*
1952 Heinz Glass*
1956 Erwin Java*
Anita White (Lady A)*
Alex Wilson*
1938 Ian Andrew Robert Stewart*
1939 Brian Auger*
1939 Dion DiMucci*
1941 Lonnie Mack*
1952 Heinz Glass*
1956 Erwin Java*
Anita White (Lady A)*
Alex Wilson*
Happy Birthday
Lonnie Mack *18.07.1941
Lonnie Mack (* 18. Juli 1941 in Harrison, Indiana, als Lonnie McIntosh) ist ein US-amerikanischer Gitarrist, Sänger und Songwriter. Seine Musik ist im Spannungsfeld zwischen Blues, Rock, Soul und Country angesiedelt. Sein Gitarrenspiel der frühen 1960er gilt als stilprägend für den späteren Bluesrock; es beeinflusste so bekannte Gitarristen wie Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page und Stevie Ray Vaughan.[1]
Lonnie Macks weit über ein halbes Jahrhundert andauernde Karriere war gekennzeichnet von Höhen und Tiefen sowie dem Abwechseln von Blues- und Country-Phasen. Seine erfolgreichsten Zeiten hatte er in der ersten Hälfte der 1960er sowie Mitte der 1980er jeweils im Bluesrock-Bereich.Geboren in der Nähe von Cincinnati, wuchs Lonnie McIntosh im ländlichen Indiana auf. Die musikalischen Einflüsse seiner Kindheit waren Country im Familienkreis, Gospel in der Kirche und Rhythm and Blues im Radio. Schon als Kind verdiente er sich ein Taschengeld mit seiner Gitarre.[1]
Nach einem gewalttätigen Streit mit einem Lehrer flog er mit 13 von der Schule und begann, als Musiker im Dreiländereck Indiana-Kentucky-Ohio Geld zu verdienen. 1958 kaufte er sich die Gitarre, die er während seiner gesamten Karriere spielte: eine Gibson Flying V mit der Seriennummer „7“.[1][2]
Neben seinen Liveauftritten arbeitete Lonnie Mack, wie er sich seit den späten 1950ern nannte, auch als Studiomusiker. Am 12. März 1963 nutzte er die verbliebene Studiozeit nach Abschluss einer Aufnahmesession für eine eigene Aufnahme: er improvisierte Memphis, Tennessee von Chuck Berry aus dem Jahr 1959. Das Plattenlabel Fraternity veröffentlichte das Stück als Memphis, und zur allgemeinen Überraschung stieg es bis auf Platz 5 der US-Pop-Charts.[1][2]
Es folgten etliche Singles, darunter Wham!, Chicken Pickin und Balladen wie Where There’s a Will, die jedoch alle hinter dem Erfolg von Memphis zurückblieben. 1964 brachte Fraternity das Album The Wham of that Memphis Man! auf den Markt. Die in diesem Jahr einsetzende British Invasion verhinderte jedoch einen größeren Erfolg.
Mack arbeitete weiterhin als Studiomusiker und begleitete u. a. Freddie King und James Brown. Nach einem Artikel im Rolling Stone 1968 bekam er einen Plattenvertrag bei Elektra Records, aus dem drei Alben resultierten (1969-1971), die sich musikalisch mehr in Richtung Soul und Country bewegten. 1970 begleitete er die Doors bei den Aufnahmen zu ihrem Album Morrison Hotel. Im Roadhouse Blues auf diesem Album hört man Jim Morrison rufen „Do it, Lonnie, do it!“.[1][2]
Nach Ende des Elektra-Vertrages zog sich Mack in seine ländliche Heimat zurück. Er trat weiterhin auf und machte Aufnahmen mit anderen Musikern. 1975 wurde er in einem Streit von einem Polizisten angeschossen und musste ins Gefängnis. 1977 bekam er einen neuen Plattenvertrag bei Capitol Records, wo er zwei Country-orientierte Alben aufnahm (1977-1978).[2]
1979 begann Mack mit Ed Labunski ein neues Projekt. Sie bauten ein Studio in Pennsylvania auf und produzierten das Album einer Band namens „South“. Allerdings starb Labunski bei einem Autounfall, bevor das Album veröffentlicht werden konnte. Ein weiterer Musiker, den die beiden als Produzenten betreuten, war der damals noch unbekannte Stevie Ray Vaughan. Nach Labunskis Tod arbeitete Mack in Kanada mit Ronnie Hawkins an dessen Album Legend In His Spare Time (1981).[1]
In den frühen 1980ern kehrte Lonnie Mack zum Bluesrock zurück. 1983 entstanden die Aufnahmen zu Live at Coco’s, die allerdings erst 1999 als offizielles Album erschienen. In Texas arbeitete Mack wieder mit Stevie Ray Vaughan zusammen, woraus das Album Strike Like Lightning entstand, das 1985 bei Alligator Records erschien. In der nachfolgenden Tour trat Mack neben Vaughan mit berühmten Kollegen wie Ry Cooder, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Albert Collins und Roy Buchanan auf.[1]
1986 kam das Nachfolgealbum Second Sight heraus. 1988 erschien bei Epic Records das Rockabilly-Album Roadhouses and Dance Halls. Wiederum bei Alligator veröffentlichte Mack 1990 das Livealbum Attack of the Killer V. Danach wurde es ruhiger um Lonnie Mack. Gelegentlich arbeitete er noch als Studiomusiker oder trat bei speziellen Konzerten auf.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Mack
Lonnie McIntosh (born July 18, 1941), known by his stage name, Lonnie Mack, is an American rock, blues, and country guitarist and vocalist.
Mack was born in Dearborn County, Indiana. In the early 1960s, he was a key figure in transforming the role of the electric guitar to that of a lead voice in rock music.[1][2] Best known for his 1963 instrumental, "Memphis", he has been called "a pioneer in rock guitar soloing"[3] and a "ground-breaker" in lead guitar virtuosity.[4]
In 1963 and early 1964, he recorded a succession of full-length electric guitar instrumentals which combined blues stylism with fast-picking country techniques and a rock beat. These recordings are said to have formed the leading edge of the "blues rock" lead guitar genre.[5] In 1979, music historian Richard T. Pinnell called 1963's "Memphis" a "milestone of early rock guitar".[6] In 1980, the editors of Guitar World magazine ranked "Memphis" first among rock's top five "landmark" guitar recordings, ahead of recordings by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield.[7] Reportedly, the pitch-bending tremolo arm commonly found on electric guitars became known by the term "whammy bar" in recognition of Mack's aggressive manipulation of the device in 1963's "Wham!".[8]
Mack brought a strong gospel sensibility to his vocals, and is considered one of the finer "blue-eyed soul" singers of his era. Crediting both Mack's vocals and his guitar solos, music critic Jimmy Guterman ranked Mack's first album, The Wham of that Memphis Man!, No. 16 in his book The 100 Best Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time.[9]
Mack released several singles in the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1963 and 1990, he released thirteen original albums spanning a variety of genres. He enjoyed his greatest recognition as a blues-rock singer-guitarist, with especially productive periods during the 1960s and the latter half of the 1980s. Mack switched musical genres and slowed or idled his career as a rock artist for lengthy periods,[10][11] due to an aversion to notoriety,[12] disenchantment with the music business[13] and a preference for the simpler, less public, country lifestyle of his youth.[14]
Career
Lonnie Mack's music career began in the mid-1950s. It included historically significant recordings, critical and popular recognition, and periods of reclusion, rediscovery, and comeback. He never became a commercial superstar during his years as an active performer,[15][16][17] and last recorded in 1990. More recently, he has come to be regarded as an "unsung hero" of early rock guitar.[18]
In the early 1960s, Mack augmented the electric blues guitar genre with fast-picking techniques borrowed from traditional country and bluegrass styles, leading one early reviewer to puzzle over the "peculiar running quality" of Mack's bluesy solos.[19] These recordings prefigured the fast, flashy, blues-based lead guitar style which dominated rock by the late 1960s.[1][6][16][20]
By the 1980s, Mack was recognized as a pioneer of virtuoso rock guitar. According to Guitar World magazine, Mack's early solos influenced every major rock guitarist of the day, "from Clapton to Allman to Vaughan"[17] and "from Nugent to Bloomfield".[21]
Although better-known as a guitarist, Mack was a double-threat performer from the outset. A 1968 feature article in Rolling Stone magazine rated Mack a better gospel singer than Elvis Presley,[19] who earned all of his Grammys as a gospel singer.[22] Several of his vocals remain notable for their gospel-like fervor.[19][23]
Mack's recordings drew on rural and urban blues, country, bluegrass, rockabilly, vintage R&B, soul, and gospel styles. Attempts to classify Mack's music proved challenging,[11][24][25][26] but the common thread throughout Mack's best-known music is a unique mix of black and white musical roots, later dubbed "roadhouse rock".[25][26][27] Writing for Rolling Stone, Alec Dubro summarized: "Lonnie can be put into that 'Elvis Presley-Roy Orbison-Early Rock' bag, but mostly for convenience. In total sound and execution, he was an innovator."[28]
Mack's final commercial album as a featured artist, "Attack of the Killer V!", was recorded live in 1990. He performed regularly until 2004, and during the next few years appeared occasionally at special events.[20] On November 15, 2008, Mack played "Wham!" at a production of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoring Les Paul.[29] On June 5–6, 2010, he performed at a reunion concert with the surviving members of his early-1960s band.[30] In 2011, he released some informally-recorded compositions on his website, including the acoustic blues single "The Times Ain't Right".
Beyond his career as a solo artist, Mack recorded with The Doors, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown, Freddie King, Joe Simon, Ronnie Hawkins, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Dobie Gray and the sons of blues legend Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, among others.[31]
Mack's managers over the years have included the late Harry Carlson, a founder of Fraternity Records, John Hovekamp[32] and James Webber,[33] formerly an executive with Elektra Records.[34]
Childhood and early influences
In 1941, Mack's family moved from southeastern Kentucky to southern Indiana, where he spent his childhood on a series of small subsistence farms.[35] Although Mack's childhood homes had no electricity, the family had a primitive battery-powered radio and were devotees of "The Grand Ole Opry" radio show. As a child, listening after the rest of the family had gone to bed, Mack became a fan of early R&B and black gospel music.[15][36]
He began playing at the age of 7, using an acoustic guitar he had traded for a bicycle.[37] While still a small child, he was playing guitar for tips at a hobo jungle near his home and outside of the Nieman Hotel in nearby Aurora, Indiana.[11] Mack has stated, "I started off in bluegrass, before there was rock and roll. My family was like a family band. We sang and harmonized, and Dad played banjo. We were playin' mostly gospel, bluegrass, and old-style country. We played a lot of that old-style Jimmie Rodgers (country singer) and Hank Williams kinda music."[15][38]
Mack's mother was his earliest country guitar and singing influence, and Ralph Trotto, an unrecorded blind gospel singer, was his earliest musical mentor.[39] Mack recalls that an uncle "showed me how you could take a Merle Travis sound on guitar and it was very similar to what a lot of the black guys were doing; they just made it a little funkier. It was pretty easy to come over to that once I figured it out."[40] In addition to country guitarist Travis, various sources have observed that Mack's playing shows influences of jazz guitarist Les Paul and blues guitarist T-Bone Walker.[41][42]
Mack has acknowledged R&B artists Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Hank Ballard as musical influences, as well as country singer George Jones and gospel singer Archie Brownlee of The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi.[43][44] Mack recorded tunes by each of these artists. Mack's highest-charting single, 1963's "Memphis", was an instrumental improvisation grounded in the melody of a Chuck Berry tune, "Memphis, Tennessee".[41]
Early career
Mack dropped out of school at the age of 13 after a fight with a teacher.[45] Using a fake ID, he soon began performing in roadhouses in the Cincinnati area.[46]
As a teen-aged solo artist in the late 1950s, Mack recorded a cover of Al Dexter's 1944 western swing hit, "Pistol Packin' Mama" on the Esta label.[47][48] During the same period, Mack played lead guitar for his older cousins, Aubrey Holt and Harley Gabbard, on two recordings, The Stanley Brothers' "Too Late To Cry" and the cousins' own "Hey, Baby". These two singles were released in 1959 on the Sage label.[49] "Pistol-Packin' Mama" and "Too Late To Cry" have been out-of-print for decades. "Hey, Baby", a rockabilly tune with close-harmony bluegrass vocals, was reissued by the German label, Bear Family Records, in 2010[50] and is now available in the U.S.[51]
By the late 1950s, Mack had assembled a band of his own. They performed throughout Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, playing both rockabilly and, increasingly, R&B-tinged rock and roll. He began using the stage-name "Mack" and, for a time, called his band "The Twilighters", a reference to the Hamilton, Ohio club where they had had a steady engagement.[24]
Mack's guitar
In 1958 Mack bought the seventh Gibson Flying V guitar from that model's first-year production run.[52][53] Dubbing it "Number 7", Mack used this guitar almost exclusively during his career.[54] Mack, who is of Scottish and Native American ancestry[52] was attracted to the arrow-shaped instrument because of his ethnic heritage.[24] The 1958 Flying V model is now considered highly collectible, as less than 100 were shipped in that inaugural year. In 2010, Number 7 was featured in Star Guitars - 101 Guitars that Rocked the World.[55] In 2011, it was featured in The Guitar Collection, a $1,500 two-volume set which included a detailed essay and lush photo layout for each of the world's 150 most "elite" and "exceptional" guitars.[56] In 2012, Mack's guitar was included in Rolling Stone's list of "20 Iconic Guitars".[3]
"Memphis", "Wham!", and the birth of blues-rock guitar
In the early 1960s Mack and his band often worked as session players for Fraternity, a small record label in Cincinnati.[57] There, they played on a number of singles by local R&B artists, including Max Falcon, Beau Dollar and the Coins, Denzil Rice (who, as "Dumpy" Rice, went on to become the piano player in Mack's band), and Cincinnati's leading female R&B trio, The Charmaines.[58] Several of these recordings are found on compilation CDs entitled Lonnie Mack: From Nashville to Memphis (Ace, 2004) and Gigi and the Charmaines (Ace, 2006).
On March 12, 1963,[59] at the end of a recording session backing up The Charmaines, Mack and his band were offered the remaining twenty minutes of studio rental time.[41] Not expecting the tune to be released, Mack immediately recorded a rockabilly/blues guitar instrumental loosely based on the melody of Chuck Berry's 1959 UK vocal hit, "Memphis, Tennessee".[60] Mack had improvised the guitar solo in a live performance a few years earlier, when another member of the band (who usually sang the tune) missed a club date. Mack's instrumental version was well-received, so he adopted it as part of his live act. The tune featured a then-unique combination of several key elements. As recorded in 1963, it had seven distinct sections, with an unusually fast 12-bar blues solo. "An extended guitar solo exploiting the entire range of the instrument rings in the climax of the song in the fifth section. Lonnie Mack begins this portion by quoting several measures of the riff one octave higher than before. From there, he breaks into his choicest licks, including double-picking and pulling-off techniques — all with driving, complicated rhythms and technical precision".[61]
By the time "Memphis" was first broadcast, in the spring of 1963, Mack had already forgotten the impromptu recording session and was engaged in a nationwide performing tour with singer-songwriter Troy Seals. A friend located him on tour and told him his tune was climbing the charts. In a 1977 interview, Mack recalled, "I was completely taken by surprise. I [hadn't] listened to the radio. I had no idea what was happening".[41][62] By late June "Memphis" had risen to No. 4 on Billboard's R&B chart and No. 5 on Billboard's pop chart.[41] Only the fourth rock guitar instrumental to penetrate Billboard's "Top 5",[63] it was the only top-20 single of Mack's career. According to music historian and guitar professor Richard T. Pinnell, Mack's fast-paced interpretation of blues stylism in "Memphis" was unique in the history of rock guitar soloing to that point, producing a tune that was both "rhythmically and melodically full of fire" and "one of the milestones of early rock and roll guitar".[6]
Still in 1963, Mack released "Wham!", a gospel-inspired guitar instrumental, which reached No. 24 on Billboard's Pop chart in September.[60] He soon recorded [64] several more full-length rock guitar instrumentals, including his own composition,"Chicken Pickin'", and an instrumental version of Dale Hawkins' "Suzie Q".[48][65] Mack used a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece on "Wham!" and several other tunes to achieve sound effects so distinctive for the time that guitarists began calling it the "whammy bar",[24] a term by which the Bigbsy and other vibrato bars are still known.
Although the term "blues-rock" had not yet come into common usage in 1963, "Memphis" came to be widely regarded as one of the earliest genuine hit recordings of the virtuoso blues-rock guitar genre.[66][67][68] "Wham!" soon followed.[48][69]
Mack's influence on other guitarists
Many prominent lead guitarists were strongly influenced by Mack during their formative years.[70][71] British rock and jazz guitarist Jeff Beck considers Mack a "major influence".[72] As a teenager, Stevie Ray Vaughan honed his guitar skills by playing along with "Wham!" so incessantly that his father finally destroyed the record. Vaughan, who said "Wham!" was "the first record I ever owned",[73] simply bought another copy and resumed his practice.[74] Vaughan considered Mack one of his "very big influences"[75] and said, "I got a lot of the fast things I do from Lonnie".[76] In 1987, Vaughan listed Mack first among the guitarists he listened to, both as a youngster, and as an adult.[77] At the peak of his career, in the mid-1980s, Vaughan covered "Wham!" and recorded "Scuttle-Buttin'" and "Rude Mood", both of which are said to have been inspired by Mack's "Chicken Pickin'".[78] Vaughan covered "Wham!" on his fifth studio album, The Sky Is Crying. In 1963, 17-year-old Duane Allman played along with his copy of "Memphis", stopping, starting, and slowing the turntable with his foot, until he had mastered the tune.[79] Western Swing guitarist Ray Benson, frontman for eight-time Grammy-winner Asleep at the Wheel, called Mack "my guitar hero".[80] Southern Rock guitarist Dickey Betts: "Lonnie is one of the greatest players I know of. He's always been a great influence on me".[81]
"Blue-eyed soul" ballads
While Mack's first recording successes were instrumentals, his roadhouse performances typically included both vocals and instrumentals, and in 1963 Mack recorded a number of tunes featuring his singing talents.[82] These early "blue-eyed soul" vocal recordings were critically acclaimed. In 1968, Rolling Stone said, "It is truly the voice of Lonnie Mack that sets him apart. [His] songs have a sincerity and intensity that's hard to find anywhere".[83] According to another review:
Ultimately—for consistency and depth of feeling—the best blue-eyed soul is defined by Lonnie Mack's ballads and virtually everything The Righteous Brothers recorded. Lonnie Mack wailed a soul ballad as gutsily as any black gospel singer. The anguished inflections which stamped his best songs ("Why?", "She Don't Come Here Anymore" and "Where There's a Will") had a directness which would have been wholly embarrassing in the hands of almost any other white vocalist.
— music critic Bill Millar, 1983 essay "Blue-Eyed Soul: Colour Me Soul"[84]
R&B radio stations throughout the South played Mack's gospel-inspired version of the soul ballad "Where There's a Will" in 1963; eventually, Mack was invited to give a live radio interview with a prominent R&B disc jockey in racially polarized Birmingham, Alabama. Mack recalls that when he appeared at the radio station, the DJ took one look at him and said, "Baby, you're the wrong color" and canceled the interview on the spot.[60][85]
After that, Mack recalls, there was a precipitous drop in the airplay time devoted to his vocal recordings on R&B radio stations.[86] Fraternity reacted by delaying release of one of Mack's signature soul ballads, "Why?" (recorded in 1963), as a single,[87] until 1968,[60] and then only as the "B" side of a rerelease of "Memphis".[48] "Why?" received scant notice and never charted, but was eventually recognized as a "lost masterpiece of rock 'n' roll".[88] In 2009, music critic Greil Marcus called "Why?" a "soul ballad so torturous, so classically structured, that it can uncover wounds of your own. Mack's scream at the end has never been matched. God help us if anyone ever tops it".[89] A popular local Minneapolis group, The Accents, had local hits with "Wherever There's A Will" (Garrett 4008) and "Why" (Garrett 4014). Both singles got substantial airplay locally and sold well throughout the state.
Despite the de facto ban of Mack's vocal recordings on R&B radio stations, his 1963 cover version of Jimmy Reed's "Baby, What's Wrong" became a modest crossover pop hit (Billboard Pop, No. 93),[48] particularly in the Midwest, Fraternity's traditional distribution market.[52]
During the 1970s, Mack recorded fewer blues and soul ballads, and more country and rockabilly vocals.[90] Mack's mature singing style, from the 1980s onward, has been variously described as a "country-esque blues voice"[91] and the "impassioned vocal style of a white Hoosier with a touch of Memphis soul".[92] Examples from the 1980s include a rendition of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday",[93] Mack's own soul ballad, "Stop", and a live, gospel-drenched version of Wilson Pickett's "I Found a Love".[94]
The Wham of that Memphis Man!
During 1963, after the release of "Memphis" and "Wham!", Mack returned to the studio several times to cut additional recordings, including instrumentals, vocals and ensemble tunes.[95] In early 1964, Fraternity packaged several of these, along with his 1963 singles, into an album entitled The Wham of that Memphis Man![96]
Mack's guitar instrumentals were blues-based, but unusually rapid, seamless and precise.[60] His vocals were strongly influenced by Black gospel music. All the tunes were backed by bass guitar and drums, and many also featured keyboards and a Stax/Volt-style horn section. The Charmaines provided an R&B backup chorus on several cuts.[19] In The 100 Best Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time, Jimmy Guterman ranked the album No. 16:
The first of the guitar-hero records is also one of the best. And for perhaps the last time, the singing on such a disc is worthy of the guitar histrionics. Lonnie Mack bent, stroked, and modified the sound of six strings in ways that baffled his contemporaries and served as a guide to future players. His brash arrangements insure that [the album] remains a showcase for songs, not just a platform for showing off. Mack, who produced this album, has never been given credit for the dignified understatement he brought to his workouts.[97]
The Wham of that Memphis Man! was released within weeks of the beginning of the British Invasion. Competing with the likes of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones was an obstacle encountered by many, but Mack faced an additional challenge: As observed by music critic John Morthland, "It was the era of satin pants and histrionic stage shows, and all the superior chops in the world couldn't hide the fact that chubby, country Mack probably had more in common with Kentucky truck drivers than he did with the new rock audience".[98] Mack slowly slipped back into relative obscurity until the late 1960s. The Wham of that Memphis Man! has been reissued at least ten times, most recently in 2008.[99][100][101][102][103][104] However, most of Mack's Fraternity recordings are not found on the album. Fraternity continued to release additional Mack singles during the 1960s, but never issued another album.[48][105] Many of his Fraternity sides, including some alternate takes of tunes released in the 1960s, were first released three or four decades after they were recorded, on a series of Mack compilation albums.[106][107][108]
Historical significance of Mack's guitar solos
In the early 1960s, Mack's extended guitar solos displayed exceptional levels of speed, dexterity and improvisational skill. In Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, guitarist Mike Johnstone recalled the impact of Mack's playing upon rock guitarists in 1963: "Now, at that time, there was a popular song on the radio called 'Memphis' - an instrumental by Lonnie Mack. It was the best guitar-playing I'd ever heard. All the guitar-players were [saying] 'How could anyone ever play that good? That's the new bar. That's how good you have to be now'".[109] Seventeen years later, in July 1980, the editors of Guitar World magazine ranked "Memphis" the premier "landmark" rock guitar recording to date, immediately ahead of full albums featuring blues-rock guitarists Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.[7]
Mack has been called a "guitar hero's guitar hero".[110] He had a significant impact on guitarists Jeff Beck,[72] Duane Allman,[79] Stevie Ray Vaughan,[111] Dickey Betts,[112] Neil Young,[113] and Ted Nugent,[114] among others, and profoundly influenced the evolution of rock guitar.[24][115][116]
In all, it is not an exaggeration to say that Lonnie Mack was well ahead of his time....His bluesy solos pre-dated the pioneering blues-rock guitar work of Jeff Beck... Eric Clapton... and Mike Bloomfield... by nearly two years. Considering that they [were] 'before their time', the chronological significance of Lonnie Mack for the world of rock guitar is that much more remarkable.
— Brown & Newquist, Legends of Rock Guitar, Hal Leonard Co., 1997, p. 25'
[Mack's early work] was an aggressive, sophisticated, original and fully realized sound, developed by a kid from the sticks. It's questionable we'd have incandescent moments like Cream's [1968] rendition of "Crossroads" without Lonnie Mack's ground-breaking arrangements five years earlier.
— Sandmel, , Guitar World, May 1984, pp. 55-56'
Mack's own assessment is more modest. He views himself as a transitional figure: "I was a bridge-over between the standard country licks in early rock 'n' roll and the screamin' kinda stuff that came later."[38]
Transition period
In the mid-1960s, the public's musical tastes shifted radically due to the initial, "pop" phase of the "British Invasion". However, during the same period, the "folk music" movement in the US and the popularity of Black American musical forms in both the US and the UK expanded the appeal of classic rural and urban blues among young whites of the baby boom generation.
Soon, a handful of predominantly white blues bands rose to prominence, including John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in the UK and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the US. During the mid-through-late 1960s, a new generation of electric blues guitarists emerged, including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, most of whom were, or soon became, frontmen for blues-based rock bands. The late 1960s witnessed the appearance of many such bands, most of which showcased the virtuosity of their lead guitarists. These included the enormously successful "power trios": Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. By that point, blues-rock was recognized as a distinct and powerful force within rock music on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1968, these developments led to the rediscovery of Mack's seminal blues-rock guitar recordings of the early 1960s.[117][118]
Still in the mid-1960s, Mack released a succession of new singles on Fraternity, but none charted, and Mack turned to R&B session work. At Cincinnati's premier record label, Syd Nathan's King Records, he played second guitar on a number of King-label recordings by blues singer-guitarist Freddie King, and lead guitar on some King-label recordings by "The Godfather of Soul", James Brown.[99] The uncredited guitar solo on Brown's 1967 instrumental, "Stone Fox", has been attributed to both Mack and Troy Seals.[119] During the same period, Mack found steady work as a session guitarist for John Richbourg's Soundstage 7 Productions in Nashville, backing soul singer Joe Simon and several other Richbourg R&B acts on Monument Records.[120] He also played lead guitar on several Fraternity recordings of Cincinnati blues singer Albert Washington.[121] Washington recordings attracted only modest attention at home, but one featuring Mack's guitar ("Turn On The Bright Lights"), reportedly stayed on the pop charts in Japan for several consecutive years[122] and all were later reissued in the UK.[123]
Rediscovery
In 1968, with the blues-rock movement approaching full force, Mack entered into a multi-record deal with Los Angeles' Elektra Records, and relocated to the West Coast. A feature article in the November 1968 issue of Rolling Stone magazine rated Mack "in a class by himself" as a rock guitarist, and compared his R&B vocals favorably with Elvis Presley's best gospel efforts. Rolling Stone urged Elektra to reissue Mack's 5-year-old Fraternity album. Elektra soon obliged, reissuing The Wham of that Memphis Man!, with two additional 1964 tracks, under the title For Collectors Only. Rolling Stone's October 1970 review of For Collectors Only compared Mack's guitar work from the early 1960s to "the best of [Eric] Clapton".
The Wham of that Memphis Man!/For Collectors Only remains Mack's most significant early album. In his review of a 1987 reissue, Gregory Himes of The Washington Post wrote: "With so many roots-rock guitarists trying to imitate this same style, this album sounds surprisingly modern. Not many have done it this well, though."[124]
Elektra years
Mack recorded three new albums with Elektra, Glad I'm in the Band and Whatever's Right (both released in 1969) and The Hills of Indiana (1971).
In the aggregate, the three Elektra albums represented a stark departure from the strengths and stylistic formula represented by Mack's earlier work, previously touted by Rolling Stone. They were eclectic collections country and soul ballads, blues tunes, and updated versions of earlier recordings. In contrast to The Wham of that Memphis Man, both 1969 albums emphasized Mack's vocals and de-emphasized his guitar work. Only two instrumentals appear on these albums, a full-length blues guitar piece on Glad entitled "Mt. Healthy Blues", and a re-make of "Memphis".
Despite the shift in musical emphasis, Mack's output from this period was relatively well received by music critics. This, from a contemporary assessment of Glad:
Mack's taste and judgment are super-excellent. Every aspect of his guitar bears a direct relationship to the sound and meaning of the song. [H]is voice is strong without straining and of great range and personality. [I]f this isn't the best rock recording of the season, it's the solidest. – Rolling Stone, May 3, 1969, p. 28.
Representative of these two albums were two consecutive vocals on Whatever's Right. Mack sings Willie Dixon's "My Babe" in a soul style typical of that era. Within seconds of the closing measure on that tune, he begins his vocal on "Things Have Gone To Pieces", a country tune previously recorded by George Jones. He repeated the pattern in Glad by performing a country tune, "Old House", and the soul tune, "Too Much Trouble" in sequence.
In addition to his solo dates during this period, he toured with Elektra label-mates The Doors.[125]
Upon completing the 1969 albums, Mack assumed a "Chet Atkins-Eric Clapton role at Elektra, doing studio dates, producing and A&R."[126] During this period, Mack played bass on two tunes included in The Doors' album "Morrison Hotel".[127] In his A&R role, Mack helped to recruit a number of country and blues artists from Nashville, Memphis and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and Elektra considered the launch of a new label to record them.[128] Mack tried to sign Carole King, but Elektra rejected her, on the grounds that they already had Judy Collins.[110] He also attempted to interest Elektra in gospel singer Dorothy Combs Morrison, formerly lead vocalist for the Edwin Hawkins Singers of "Oh Happy Day" fame. Mack had recorded Morrison singing a gospel version of The Beatles' "Let It Be"; however, management's response was tabled pending negotiations for the label's sale to Warner Brothers,[129] allowing a competing label to grab the initiative and release Aretha Franklin's own gospel version. "That bummed me out"[110] Mack said, and he resigned his corporate job.[13]
By that point, Elektra had put together a musical whistle-stop touring group, including Mack, billed as "The Alabama State Troupers and Mount Zion Choir".[130] According to Elektra producer Russ Miller, Mack disappeared six days before the tour was to begin. Miller soon found Mack at a rustic farm in backwoods Kentucky, and urged him to join the tour. Mack refused, citing a nightmare during his last night in Los Angeles, in which he and his family had been pursued by Satan. He told Miller that when he awoke in a sweat, he found his Bible opened to a passage commanding him to "flee from Mount Zion". Miller returned to L.A. without Mack, stating later: "[Lonnie's] a real country boy. [T]hat was it for Lonnie".[131]
Country years
Mack's final Elektra album, The Hills of Indiana, was released in 1971. Foreshadowing the next phase of Mack's career, The Hills of Indiana completed Mack's shift of focus away from high-octane R&B and blues-rock, towards the pastoral, country end of the musical spectrum. The album sold poorly. His contract with Elektra fulfilled, and with the LA music scene in the rear-view mirror, Mack adopted the roles of low-profile country-rock recording artist, sideman, session-player and occasional roadhouse touring performer. His recordings during this period display only rare glimpses of guitar virtuosity. Over the next fourteen years, he slipped back into a state of relative anonymity.[132]
1970s-era record sales aside, Mack's affinity for country music was genuine. At the peak of his popularity as a blues-rocker, he was fond of organizing after-hours country jam sessions with like-minded rock performers. He recalls one such session in the '60s in which he and Janis Joplin sang a duet on the George Jones song, "Things Have Gone To Pieces", while trading licks with Jimi Hendrix on guitar and Jerry Garcia on pedal steel.[133]
Years after leaving Los Angeles, Mack commented on his retreat from the rock 'n' roll spotlight before the age of 30: "Seems like every time I get close to really making it, to climbing to the top of the mountain, that's when I pull out. I just pull up and run".[12] The lyrics of several Mack tunes shed further light on the topic. According to two, he yearned for the anonymous, less complicated, country lifestyle of his youth.[134] In another, he equated the pursuit of "fortune and fame" with selling one's soul to Satan.[135] In yet another, he stated simply: "L.A. made me sick."[136]
In 1973, Mack teamed up with Rusty York on an all-acoustic bluegrass LP, Dueling Banjos (QCA No. 304). Unavailable for 35 years, Jewel Records re-issued it on CD in 2009 (JRC 920011). It contains 16 bluegrass standards in a dueling-banjos format, with guitar and fiddle. Mack played guitar on all 16 cuts and provided the sole vocal track (the gospel tune "I'll Fly Away") on this otherwise instrumental album.[137]
In 1974, Mack played lead guitar in Dobie Gray's band. Gray is best known for his hit tunes, "The 'In' Crowd" (later covered by The Ramsey Lewis Trio and others), "Drift Away" and "Loving Arms". Mack's guitar work from this period can be found on Gray's 1974 album Hey, Dixie. Mack wrote or co-wrote four tunes on the album, including the title track.[138] In March 1974, Mack performed as Gray's lead guitarist at the last broadcast of The Grand Ole Opry from Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.
In 1975, Mack was shot during an altercation with an off-duty police officer. His account of the incident is preserved in one of his better-known late-career tunes, "Cincinnati Jail".[139] According to the lyrics of that tune, the officer's unmarked car narrowly missed Mack while he was walking across a city street, whereupon Mack hit it on the fender, shouting "better slow it down!"; the officer stopped, emerged from his car, shot Mack "in the leg", then hauled him before a judge who threw him in jail. Mack recovered, but once again virtually disappeared from the music scene. For the next several years, he rarely performed in public, except at his "Friendship Music Park" in rural southern Indiana, which showcased bluegrass and traditional country artists.[11]
In 1977, Mack signed with Capitol Records. There, he recorded Home at Last, an album of country ballads and bluegrass tunes. Also in 1977, Mack performed at a "Save the Whales" benefit concert in Japan.[140] In 1978, he recorded another Capitol LP, Lonnie Mack with Pismo. A somewhat faster-paced album, Pismo featured country, southern rock and rockabilly tunes. In 1979, Mack began working on an independent recording project with a friend, producer-songwriter Ed Labunski.[141] The intended result was a country-pop album ultimately entitled South.[142] However, Labunski died in an auto accident before the project was completed, and the album was shelved. Mack released demos from the project 20 years later. Labunski's death also derailed Mack's and Labunski's plans to produce then-unknown Texas blues-guitar prodigy Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was destined to play a key role in Mack's blues-rock comeback a few years later.[141]
Shortly after Labunski's death, Mack traveled to Canada for a six-month collaboration with American expatriate rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins. Hawkins is best known for having founded The Hawks, a popular Canadian roots-rock group which, after Hawkins departure, became Bob Dylan's backup band and, later still, independently famous as The Band. Mack's guitar work from this period can be heard on Hawkins' 1981 solo album, Legend In His Spare Time.[48]
Blues-rock comeback
By the early 1980s, Mack had been largely absent from the rock music scene for over a decade and his visibility as a recording artist had waned considerably. His first album from this period was Live at Coco's, recorded in 1983. It is Mack's only mid-career roadhouse performance preserved on disc. Originally a bootleg recording, Mack sanctioned its commercial release in 1998.[99] On Coco's, Mack and his band can be heard playing familiar tunes from the Fraternity era, lesser-known tunes from the 1970s, tunes which appear on no other album (e.g., "Stormy Monday", "The Things I Used To Do" and "Man From Bowling Green") and tunes which did not appear on his studio albums until several years later (e.g., "Falling Back In Love With You", "Ridin' the Blinds", "Cocaine Blues" and "High Blood Pressure").
Still in 1983, Mack relocated to Texas, where he played regularly at venues in Dallas and Austin. Early in this period, Mack entered into a performing collaboration with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Little known outside of Texas in 1980, Vaughan's own career took off during this period; by 1985 he was an international blues-rock guitar sensation. Mack and Vaughan had first met in 1979,[24] when Mack, acting on a tip from Vaughan's older brother, went to hear him play at a local bar. Vaughan recalled the meeting in a 1985 interview:
I was playin' at the Rome Inn in Austin, and we had just hit the opening chords of "Wham!" when this big guy walked in. He looked just like a great big bear. As soon as I looked at his face, I realized who he was, and naturally he was blown away to hear us doing his song. [W]e talked for a long time that night. [Lonnie said] he wanted to produce us.
— Stevie Ray Vaughan, as quoted in Sandmel, "Rock Pioneer Lonnie Mack In Session With Stevie Ray Vaughan", 'Guitar Player, April 1985, p. 33
Mack and Vaughan became close friends. Despite the generation gap between them, Mack said that he and Vaughan "were always on the same level", describing Vaughan as "an old spirit...in a young man's body".[143] Mack regarded Vaughan as his "little brother" and Vaughan said Mack was "something between a daddy and a brother".[144][145] When Mack was stricken with a lengthy illness in Texas, Vaughan put on a benefit concert to help pay his bills; during Mack's recuperation, Vaughan and his bass-player, Tommy Shannon, personally installed an air-conditioner in his house.[144]
Vaughan said that "Wham!" was "the first record I ever owned",[73] that Mack was "the baddest guitar player I know",[146] and that Mack "really taught me to play guitar from the heart".[147] Vaughan's musical legacy includes four versions of "Wham!"---two solo versions[148] and two dueling-guitar versions with Mack.[149] He also recorded Mack's "If You Have To Know",[150] and an instrumental homage to "Chicken-Pickin", which Vaughan called "Scuttle-Buttin'".[151][152]
Mack signed with Alligator Records in 1984, and, upon recovering from his illness, began working on his blues-rock comeback album, Strike Like Lightning. It became one of the top-selling independent recordings of 1985.[153] Mack and Vaughan co-produced the album. Mack himself composed most of the tunes, which featured his vocals and driving guitar equally. Vaughan played second guitar on most of the album, and traded leads with Mack on "Double Whammy" and "Satisfy Susie". Both played acoustic guitar on Mack's "Oreo Cookie Blues". Strike propelled Mack back into the spotlight at age 44. Much of 1985 found him occupied with a promotional concert tour for Strike which included guest appearances by Vaughan, Ry Cooder and both Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, among others. Videos of Mack and Vaughan playing cuts from Strike are found on YouTube and similar websites. In 2007, Sony's Legacy label released a 1987 "live" performance of Mack's "Oreo Cookie Blues" featuring Mack and Vaughan trading leads on electric guitar.[154]
The Strike Like Lightning tour culminated in a Carnegie Hall concert billed as Further On Down the Road, a tip of the hat to Mack's 1964 recording by the same title. There, he shared the stage with blues guitar stylist Albert Collins and blues-rock guitar virtuoso Roy Buchanan. The concert was marketed on home video.[155]
Late career
In 1986, Mack recorded another Alligator album, Second Sight, which featured both introspective and up-tempo tunes as well as an instrumental blues jam. In 1988, he moved to Epic Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed[156] rockabilly album, Roadhouses and Dance Halls, including the autobiographical single, "Too Rock For Country".[48] In 1989, Mack performed on Saturday Night Live, as the special guest of the SNL house band's guitarist.[157]
In 1990, Mack returned to Alligator to record a live blues-rock album, Attack of the Killer V, featuring two extended guitar solos and expanded renditions of earlier studio recordings. From one review: "This disc has everything that a great live album should have: a great talent on stage, an exciting performance from that talent, a responsive crowd and excellent sound quality ... This is what live blues is all about!"[158]
After 2000
Mack continued to tour in both America and Europe until 2004. In 2000, he appeared as a session player on the album Franktown Blues, by the sons of blues legend Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Mack provided guitar solos on two cuts, "She's Got The Key" and "Jammin' For James".[159]
In recent years, Mack has occasionally appeared at benefit concerts and special events.[20][160][161] On November 15, 2008, Mack was a featured performer at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 13th annual Music Masters Tribute Concert, soloing on "Wham!" in honor of electric guitar pioneer Les Paul.[29] He has been an occasional surprise sit-in with house bands at roadhouses in rural Tennessee.[162] On June 5–6, 2010, Mack appeared in concert with the surviving members of his original band.[30] In 2011, he was working on a memoir[163] and was engaged in a songwriting collaboration with award-winning country and blues tunesmith Bobby Boyd.[164]
Guitar style and technique
From his first recordings, Mack's rock-guitar style was steeped in the blues. However, he routinely used fast-paced "fingerstyle" and "chicken picking" techniques originating in traditional country and bluegrass styles, reflecting the dominant musical influences of his early childhood.[165]
Mack typically manipulated the whammy bar with the little finger of his right hand, while picking at a 45-degree angle with a pick or the remaining fingers of the same hand, and bending the strings on the fret-board with his left.[166] Mack's pioneering use of "lightning-fast runs"[167] became a hallmark of virtuoso rock guitar by the end of the 1960s.
On most of his early guitar solos, Mack employed a variant of R&B guitarist Robert Ward's distortion technique, using a 1950s-era tube-fired Magnatone amplifier to produce a distinctive "watery" tone. On other tunes he plugged into an organ amplifier to enhance his vibrato with a "rotating, fluttery sound".
Mack was born in Dearborn County, Indiana. In the early 1960s, he was a key figure in transforming the role of the electric guitar to that of a lead voice in rock music.[1][2] Best known for his 1963 instrumental, "Memphis", he has been called "a pioneer in rock guitar soloing"[3] and a "ground-breaker" in lead guitar virtuosity.[4]
In 1963 and early 1964, he recorded a succession of full-length electric guitar instrumentals which combined blues stylism with fast-picking country techniques and a rock beat. These recordings are said to have formed the leading edge of the "blues rock" lead guitar genre.[5] In 1979, music historian Richard T. Pinnell called 1963's "Memphis" a "milestone of early rock guitar".[6] In 1980, the editors of Guitar World magazine ranked "Memphis" first among rock's top five "landmark" guitar recordings, ahead of recordings by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Mike Bloomfield.[7] Reportedly, the pitch-bending tremolo arm commonly found on electric guitars became known by the term "whammy bar" in recognition of Mack's aggressive manipulation of the device in 1963's "Wham!".[8]
Mack brought a strong gospel sensibility to his vocals, and is considered one of the finer "blue-eyed soul" singers of his era. Crediting both Mack's vocals and his guitar solos, music critic Jimmy Guterman ranked Mack's first album, The Wham of that Memphis Man!, No. 16 in his book The 100 Best Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time.[9]
Mack released several singles in the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1963 and 1990, he released thirteen original albums spanning a variety of genres. He enjoyed his greatest recognition as a blues-rock singer-guitarist, with especially productive periods during the 1960s and the latter half of the 1980s. Mack switched musical genres and slowed or idled his career as a rock artist for lengthy periods,[10][11] due to an aversion to notoriety,[12] disenchantment with the music business[13] and a preference for the simpler, less public, country lifestyle of his youth.[14]
Career
Lonnie Mack's music career began in the mid-1950s. It included historically significant recordings, critical and popular recognition, and periods of reclusion, rediscovery, and comeback. He never became a commercial superstar during his years as an active performer,[15][16][17] and last recorded in 1990. More recently, he has come to be regarded as an "unsung hero" of early rock guitar.[18]
In the early 1960s, Mack augmented the electric blues guitar genre with fast-picking techniques borrowed from traditional country and bluegrass styles, leading one early reviewer to puzzle over the "peculiar running quality" of Mack's bluesy solos.[19] These recordings prefigured the fast, flashy, blues-based lead guitar style which dominated rock by the late 1960s.[1][6][16][20]
By the 1980s, Mack was recognized as a pioneer of virtuoso rock guitar. According to Guitar World magazine, Mack's early solos influenced every major rock guitarist of the day, "from Clapton to Allman to Vaughan"[17] and "from Nugent to Bloomfield".[21]
Although better-known as a guitarist, Mack was a double-threat performer from the outset. A 1968 feature article in Rolling Stone magazine rated Mack a better gospel singer than Elvis Presley,[19] who earned all of his Grammys as a gospel singer.[22] Several of his vocals remain notable for their gospel-like fervor.[19][23]
Mack's recordings drew on rural and urban blues, country, bluegrass, rockabilly, vintage R&B, soul, and gospel styles. Attempts to classify Mack's music proved challenging,[11][24][25][26] but the common thread throughout Mack's best-known music is a unique mix of black and white musical roots, later dubbed "roadhouse rock".[25][26][27] Writing for Rolling Stone, Alec Dubro summarized: "Lonnie can be put into that 'Elvis Presley-Roy Orbison-Early Rock' bag, but mostly for convenience. In total sound and execution, he was an innovator."[28]
Mack's final commercial album as a featured artist, "Attack of the Killer V!", was recorded live in 1990. He performed regularly until 2004, and during the next few years appeared occasionally at special events.[20] On November 15, 2008, Mack played "Wham!" at a production of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoring Les Paul.[29] On June 5–6, 2010, he performed at a reunion concert with the surviving members of his early-1960s band.[30] In 2011, he released some informally-recorded compositions on his website, including the acoustic blues single "The Times Ain't Right".
Beyond his career as a solo artist, Mack recorded with The Doors, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown, Freddie King, Joe Simon, Ronnie Hawkins, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Dobie Gray and the sons of blues legend Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, among others.[31]
Mack's managers over the years have included the late Harry Carlson, a founder of Fraternity Records, John Hovekamp[32] and James Webber,[33] formerly an executive with Elektra Records.[34]
Childhood and early influences
In 1941, Mack's family moved from southeastern Kentucky to southern Indiana, where he spent his childhood on a series of small subsistence farms.[35] Although Mack's childhood homes had no electricity, the family had a primitive battery-powered radio and were devotees of "The Grand Ole Opry" radio show. As a child, listening after the rest of the family had gone to bed, Mack became a fan of early R&B and black gospel music.[15][36]
He began playing at the age of 7, using an acoustic guitar he had traded for a bicycle.[37] While still a small child, he was playing guitar for tips at a hobo jungle near his home and outside of the Nieman Hotel in nearby Aurora, Indiana.[11] Mack has stated, "I started off in bluegrass, before there was rock and roll. My family was like a family band. We sang and harmonized, and Dad played banjo. We were playin' mostly gospel, bluegrass, and old-style country. We played a lot of that old-style Jimmie Rodgers (country singer) and Hank Williams kinda music."[15][38]
Mack's mother was his earliest country guitar and singing influence, and Ralph Trotto, an unrecorded blind gospel singer, was his earliest musical mentor.[39] Mack recalls that an uncle "showed me how you could take a Merle Travis sound on guitar and it was very similar to what a lot of the black guys were doing; they just made it a little funkier. It was pretty easy to come over to that once I figured it out."[40] In addition to country guitarist Travis, various sources have observed that Mack's playing shows influences of jazz guitarist Les Paul and blues guitarist T-Bone Walker.[41][42]
Mack has acknowledged R&B artists Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Hank Ballard as musical influences, as well as country singer George Jones and gospel singer Archie Brownlee of The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi.[43][44] Mack recorded tunes by each of these artists. Mack's highest-charting single, 1963's "Memphis", was an instrumental improvisation grounded in the melody of a Chuck Berry tune, "Memphis, Tennessee".[41]
Early career
Mack dropped out of school at the age of 13 after a fight with a teacher.[45] Using a fake ID, he soon began performing in roadhouses in the Cincinnati area.[46]
As a teen-aged solo artist in the late 1950s, Mack recorded a cover of Al Dexter's 1944 western swing hit, "Pistol Packin' Mama" on the Esta label.[47][48] During the same period, Mack played lead guitar for his older cousins, Aubrey Holt and Harley Gabbard, on two recordings, The Stanley Brothers' "Too Late To Cry" and the cousins' own "Hey, Baby". These two singles were released in 1959 on the Sage label.[49] "Pistol-Packin' Mama" and "Too Late To Cry" have been out-of-print for decades. "Hey, Baby", a rockabilly tune with close-harmony bluegrass vocals, was reissued by the German label, Bear Family Records, in 2010[50] and is now available in the U.S.[51]
By the late 1950s, Mack had assembled a band of his own. They performed throughout Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, playing both rockabilly and, increasingly, R&B-tinged rock and roll. He began using the stage-name "Mack" and, for a time, called his band "The Twilighters", a reference to the Hamilton, Ohio club where they had had a steady engagement.[24]
Mack's guitar
In 1958 Mack bought the seventh Gibson Flying V guitar from that model's first-year production run.[52][53] Dubbing it "Number 7", Mack used this guitar almost exclusively during his career.[54] Mack, who is of Scottish and Native American ancestry[52] was attracted to the arrow-shaped instrument because of his ethnic heritage.[24] The 1958 Flying V model is now considered highly collectible, as less than 100 were shipped in that inaugural year. In 2010, Number 7 was featured in Star Guitars - 101 Guitars that Rocked the World.[55] In 2011, it was featured in The Guitar Collection, a $1,500 two-volume set which included a detailed essay and lush photo layout for each of the world's 150 most "elite" and "exceptional" guitars.[56] In 2012, Mack's guitar was included in Rolling Stone's list of "20 Iconic Guitars".[3]
"Memphis", "Wham!", and the birth of blues-rock guitar
In the early 1960s Mack and his band often worked as session players for Fraternity, a small record label in Cincinnati.[57] There, they played on a number of singles by local R&B artists, including Max Falcon, Beau Dollar and the Coins, Denzil Rice (who, as "Dumpy" Rice, went on to become the piano player in Mack's band), and Cincinnati's leading female R&B trio, The Charmaines.[58] Several of these recordings are found on compilation CDs entitled Lonnie Mack: From Nashville to Memphis (Ace, 2004) and Gigi and the Charmaines (Ace, 2006).
On March 12, 1963,[59] at the end of a recording session backing up The Charmaines, Mack and his band were offered the remaining twenty minutes of studio rental time.[41] Not expecting the tune to be released, Mack immediately recorded a rockabilly/blues guitar instrumental loosely based on the melody of Chuck Berry's 1959 UK vocal hit, "Memphis, Tennessee".[60] Mack had improvised the guitar solo in a live performance a few years earlier, when another member of the band (who usually sang the tune) missed a club date. Mack's instrumental version was well-received, so he adopted it as part of his live act. The tune featured a then-unique combination of several key elements. As recorded in 1963, it had seven distinct sections, with an unusually fast 12-bar blues solo. "An extended guitar solo exploiting the entire range of the instrument rings in the climax of the song in the fifth section. Lonnie Mack begins this portion by quoting several measures of the riff one octave higher than before. From there, he breaks into his choicest licks, including double-picking and pulling-off techniques — all with driving, complicated rhythms and technical precision".[61]
By the time "Memphis" was first broadcast, in the spring of 1963, Mack had already forgotten the impromptu recording session and was engaged in a nationwide performing tour with singer-songwriter Troy Seals. A friend located him on tour and told him his tune was climbing the charts. In a 1977 interview, Mack recalled, "I was completely taken by surprise. I [hadn't] listened to the radio. I had no idea what was happening".[41][62] By late June "Memphis" had risen to No. 4 on Billboard's R&B chart and No. 5 on Billboard's pop chart.[41] Only the fourth rock guitar instrumental to penetrate Billboard's "Top 5",[63] it was the only top-20 single of Mack's career. According to music historian and guitar professor Richard T. Pinnell, Mack's fast-paced interpretation of blues stylism in "Memphis" was unique in the history of rock guitar soloing to that point, producing a tune that was both "rhythmically and melodically full of fire" and "one of the milestones of early rock and roll guitar".[6]
Still in 1963, Mack released "Wham!", a gospel-inspired guitar instrumental, which reached No. 24 on Billboard's Pop chart in September.[60] He soon recorded [64] several more full-length rock guitar instrumentals, including his own composition,"Chicken Pickin'", and an instrumental version of Dale Hawkins' "Suzie Q".[48][65] Mack used a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece on "Wham!" and several other tunes to achieve sound effects so distinctive for the time that guitarists began calling it the "whammy bar",[24] a term by which the Bigbsy and other vibrato bars are still known.
Although the term "blues-rock" had not yet come into common usage in 1963, "Memphis" came to be widely regarded as one of the earliest genuine hit recordings of the virtuoso blues-rock guitar genre.[66][67][68] "Wham!" soon followed.[48][69]
Mack's influence on other guitarists
Many prominent lead guitarists were strongly influenced by Mack during their formative years.[70][71] British rock and jazz guitarist Jeff Beck considers Mack a "major influence".[72] As a teenager, Stevie Ray Vaughan honed his guitar skills by playing along with "Wham!" so incessantly that his father finally destroyed the record. Vaughan, who said "Wham!" was "the first record I ever owned",[73] simply bought another copy and resumed his practice.[74] Vaughan considered Mack one of his "very big influences"[75] and said, "I got a lot of the fast things I do from Lonnie".[76] In 1987, Vaughan listed Mack first among the guitarists he listened to, both as a youngster, and as an adult.[77] At the peak of his career, in the mid-1980s, Vaughan covered "Wham!" and recorded "Scuttle-Buttin'" and "Rude Mood", both of which are said to have been inspired by Mack's "Chicken Pickin'".[78] Vaughan covered "Wham!" on his fifth studio album, The Sky Is Crying. In 1963, 17-year-old Duane Allman played along with his copy of "Memphis", stopping, starting, and slowing the turntable with his foot, until he had mastered the tune.[79] Western Swing guitarist Ray Benson, frontman for eight-time Grammy-winner Asleep at the Wheel, called Mack "my guitar hero".[80] Southern Rock guitarist Dickey Betts: "Lonnie is one of the greatest players I know of. He's always been a great influence on me".[81]
"Blue-eyed soul" ballads
While Mack's first recording successes were instrumentals, his roadhouse performances typically included both vocals and instrumentals, and in 1963 Mack recorded a number of tunes featuring his singing talents.[82] These early "blue-eyed soul" vocal recordings were critically acclaimed. In 1968, Rolling Stone said, "It is truly the voice of Lonnie Mack that sets him apart. [His] songs have a sincerity and intensity that's hard to find anywhere".[83] According to another review:
Ultimately—for consistency and depth of feeling—the best blue-eyed soul is defined by Lonnie Mack's ballads and virtually everything The Righteous Brothers recorded. Lonnie Mack wailed a soul ballad as gutsily as any black gospel singer. The anguished inflections which stamped his best songs ("Why?", "She Don't Come Here Anymore" and "Where There's a Will") had a directness which would have been wholly embarrassing in the hands of almost any other white vocalist.
— music critic Bill Millar, 1983 essay "Blue-Eyed Soul: Colour Me Soul"[84]
R&B radio stations throughout the South played Mack's gospel-inspired version of the soul ballad "Where There's a Will" in 1963; eventually, Mack was invited to give a live radio interview with a prominent R&B disc jockey in racially polarized Birmingham, Alabama. Mack recalls that when he appeared at the radio station, the DJ took one look at him and said, "Baby, you're the wrong color" and canceled the interview on the spot.[60][85]
After that, Mack recalls, there was a precipitous drop in the airplay time devoted to his vocal recordings on R&B radio stations.[86] Fraternity reacted by delaying release of one of Mack's signature soul ballads, "Why?" (recorded in 1963), as a single,[87] until 1968,[60] and then only as the "B" side of a rerelease of "Memphis".[48] "Why?" received scant notice and never charted, but was eventually recognized as a "lost masterpiece of rock 'n' roll".[88] In 2009, music critic Greil Marcus called "Why?" a "soul ballad so torturous, so classically structured, that it can uncover wounds of your own. Mack's scream at the end has never been matched. God help us if anyone ever tops it".[89] A popular local Minneapolis group, The Accents, had local hits with "Wherever There's A Will" (Garrett 4008) and "Why" (Garrett 4014). Both singles got substantial airplay locally and sold well throughout the state.
Despite the de facto ban of Mack's vocal recordings on R&B radio stations, his 1963 cover version of Jimmy Reed's "Baby, What's Wrong" became a modest crossover pop hit (Billboard Pop, No. 93),[48] particularly in the Midwest, Fraternity's traditional distribution market.[52]
During the 1970s, Mack recorded fewer blues and soul ballads, and more country and rockabilly vocals.[90] Mack's mature singing style, from the 1980s onward, has been variously described as a "country-esque blues voice"[91] and the "impassioned vocal style of a white Hoosier with a touch of Memphis soul".[92] Examples from the 1980s include a rendition of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday",[93] Mack's own soul ballad, "Stop", and a live, gospel-drenched version of Wilson Pickett's "I Found a Love".[94]
The Wham of that Memphis Man!
During 1963, after the release of "Memphis" and "Wham!", Mack returned to the studio several times to cut additional recordings, including instrumentals, vocals and ensemble tunes.[95] In early 1964, Fraternity packaged several of these, along with his 1963 singles, into an album entitled The Wham of that Memphis Man![96]
Mack's guitar instrumentals were blues-based, but unusually rapid, seamless and precise.[60] His vocals were strongly influenced by Black gospel music. All the tunes were backed by bass guitar and drums, and many also featured keyboards and a Stax/Volt-style horn section. The Charmaines provided an R&B backup chorus on several cuts.[19] In The 100 Best Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time, Jimmy Guterman ranked the album No. 16:
The first of the guitar-hero records is also one of the best. And for perhaps the last time, the singing on such a disc is worthy of the guitar histrionics. Lonnie Mack bent, stroked, and modified the sound of six strings in ways that baffled his contemporaries and served as a guide to future players. His brash arrangements insure that [the album] remains a showcase for songs, not just a platform for showing off. Mack, who produced this album, has never been given credit for the dignified understatement he brought to his workouts.[97]
The Wham of that Memphis Man! was released within weeks of the beginning of the British Invasion. Competing with the likes of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones was an obstacle encountered by many, but Mack faced an additional challenge: As observed by music critic John Morthland, "It was the era of satin pants and histrionic stage shows, and all the superior chops in the world couldn't hide the fact that chubby, country Mack probably had more in common with Kentucky truck drivers than he did with the new rock audience".[98] Mack slowly slipped back into relative obscurity until the late 1960s. The Wham of that Memphis Man! has been reissued at least ten times, most recently in 2008.[99][100][101][102][103][104] However, most of Mack's Fraternity recordings are not found on the album. Fraternity continued to release additional Mack singles during the 1960s, but never issued another album.[48][105] Many of his Fraternity sides, including some alternate takes of tunes released in the 1960s, were first released three or four decades after they were recorded, on a series of Mack compilation albums.[106][107][108]
Historical significance of Mack's guitar solos
In the early 1960s, Mack's extended guitar solos displayed exceptional levels of speed, dexterity and improvisational skill. In Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, guitarist Mike Johnstone recalled the impact of Mack's playing upon rock guitarists in 1963: "Now, at that time, there was a popular song on the radio called 'Memphis' - an instrumental by Lonnie Mack. It was the best guitar-playing I'd ever heard. All the guitar-players were [saying] 'How could anyone ever play that good? That's the new bar. That's how good you have to be now'".[109] Seventeen years later, in July 1980, the editors of Guitar World magazine ranked "Memphis" the premier "landmark" rock guitar recording to date, immediately ahead of full albums featuring blues-rock guitarists Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.[7]
Mack has been called a "guitar hero's guitar hero".[110] He had a significant impact on guitarists Jeff Beck,[72] Duane Allman,[79] Stevie Ray Vaughan,[111] Dickey Betts,[112] Neil Young,[113] and Ted Nugent,[114] among others, and profoundly influenced the evolution of rock guitar.[24][115][116]
In all, it is not an exaggeration to say that Lonnie Mack was well ahead of his time....His bluesy solos pre-dated the pioneering blues-rock guitar work of Jeff Beck... Eric Clapton... and Mike Bloomfield... by nearly two years. Considering that they [were] 'before their time', the chronological significance of Lonnie Mack for the world of rock guitar is that much more remarkable.
— Brown & Newquist, Legends of Rock Guitar, Hal Leonard Co., 1997, p. 25'
[Mack's early work] was an aggressive, sophisticated, original and fully realized sound, developed by a kid from the sticks. It's questionable we'd have incandescent moments like Cream's [1968] rendition of "Crossroads" without Lonnie Mack's ground-breaking arrangements five years earlier.
— Sandmel, , Guitar World, May 1984, pp. 55-56'
Mack's own assessment is more modest. He views himself as a transitional figure: "I was a bridge-over between the standard country licks in early rock 'n' roll and the screamin' kinda stuff that came later."[38]
Transition period
In the mid-1960s, the public's musical tastes shifted radically due to the initial, "pop" phase of the "British Invasion". However, during the same period, the "folk music" movement in the US and the popularity of Black American musical forms in both the US and the UK expanded the appeal of classic rural and urban blues among young whites of the baby boom generation.
Soon, a handful of predominantly white blues bands rose to prominence, including John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in the UK and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the US. During the mid-through-late 1960s, a new generation of electric blues guitarists emerged, including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, most of whom were, or soon became, frontmen for blues-based rock bands. The late 1960s witnessed the appearance of many such bands, most of which showcased the virtuosity of their lead guitarists. These included the enormously successful "power trios": Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. By that point, blues-rock was recognized as a distinct and powerful force within rock music on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1968, these developments led to the rediscovery of Mack's seminal blues-rock guitar recordings of the early 1960s.[117][118]
Still in the mid-1960s, Mack released a succession of new singles on Fraternity, but none charted, and Mack turned to R&B session work. At Cincinnati's premier record label, Syd Nathan's King Records, he played second guitar on a number of King-label recordings by blues singer-guitarist Freddie King, and lead guitar on some King-label recordings by "The Godfather of Soul", James Brown.[99] The uncredited guitar solo on Brown's 1967 instrumental, "Stone Fox", has been attributed to both Mack and Troy Seals.[119] During the same period, Mack found steady work as a session guitarist for John Richbourg's Soundstage 7 Productions in Nashville, backing soul singer Joe Simon and several other Richbourg R&B acts on Monument Records.[120] He also played lead guitar on several Fraternity recordings of Cincinnati blues singer Albert Washington.[121] Washington recordings attracted only modest attention at home, but one featuring Mack's guitar ("Turn On The Bright Lights"), reportedly stayed on the pop charts in Japan for several consecutive years[122] and all were later reissued in the UK.[123]
Rediscovery
In 1968, with the blues-rock movement approaching full force, Mack entered into a multi-record deal with Los Angeles' Elektra Records, and relocated to the West Coast. A feature article in the November 1968 issue of Rolling Stone magazine rated Mack "in a class by himself" as a rock guitarist, and compared his R&B vocals favorably with Elvis Presley's best gospel efforts. Rolling Stone urged Elektra to reissue Mack's 5-year-old Fraternity album. Elektra soon obliged, reissuing The Wham of that Memphis Man!, with two additional 1964 tracks, under the title For Collectors Only. Rolling Stone's October 1970 review of For Collectors Only compared Mack's guitar work from the early 1960s to "the best of [Eric] Clapton".
The Wham of that Memphis Man!/For Collectors Only remains Mack's most significant early album. In his review of a 1987 reissue, Gregory Himes of The Washington Post wrote: "With so many roots-rock guitarists trying to imitate this same style, this album sounds surprisingly modern. Not many have done it this well, though."[124]
Elektra years
Mack recorded three new albums with Elektra, Glad I'm in the Band and Whatever's Right (both released in 1969) and The Hills of Indiana (1971).
In the aggregate, the three Elektra albums represented a stark departure from the strengths and stylistic formula represented by Mack's earlier work, previously touted by Rolling Stone. They were eclectic collections country and soul ballads, blues tunes, and updated versions of earlier recordings. In contrast to The Wham of that Memphis Man, both 1969 albums emphasized Mack's vocals and de-emphasized his guitar work. Only two instrumentals appear on these albums, a full-length blues guitar piece on Glad entitled "Mt. Healthy Blues", and a re-make of "Memphis".
Despite the shift in musical emphasis, Mack's output from this period was relatively well received by music critics. This, from a contemporary assessment of Glad:
Mack's taste and judgment are super-excellent. Every aspect of his guitar bears a direct relationship to the sound and meaning of the song. [H]is voice is strong without straining and of great range and personality. [I]f this isn't the best rock recording of the season, it's the solidest. – Rolling Stone, May 3, 1969, p. 28.
Representative of these two albums were two consecutive vocals on Whatever's Right. Mack sings Willie Dixon's "My Babe" in a soul style typical of that era. Within seconds of the closing measure on that tune, he begins his vocal on "Things Have Gone To Pieces", a country tune previously recorded by George Jones. He repeated the pattern in Glad by performing a country tune, "Old House", and the soul tune, "Too Much Trouble" in sequence.
In addition to his solo dates during this period, he toured with Elektra label-mates The Doors.[125]
Upon completing the 1969 albums, Mack assumed a "Chet Atkins-Eric Clapton role at Elektra, doing studio dates, producing and A&R."[126] During this period, Mack played bass on two tunes included in The Doors' album "Morrison Hotel".[127] In his A&R role, Mack helped to recruit a number of country and blues artists from Nashville, Memphis and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and Elektra considered the launch of a new label to record them.[128] Mack tried to sign Carole King, but Elektra rejected her, on the grounds that they already had Judy Collins.[110] He also attempted to interest Elektra in gospel singer Dorothy Combs Morrison, formerly lead vocalist for the Edwin Hawkins Singers of "Oh Happy Day" fame. Mack had recorded Morrison singing a gospel version of The Beatles' "Let It Be"; however, management's response was tabled pending negotiations for the label's sale to Warner Brothers,[129] allowing a competing label to grab the initiative and release Aretha Franklin's own gospel version. "That bummed me out"[110] Mack said, and he resigned his corporate job.[13]
By that point, Elektra had put together a musical whistle-stop touring group, including Mack, billed as "The Alabama State Troupers and Mount Zion Choir".[130] According to Elektra producer Russ Miller, Mack disappeared six days before the tour was to begin. Miller soon found Mack at a rustic farm in backwoods Kentucky, and urged him to join the tour. Mack refused, citing a nightmare during his last night in Los Angeles, in which he and his family had been pursued by Satan. He told Miller that when he awoke in a sweat, he found his Bible opened to a passage commanding him to "flee from Mount Zion". Miller returned to L.A. without Mack, stating later: "[Lonnie's] a real country boy. [T]hat was it for Lonnie".[131]
Country years
Mack's final Elektra album, The Hills of Indiana, was released in 1971. Foreshadowing the next phase of Mack's career, The Hills of Indiana completed Mack's shift of focus away from high-octane R&B and blues-rock, towards the pastoral, country end of the musical spectrum. The album sold poorly. His contract with Elektra fulfilled, and with the LA music scene in the rear-view mirror, Mack adopted the roles of low-profile country-rock recording artist, sideman, session-player and occasional roadhouse touring performer. His recordings during this period display only rare glimpses of guitar virtuosity. Over the next fourteen years, he slipped back into a state of relative anonymity.[132]
1970s-era record sales aside, Mack's affinity for country music was genuine. At the peak of his popularity as a blues-rocker, he was fond of organizing after-hours country jam sessions with like-minded rock performers. He recalls one such session in the '60s in which he and Janis Joplin sang a duet on the George Jones song, "Things Have Gone To Pieces", while trading licks with Jimi Hendrix on guitar and Jerry Garcia on pedal steel.[133]
Years after leaving Los Angeles, Mack commented on his retreat from the rock 'n' roll spotlight before the age of 30: "Seems like every time I get close to really making it, to climbing to the top of the mountain, that's when I pull out. I just pull up and run".[12] The lyrics of several Mack tunes shed further light on the topic. According to two, he yearned for the anonymous, less complicated, country lifestyle of his youth.[134] In another, he equated the pursuit of "fortune and fame" with selling one's soul to Satan.[135] In yet another, he stated simply: "L.A. made me sick."[136]
In 1973, Mack teamed up with Rusty York on an all-acoustic bluegrass LP, Dueling Banjos (QCA No. 304). Unavailable for 35 years, Jewel Records re-issued it on CD in 2009 (JRC 920011). It contains 16 bluegrass standards in a dueling-banjos format, with guitar and fiddle. Mack played guitar on all 16 cuts and provided the sole vocal track (the gospel tune "I'll Fly Away") on this otherwise instrumental album.[137]
In 1974, Mack played lead guitar in Dobie Gray's band. Gray is best known for his hit tunes, "The 'In' Crowd" (later covered by The Ramsey Lewis Trio and others), "Drift Away" and "Loving Arms". Mack's guitar work from this period can be found on Gray's 1974 album Hey, Dixie. Mack wrote or co-wrote four tunes on the album, including the title track.[138] In March 1974, Mack performed as Gray's lead guitarist at the last broadcast of The Grand Ole Opry from Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.
In 1975, Mack was shot during an altercation with an off-duty police officer. His account of the incident is preserved in one of his better-known late-career tunes, "Cincinnati Jail".[139] According to the lyrics of that tune, the officer's unmarked car narrowly missed Mack while he was walking across a city street, whereupon Mack hit it on the fender, shouting "better slow it down!"; the officer stopped, emerged from his car, shot Mack "in the leg", then hauled him before a judge who threw him in jail. Mack recovered, but once again virtually disappeared from the music scene. For the next several years, he rarely performed in public, except at his "Friendship Music Park" in rural southern Indiana, which showcased bluegrass and traditional country artists.[11]
In 1977, Mack signed with Capitol Records. There, he recorded Home at Last, an album of country ballads and bluegrass tunes. Also in 1977, Mack performed at a "Save the Whales" benefit concert in Japan.[140] In 1978, he recorded another Capitol LP, Lonnie Mack with Pismo. A somewhat faster-paced album, Pismo featured country, southern rock and rockabilly tunes. In 1979, Mack began working on an independent recording project with a friend, producer-songwriter Ed Labunski.[141] The intended result was a country-pop album ultimately entitled South.[142] However, Labunski died in an auto accident before the project was completed, and the album was shelved. Mack released demos from the project 20 years later. Labunski's death also derailed Mack's and Labunski's plans to produce then-unknown Texas blues-guitar prodigy Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was destined to play a key role in Mack's blues-rock comeback a few years later.[141]
Shortly after Labunski's death, Mack traveled to Canada for a six-month collaboration with American expatriate rockabilly artist Ronnie Hawkins. Hawkins is best known for having founded The Hawks, a popular Canadian roots-rock group which, after Hawkins departure, became Bob Dylan's backup band and, later still, independently famous as The Band. Mack's guitar work from this period can be heard on Hawkins' 1981 solo album, Legend In His Spare Time.[48]
Blues-rock comeback
By the early 1980s, Mack had been largely absent from the rock music scene for over a decade and his visibility as a recording artist had waned considerably. His first album from this period was Live at Coco's, recorded in 1983. It is Mack's only mid-career roadhouse performance preserved on disc. Originally a bootleg recording, Mack sanctioned its commercial release in 1998.[99] On Coco's, Mack and his band can be heard playing familiar tunes from the Fraternity era, lesser-known tunes from the 1970s, tunes which appear on no other album (e.g., "Stormy Monday", "The Things I Used To Do" and "Man From Bowling Green") and tunes which did not appear on his studio albums until several years later (e.g., "Falling Back In Love With You", "Ridin' the Blinds", "Cocaine Blues" and "High Blood Pressure").
Still in 1983, Mack relocated to Texas, where he played regularly at venues in Dallas and Austin. Early in this period, Mack entered into a performing collaboration with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Little known outside of Texas in 1980, Vaughan's own career took off during this period; by 1985 he was an international blues-rock guitar sensation. Mack and Vaughan had first met in 1979,[24] when Mack, acting on a tip from Vaughan's older brother, went to hear him play at a local bar. Vaughan recalled the meeting in a 1985 interview:
I was playin' at the Rome Inn in Austin, and we had just hit the opening chords of "Wham!" when this big guy walked in. He looked just like a great big bear. As soon as I looked at his face, I realized who he was, and naturally he was blown away to hear us doing his song. [W]e talked for a long time that night. [Lonnie said] he wanted to produce us.
— Stevie Ray Vaughan, as quoted in Sandmel, "Rock Pioneer Lonnie Mack In Session With Stevie Ray Vaughan", 'Guitar Player, April 1985, p. 33
Mack and Vaughan became close friends. Despite the generation gap between them, Mack said that he and Vaughan "were always on the same level", describing Vaughan as "an old spirit...in a young man's body".[143] Mack regarded Vaughan as his "little brother" and Vaughan said Mack was "something between a daddy and a brother".[144][145] When Mack was stricken with a lengthy illness in Texas, Vaughan put on a benefit concert to help pay his bills; during Mack's recuperation, Vaughan and his bass-player, Tommy Shannon, personally installed an air-conditioner in his house.[144]
Vaughan said that "Wham!" was "the first record I ever owned",[73] that Mack was "the baddest guitar player I know",[146] and that Mack "really taught me to play guitar from the heart".[147] Vaughan's musical legacy includes four versions of "Wham!"---two solo versions[148] and two dueling-guitar versions with Mack.[149] He also recorded Mack's "If You Have To Know",[150] and an instrumental homage to "Chicken-Pickin", which Vaughan called "Scuttle-Buttin'".[151][152]
Mack signed with Alligator Records in 1984, and, upon recovering from his illness, began working on his blues-rock comeback album, Strike Like Lightning. It became one of the top-selling independent recordings of 1985.[153] Mack and Vaughan co-produced the album. Mack himself composed most of the tunes, which featured his vocals and driving guitar equally. Vaughan played second guitar on most of the album, and traded leads with Mack on "Double Whammy" and "Satisfy Susie". Both played acoustic guitar on Mack's "Oreo Cookie Blues". Strike propelled Mack back into the spotlight at age 44. Much of 1985 found him occupied with a promotional concert tour for Strike which included guest appearances by Vaughan, Ry Cooder and both Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, among others. Videos of Mack and Vaughan playing cuts from Strike are found on YouTube and similar websites. In 2007, Sony's Legacy label released a 1987 "live" performance of Mack's "Oreo Cookie Blues" featuring Mack and Vaughan trading leads on electric guitar.[154]
The Strike Like Lightning tour culminated in a Carnegie Hall concert billed as Further On Down the Road, a tip of the hat to Mack's 1964 recording by the same title. There, he shared the stage with blues guitar stylist Albert Collins and blues-rock guitar virtuoso Roy Buchanan. The concert was marketed on home video.[155]
Late career
In 1986, Mack recorded another Alligator album, Second Sight, which featured both introspective and up-tempo tunes as well as an instrumental blues jam. In 1988, he moved to Epic Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed[156] rockabilly album, Roadhouses and Dance Halls, including the autobiographical single, "Too Rock For Country".[48] In 1989, Mack performed on Saturday Night Live, as the special guest of the SNL house band's guitarist.[157]
In 1990, Mack returned to Alligator to record a live blues-rock album, Attack of the Killer V, featuring two extended guitar solos and expanded renditions of earlier studio recordings. From one review: "This disc has everything that a great live album should have: a great talent on stage, an exciting performance from that talent, a responsive crowd and excellent sound quality ... This is what live blues is all about!"[158]
After 2000
Mack continued to tour in both America and Europe until 2004. In 2000, he appeared as a session player on the album Franktown Blues, by the sons of blues legend Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Mack provided guitar solos on two cuts, "She's Got The Key" and "Jammin' For James".[159]
In recent years, Mack has occasionally appeared at benefit concerts and special events.[20][160][161] On November 15, 2008, Mack was a featured performer at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 13th annual Music Masters Tribute Concert, soloing on "Wham!" in honor of electric guitar pioneer Les Paul.[29] He has been an occasional surprise sit-in with house bands at roadhouses in rural Tennessee.[162] On June 5–6, 2010, Mack appeared in concert with the surviving members of his original band.[30] In 2011, he was working on a memoir[163] and was engaged in a songwriting collaboration with award-winning country and blues tunesmith Bobby Boyd.[164]
Guitar style and technique
From his first recordings, Mack's rock-guitar style was steeped in the blues. However, he routinely used fast-paced "fingerstyle" and "chicken picking" techniques originating in traditional country and bluegrass styles, reflecting the dominant musical influences of his early childhood.[165]
Mack typically manipulated the whammy bar with the little finger of his right hand, while picking at a 45-degree angle with a pick or the remaining fingers of the same hand, and bending the strings on the fret-board with his left.[166] Mack's pioneering use of "lightning-fast runs"[167] became a hallmark of virtuoso rock guitar by the end of the 1960s.
On most of his early guitar solos, Mack employed a variant of R&B guitarist Robert Ward's distortion technique, using a 1950s-era tube-fired Magnatone amplifier to produce a distinctive "watery" tone. On other tunes he plugged into an organ amplifier to enhance his vibrato with a "rotating, fluttery sound".
Lonnie Mack, Albert Collins & Roy Buchanan
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins *18.07.1929
Jalacy Hawkins, besser bekannt unter dem Namen Screamin' Jay Hawkins (* 18. Juli 1929 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA; † 12. Februar 2000 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Frankreich) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Sänger, der für seine ausgefallenen Auftritte und Songs wie I Put a Spell on You und Constipation Blues bekannt ist.
Frühe Karriere
Hawkins wollte ursprünglich Opernsänger werden und gab daher Paul Robeson und Enrico Caruso als frühe Einflüsse an. Allerdings waren seine Bemühungen in diese Richtung nicht von Erfolg gekrönt, und er begann seine Karriere als Bluessänger und Pianist.
Während des Zweiten Weltkrieges diente er in der US Army im pazifischen Ozean. Hauptsächlich als Entertainer, obwohl er behauptete, Kriegsgefangener gewesen zu sein. Hawkins war ein ausgezeichneter Boxer. Im Jahre 1949 hielt er den Mittelgewichtstitel von Alaska.
1951 tat er sich für eine Weile mit dem Gitarristen Tiny Grimes zusammen und nahm einige Songs mit ihm für Atlantic Records auf. Als er begann als Solo-Künstler aufzutreten, legte er sich eine ausgefallene Garderobe zu, welche etwa Leopardenfelle, rotes Leder und breitkrempige Hüte umfasste. Legendär wurden die Auftritte bei denen er sich im brennenden Sarg auf die Bühne tragen ließ. Ebenso legendär sind seine übrigen Requisiten und Bühneneffekte geworden, die mit der Symbolik des Voodoo spielten und Vorbild für mehrere Generationen von „Schock-Rockern“ waren: z.B. Gehstock, (Plastik-)Schlangen, aber auch „Henry“, ein rauchender und sprechender Totenschädel, sowie zahlreiche wegweisende Pyro-Effekte.
I Put a Spell on You
Seine erfolgreichste Veröffentlichung war I Put a Spell on You. Das Lied wurde in die The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll aufgenommen. Hawkins spielte das von ihm selbst geschriebene Lied mehrfach ein. Die erste Aufnahme entstand Ende 1955 für Grand Records; sie verkaufte sich nur mäßig. Im Laufe des Jahres 1956 wechselte Hawkins zu OKeh Records, einem Tochterunternehmen von Columbia. In seiner ersten OKeh-Session, am 12.September 1956, entstand eine weitere Version des Liedes, die schließlich weltbekannt wurde. Hawkins berichtete später, er und seine Musiker seien bei der Aufnahme vollständig betrunken gewesen.[1] Durch das „Schreien, Rufen und Grunzen“ (Hawkins) der Betrunkenen sei die Aufnahme „etwas Besonderes“ geworden.
Anzumerken ist, dass der Song in den 1950er Jahren durch die US-Radiostationen boykottiert wurde, sich aber trotzdem sehr gut verkaufte. Der Song wurde von zahlreichen namhaften Künstlern gecovert, darunter The Animals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nina Simone, Them, The Who, Joe Cocker, Marilyn Manson, Katie Melua sowie von Shane MacGowan and Friends (unter anderem Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie, Mick Jones, Johnny Depp, Glen Matlock und Chrissie Hynde) als Benefiz-Download-Single im März 2010 für die Opfer des Erdbebens in Haiti.
Eine Neuaufnahme in digitaler Tonqualität wurde 1991 auf dem Sampler Back to Blues II veröffentlicht.
Später distanzierte sich Hawkins von seinem Lied. Er habe ein Monster geschaffen, dessen Leben er nun führen müsse. Seine Versuche, weniger exzentrische Lieder zu produzieren, waren wenig erfolgreich. Das Publikum und auch die Veranstalter bestanden üblicherweise darauf, dass Hawkins seinen inzwischen typischen Stil auf die Bühne brachte.[2]
Späte Karriere
Hawkins hatte etliche weitere „Hits“, z. B. Constipation Blues (der lautstarke Verdauungsprobleme zum Thema hat), Orange Colored Sky und Feast of the Mau Mau, welches von den Geschichten über den Kannibalismus der kenianischen Mau-Mau-Rebellen profitierte. Allerdings wurde keines dieser Stücke so erfolgreich wie I Put a Spell on You.
Ende der 1950er und 1960er hielt sich Hawkins für längere Zeit im selbstgewählten Exil auf Hawaii auf. Während der 60er und 70er Jahre nahm er zwar auch weiterhin Platten auf, tourte aber vorwiegend durch Europa, wo er sehr populär war. In den USA blieb der Erfolg aus, bis der Regisseur Jim Jarmusch I Put a Spell on You in Soundtrack und Handlung des Filmes Stranger than Paradise (1983) unterbrachte und Hawkins später eine Rolle in Mystery Train gab, wo dieser einen in einen auffallend roten Anzug gewandeten lakonischen Nachtportier in einem schäbigen Motel in Memphis spielt, der u.a. (ironischerweise?) dem Portiersjungen rät, sich neu einzukleiden: "You look like a damned shimpansee ... The clothes make the man ... ." Diese Rolle führte zu einigen weiteren Filmauftritten, wie etwa in Álex de la Iglesias Perdita Durango, wo er Adolfo, den Gehilfen des Santero-Priesters Dolorosa spielt und worin dessen Stück „I'm Lonely“ die Schlussszene des Films untermalt. Einen weiteren Auftritt bekam er in Bill Dukes Adaption von Chester Himes A Rage In Harlem.
Seine 1957 veröffentlichte Single Frenzy war im Jahre 1996 auf dem Sampler Songs in the Key of X: Music From and Inspired by The X-Files enthalten. Dieses Lied unterlegte die Folge Humbug aus der 2. Staffel von Akte X.
Im Jahre 1991 kam das Album Black Music For White People heraus. Es enthielt ein Cover des von Tom Waits geschriebenen Lieds Heart Attack and Vine. Hawkins’ Version wurde im Laufe des Jahres in einer europäischen Levi’s-Werbung benutzt, doch Waits hatte niemals eine Erlaubnis zur Nutzung erteilt und es kam zu einem Rechtsstreit. Das Stück Ice Cream Man, welches der Blues-Gitarrist John Brim komponiert hatte, wurde außerdem zuvor schon von Tom Waits (1973) und Van Halen (1978) gecovert.
Während dieser Zeit tourte Hawkins auch mit The Clash und Nick Cave und wurde nicht nur bei Blues-Festivals zu einer festen Größe, sondern trat auch des Öfteren bei Filmfestivals auf.
Am 12. Februar 2000 starb Hawkins und hinterließ eine Vielzahl von Kindern, die von vielen verschiedenen Frauen stammten. Etwa 55 Kinder sind bekannt; einige Quellen berichten von bis zu 75 Kindern. Zu seinen Freundinnen gehörten Bea Arthur und Claire Roca.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screamin%E2%80%99_Jay_Hawkins
Jalacy Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000), better known by the stage name Screamin' Jay Hawkins, was an American rhythm and blues musician, singer, songwriter and actor. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery, and wildly theatrical performances of songs such as "I Put a Spell on You", he sometimes used macabre props onstage, making him an early pioneer of shock rock.[1]
Early life
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Hawkins studied classical piano as a child and learned guitar in his twenties.[2] His initial goal was to become an opera singer (Hawkins has cited Paul Robeson as his musical idol in interviews),[3] but when his initial ambitions failed he began his career as a conventional blues singer and pianist.
Hawkins was an avid and formidable boxer. In 1949, he was the middleweight boxing champion of Alaska.[4] In 1951, he joined guitarist Tiny Grimes's band, and was subsequently featured on some of Grimes's recordings.[3] When Hawkins became a solo performer, he often performed in a stylish wardrobe of leopard skins, red leather and wild hats.
Career
"I Put a Spell on You"
Hawkins' most successful recording, "I Put a Spell on You" (1956), was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. According to the AllMusic Guide to the Blues, "Hawkins originally envisioned the tune as a refined ballad."[3] The entire band was intoxicated during a recording session where "Hawkins screamed, grunted, and gurgled his way through the tune with utter drunken abandon."[3] The resulting performance was no ballad but instead a "raw, guttural track" that became his greatest commercial success and reportedly surpassed a million copies in sales,[5][6] although it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts.[7][8]
The performance was mesmerizing, although Hawkins himself blacked out and was unable to remember the session.[6] Afterward he had to relearn the song from the recorded version.[6] Meanwhile the record label released a second version of the single, removing most of the grunts that had embellished the original performance; this was in response to complaints about the recording's overt sexuality.[6] Nonetheless it was banned from radio in some areas.
Soon after the release of "I Put a Spell on You", radio disc jockey Alan Freed offered Hawkins $300 to emerge from a coffin onstage.[5] Hawkins accepted and soon created an outlandish stage persona in which performances began with the coffin and included "gold and leopardskin costumes and notable voodoo stage props, such as his smoking skull on a stick – named Henry – and rubber snakes."[5] These props were suggestive of voodoo, but also presented with comic overtones that invited comparison to "a black Vincent Price."[2][6]
Screaming Jay Hawkins made his I Put a Spell On You a classic cult song covered by many such as Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968. Nina Simone, Alan Price, The Animals, the Them with Van Morrison, Arthur Brown, Bryan Ferry, Buddy Guy with Carlos Santana, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Nick Cave in a concert only version, Marilyn Manson, Mica Paris with David Gilmore, Jeff Beck and Joss Stone, and Annie Lennox in 2014 for her Grammy nominated album Nostalgia.
Later career
Hawkins' later releases included "Constipation Blues" (which included a spoken introduction by Hawkins in which he states he wrote the song because no one had written a blues song before about "real pain"), "Orange Colored Sky", and "Feast of the Mau Mau". Nothing he released, however, had the monumental success of "I Put a Spell on You". In fact, "Constipation Blues" has been described as "gross".[9] In Paris in 1999 and at the Taste of Chicago festival, he actually performed the song with a toilet onstage.[10]
He continued to tour and record through the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in Europe, where he was very popular. He appeared in performance (as himself) in the Alan Freed bio-pic American Hot Wax in 1978. Subsequently, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch featured "I Put a Spell on You" on the soundtrack – and deep in the plot – of his film Stranger Than Paradise (1983) and then Hawkins himself as a hotel night clerk in his Mystery Train and in roles in Álex de la Iglesia's Perdita Durango and Bill Duke's adaptation of Chester Himes' A Rage in Harlem.
His 1957 single "Frenzy" (found on the early 1980s compilation of the same name) was included in the compilation CD, Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files, in 1996.[11] This song was featured in the show's Season 2 episode "Humbug". It was also covered by the band Batmobile.[citation needed] "I Put a Spell on You" was featured during the show and over the credits of Episode 303 of The Simpsons.[12]
In 1983, Hawkins relocated to the New York area. In 1984 and 1985, Hawkins collaborated with garage rockers The Fuzztones, resulting in "Screamin' Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones Live" album recorded at Irving Plaza in December 1984. They perform in the 1986 movie Joey.[13]
In 1990, Hawkins performed the song Sirens Burnin', which was featured in the 1990 horror film Night Angel.
In July 1991, Hawkins released his album Black Music for White People.[14] The record features covers of two Tom Waits compositions: "Heart Attack and Vine"[15] (which, later that year, was used in a European Levi's advertisement without Waits' permission, resulting in a lawsuit),[16] and "Ice Cream Man" (which, contrary to popular belief,[citation needed] is a Waits original, and not a cover of the John Brim classic).[17] Hawkins also covered the Waits song "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard", for his album Somethin' Funny Goin' On. In 1993, his version of "Heart Attack and Vine" became his only UK hit, reaching #42 on the UK singles chart.[18]
When Dread Zeppelin recorded their "disco" album, It's Not Unusual in 1992, producer Jah Paul Jo asked Hawkins to guest. He performed the songs "Jungle Boogie" and "Disco Inferno". He also toured with The Clash and Nick Cave during this period, and not only became a fixture of blues festivals, but appeared at many film festivals as well, including the Telluride Film Festival premier of Mystery Train.
In 2001, the Greek director and writer Nicholas Triandafyllidis made the documentary 'Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me' about various stages of his life and career. Notable artists such as Jim Jarmusch, Bo Diddley, Eric Burdon, Frank Ash, Arthur Brown and Michael Ochs talked about Screamin' Jay Hawkins' early life, personality, career and his incredible talent.[19]
Personal life
Hawkins had six marriages; his last wife was 31 at his death.[20] Singing partner Shoutin' Pat Newborn stabbed him in jealousy when he married Virginia Sabellona.[20] He had three children with his first wife and claimed variously to have 57 or 75 in total.[20] After his death, his friend and biographer Maral Nigolian set up a website to trace these children,[21] identifying 33, at least 12 of whom met at a 2001 reunion.[20][22]
Death
Hawkins died after emergency surgery for an aneurysm on February 12, 2000, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, near Paris.[23]
Influence
Although Hawkins was not a major success as a recording artist, his highly theatrical performances from "I Put a Spell on You" onward earned him a steady career as a live performer for decades afterward, and influenced subsequent acts.[2] He opened for Fats Domino, Tiny Grimes and the Rolling Stones.[2] This exposure in turn influenced rock groups such as The Cramps, Screaming Lord Sutch, Black Sabbath, Arthur Brown, Dread Zeppelin, The Horrors, Marilyn Manson, Tom Waits, Alice Cooper and Glenn Danzig.
Early life
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Hawkins studied classical piano as a child and learned guitar in his twenties.[2] His initial goal was to become an opera singer (Hawkins has cited Paul Robeson as his musical idol in interviews),[3] but when his initial ambitions failed he began his career as a conventional blues singer and pianist.
Hawkins was an avid and formidable boxer. In 1949, he was the middleweight boxing champion of Alaska.[4] In 1951, he joined guitarist Tiny Grimes's band, and was subsequently featured on some of Grimes's recordings.[3] When Hawkins became a solo performer, he often performed in a stylish wardrobe of leopard skins, red leather and wild hats.
Career
"I Put a Spell on You"
Hawkins' most successful recording, "I Put a Spell on You" (1956), was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. According to the AllMusic Guide to the Blues, "Hawkins originally envisioned the tune as a refined ballad."[3] The entire band was intoxicated during a recording session where "Hawkins screamed, grunted, and gurgled his way through the tune with utter drunken abandon."[3] The resulting performance was no ballad but instead a "raw, guttural track" that became his greatest commercial success and reportedly surpassed a million copies in sales,[5][6] although it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts.[7][8]
The performance was mesmerizing, although Hawkins himself blacked out and was unable to remember the session.[6] Afterward he had to relearn the song from the recorded version.[6] Meanwhile the record label released a second version of the single, removing most of the grunts that had embellished the original performance; this was in response to complaints about the recording's overt sexuality.[6] Nonetheless it was banned from radio in some areas.
Soon after the release of "I Put a Spell on You", radio disc jockey Alan Freed offered Hawkins $300 to emerge from a coffin onstage.[5] Hawkins accepted and soon created an outlandish stage persona in which performances began with the coffin and included "gold and leopardskin costumes and notable voodoo stage props, such as his smoking skull on a stick – named Henry – and rubber snakes."[5] These props were suggestive of voodoo, but also presented with comic overtones that invited comparison to "a black Vincent Price."[2][6]
Screaming Jay Hawkins made his I Put a Spell On You a classic cult song covered by many such as Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968. Nina Simone, Alan Price, The Animals, the Them with Van Morrison, Arthur Brown, Bryan Ferry, Buddy Guy with Carlos Santana, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, Nick Cave in a concert only version, Marilyn Manson, Mica Paris with David Gilmore, Jeff Beck and Joss Stone, and Annie Lennox in 2014 for her Grammy nominated album Nostalgia.
Later career
Hawkins' later releases included "Constipation Blues" (which included a spoken introduction by Hawkins in which he states he wrote the song because no one had written a blues song before about "real pain"), "Orange Colored Sky", and "Feast of the Mau Mau". Nothing he released, however, had the monumental success of "I Put a Spell on You". In fact, "Constipation Blues" has been described as "gross".[9] In Paris in 1999 and at the Taste of Chicago festival, he actually performed the song with a toilet onstage.[10]
He continued to tour and record through the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in Europe, where he was very popular. He appeared in performance (as himself) in the Alan Freed bio-pic American Hot Wax in 1978. Subsequently, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch featured "I Put a Spell on You" on the soundtrack – and deep in the plot – of his film Stranger Than Paradise (1983) and then Hawkins himself as a hotel night clerk in his Mystery Train and in roles in Álex de la Iglesia's Perdita Durango and Bill Duke's adaptation of Chester Himes' A Rage in Harlem.
His 1957 single "Frenzy" (found on the early 1980s compilation of the same name) was included in the compilation CD, Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files, in 1996.[11] This song was featured in the show's Season 2 episode "Humbug". It was also covered by the band Batmobile.[citation needed] "I Put a Spell on You" was featured during the show and over the credits of Episode 303 of The Simpsons.[12]
In 1983, Hawkins relocated to the New York area. In 1984 and 1985, Hawkins collaborated with garage rockers The Fuzztones, resulting in "Screamin' Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones Live" album recorded at Irving Plaza in December 1984. They perform in the 1986 movie Joey.[13]
In 1990, Hawkins performed the song Sirens Burnin', which was featured in the 1990 horror film Night Angel.
In July 1991, Hawkins released his album Black Music for White People.[14] The record features covers of two Tom Waits compositions: "Heart Attack and Vine"[15] (which, later that year, was used in a European Levi's advertisement without Waits' permission, resulting in a lawsuit),[16] and "Ice Cream Man" (which, contrary to popular belief,[citation needed] is a Waits original, and not a cover of the John Brim classic).[17] Hawkins also covered the Waits song "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard", for his album Somethin' Funny Goin' On. In 1993, his version of "Heart Attack and Vine" became his only UK hit, reaching #42 on the UK singles chart.[18]
When Dread Zeppelin recorded their "disco" album, It's Not Unusual in 1992, producer Jah Paul Jo asked Hawkins to guest. He performed the songs "Jungle Boogie" and "Disco Inferno". He also toured with The Clash and Nick Cave during this period, and not only became a fixture of blues festivals, but appeared at many film festivals as well, including the Telluride Film Festival premier of Mystery Train.
In 2001, the Greek director and writer Nicholas Triandafyllidis made the documentary 'Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put a Spell on Me' about various stages of his life and career. Notable artists such as Jim Jarmusch, Bo Diddley, Eric Burdon, Frank Ash, Arthur Brown and Michael Ochs talked about Screamin' Jay Hawkins' early life, personality, career and his incredible talent.[19]
Personal life
Hawkins had six marriages; his last wife was 31 at his death.[20] Singing partner Shoutin' Pat Newborn stabbed him in jealousy when he married Virginia Sabellona.[20] He had three children with his first wife and claimed variously to have 57 or 75 in total.[20] After his death, his friend and biographer Maral Nigolian set up a website to trace these children,[21] identifying 33, at least 12 of whom met at a 2001 reunion.[20][22]
Death
Hawkins died after emergency surgery for an aneurysm on February 12, 2000, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, near Paris.[23]
Influence
Although Hawkins was not a major success as a recording artist, his highly theatrical performances from "I Put a Spell on You" onward earned him a steady career as a live performer for decades afterward, and influenced subsequent acts.[2] He opened for Fats Domino, Tiny Grimes and the Rolling Stones.[2] This exposure in turn influenced rock groups such as The Cramps, Screaming Lord Sutch, Black Sabbath, Arthur Brown, Dread Zeppelin, The Horrors, Marilyn Manson, Tom Waits, Alice Cooper and Glenn Danzig.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Constipation Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbfnP3nhghk
http://www.brianauger.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPnn80l5yJI
Dion (* 18. Juli 1939 in der Bronx, New York; vollständiger Name Dion Francis DiMucci) ist ein US-amerikanischer Pop-, Rock-'n'-Roll- und Bluessänger und Songschreiber, der in den 1950er und 1960er Jahren seine größten Erfolge hatte.
Leben
Kindheit und Jugend
Dion wurde in der New Yorker Bronx geboren. Er wurde in der Mount Carmel Church getauft, wo er auch die Kommunion erhielt. Als er 12 war, schenkte ihm sein Onkel eine gebrauchte Gitarre [1] und er begann, sich für Blues und Country-Musik zu interessieren. Seine besondere Vorliebe galt Hank Williams und Jimmy Reed, die ihn nicht nur inspirierten, sondern ohne die er - nach eigener Aussage - vielleicht nie seine musikalische Begabung entdeckt hätte.[2] Bereits als Teenager trat er in lokalen Bars auf.[3]
Etwa zur gleichen Zeit als Dion mit der Musik von Hank Williams und Jimmy Reed in Berührung kam, kam er auch mit Drogen in Berührung. Als fast Fünfzehnjähriger nahm er zum ersten Mal Heroin.[4]. Dadurch rutschte er in eine Abhängigkeit, die er erst im Alter von 30 Jahren überwinden konnte. Eine große Rolle bei der Überwindung seiner Sucht spielte Jack, der Vater seiner Ehefrau Susan, die er ebenfalls schon als Jugendlicher kennengelernt hatte. (Dions No.-1-Hit "Runaround Sue" hat übrigens nichts mit seiner Ehefrau zu tun.)[5]
Ebenfalls als Jugendlicher schloss sich Dion den Fordham Daggers und später den Baldies an, Straßengangs in der Bronx. Der Film The Wanderers, basierend auf dem gleichnamigen Roman von Richard Price, porträtiert das Leben der Gangs in der Bronx zu der Zeit sehr treffend. Parallelen zu Dions Jugend sind nicht zufällig - Buch- und Filmtitel sind nach Dions bekanntestem Hit "The Wanderer" benannt und Price hat seinen Roman unter anderem Dion gewidmet.[6]
1950er Jahre
Seine erste Platte nahm Dion 1957 für Mohawk Records (No. 105) auf - "The Chosen Few" / "Out in Colorado". Sie wurde unter dem Namen Dion and the Timberlanes veröffentlicht. Bemerkenswert war dabei, dass Dion die Timberlanes nie persönlich kennenlernte. Das Lied wurde unter der Leitung von Hugo Montenegro vollständig aufgenommen, allerdings ohne Leadgesang. Die Leadstimme kam von Dion. Bob und Gene Schwartz, die Eigentümer von Mohawk Records, gaben Dion die Möglichkeit hierzu, nachdem er ihnen "Wonderful Girl" vorgesungen und damit offenbar einen guten Eindruck hinterlassen hatte.[7]
Aber Mohawk Records suchte eine Gruppe und keinen Einzelsänger. Also brachte Dion seine Freunde aus der Nachbarschaft mit - Carlo Mastrangelo, Fred Milano und Angelo D'Aleo -, die unter dem Namen Dion and the Belmonts Musik aufzunehmen begannen. Die erste gemeinsame Single war "Tag Along" / "We Went Away" (Mohawk No. 107). Kurz nach der Veröffentlichung der Single trennten sich die Mohawk-Eigentümer: Irv Spice behielt Mohawk und Gene und Bob Schwartz gründeten mit Alan Sussell das Plattenlabel Laurie Records.[8] Der Name The Belmonts leitet sich von der Belmont Avenue ab.[9]. Im April 1958 gelang ihnen der Durchbruch mit "I Wonder Why", der ersten bei Laurie Records überhaupt veröffentlichten Single. Ihr größter Hit wurde "A Teenager in Love", geschrieben von Doc Pomus und Mort Shuman, der Platz fünf der Billboardcharts erreichte. Dion wurde zum erfolgreichsten Vertreter des Doo-Wop-Stils.
1959 war er mit Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper (alias J. P. Richardson) und anderen im tiefsten Winter auf der Winter-Dance-Party-Tournee. Da der Tourbus keine richtige Heizung hatte und ständig liegen blieb, arrangierte Buddy Holly in Clear Lake (Iowa) einen Charterflug nach Fargo, North Dakota, um schneller nach Moorhead (Minnesota) zu kommen. Das Flugzeug hatte vier Plätze. Einen für den Piloten, einen für Buddy Holly. Um die verbleibenden Plätze wurde per Münzwurf entschieden. Schließlich stiegen Richardson und Valens mit in die Maschine. Das Flugzeug, eine Beechcraft Bonanza, stürzte in der Nacht zum 3. Februar 1959 kurz nach dem Start in Mason City in Iowa bei schlechtem Wetter auf einem Acker ab. Alle vier Insassen der Maschine kamen uns Leben. Dieser Tag ist 1971 durch Don McLeans "American Pie" als "der Tag, an dem die Musik starb" (The Day the Music Died) in die Musikgeschichte eingegangen.
1960er Jahre
Im selben Jahr noch trennte sich Dion von den Belmonts aufgrund musikalischer Differenzen. Während die Belmonts sanfte Harmonien bevorzugten, fühlte sich Dion mehr zum Rock 'n' Roll berufen. Ab 1960 versuchte er sich als Solokünstler und hatte im selben Jahr auch schnell wieder Hits wie "Lonely Teenager" und 1961 die von oder gemeinsam mit Ernie Maresca geschriebenen "The Wanderer" und "Runaround Sue".[10]
Im September 1962 wechselte Dion von Laurie Records zu Columbia Records und setzte 1963 seine Hitreihe mit dem Maresca-Song "Donna the Prima Donna" und dem Drifters-Klassiker "Ruby Baby" (Leiber/Stoller) fort. Er war der erste Rock-'n'-Roll-Sänger, den Columbia Records unter Vertrag nahm. Der Vertrag lief über fünf Jahre und brachte Dion garantierte US$ 100.000 pro Jahr unabhängig von irgendwelchen Veröffentlichungen.[11] Sein Stil entwickelte sich weg vom Doo Wop der Belmonts hin zu "erwachsenerem" R&B und Blues.
Er trat in drei Filmen auf (Ten Girls Ago, Teenage Millionaire, Twist Around the Clock).
Mitte der 1960er Jahre nahmen seine Drogenprobleme - er war lange Jahre heroin- und später auch alkoholabhängig - überhand und zwangen ihn zu einer längeren Aufnahmepause. Erst mithilfe seines Schwiegervaters Jack, selbst trockener Alkoholiker, fand Dion 1969 den endgültigen Weg aus der Drogenabhängigkeit durch seinen neu entstandenen Glauben an Gott.
1968 meldete er sich - fast drogenfrei und mit neuem Stil - bei Laurie Records zurück und nahm Protestsongs auf: "Abraham, Martin and John" über Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King und John F. Kennedy schaffte es in die Top Five.
Dion und Bob Dylan sind die einzigen Musiker, die auf dem Cover des 1967 erschienen Beatles-Albums Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band zu sehen sind. John Lennon, mit dem Dion gut bekannt war, verwendete für die Sgt.-Pepper-Kollage das Foto von Dions "Ruby-Baby"-Single.[12][13]
1970er Jahre
Dion fand mit Warner Bros. Records ein Plattenlabel, das seine Folk-Songs veröffentlichte. Von 1970 bis 1972 entstanden vier Alben in klassischer Liedermacher-Manier. Sie sind nur spärlich instrumentiert - vielfach ist nur Dion mit seiner Gitarre zu hören. In der Folge trat er in kleineren Clubs auf, wie z. B. dem Troubadour in Los Angeles oder dem Bitter End in New York.[14] Er wollte an seine drogenbelastete Rock-'n'-Roll-Karriere nicht erinnert werden und weigerte sich lange Zeit, seine Hits aus den späten 50er und frühen 1960er Jahren bei öffentlichen Auftritten zu spielen. Seine folkorientierten Alben verkauften sich trotz lobender Kritiken eher schleppend.
1972 kam es zu einer einmaligen musikalischen Wiedervereinigung mit den Belmonts im New Yorker Madison Square Garden - ohne größere Proben.[15] Ausschnitte des Konzerts sind auf der LP Reunion erschienen.
1975 entstand in mehrmonatiger Studioarbeit das Album Born to Be with You, das von Phil Spector produziert wurde. Anders als die vorherigen Folk-Alben war Born to Be with You instrumentell völlig überladen. Auch Phil Spector schien sich seiner Sache nicht ganz sicher zu sein, so dass das Album letztlich nur in England veröffentlicht wurde.
Am 14. Dezember 1979 hatte Dion eine Erleuchtung, die sein Leben und seine Musik veränderte.[16] Er schloss sich einer evangelischen Born-Again-Kirche an.
1980er und 1990er Jahre
Die 1980er Jahre waren geprägt von Dions Spiritualität, was auch in seiner Musik zum Ausdruck kam. Er veröffentlichte zahlreiche Gospel-Alben bei DaySpring Records, die ihm auch eine Grammy-Nominierung einbrachten.
1987 stimmte er zu, ein Konzert in der Radio City Music Hall zu geben. Dieses wurde mitgeschnitten, aber erst 2005 als CD veröffentlicht.
1988 veröffentlichte Dion schließlich seine Autobiografie The Wanderer - Dion's Story.
1989 erschien sein Comeback-Album Yo Frankie bei Arista Records und es folgte im selben Jahr seine Aufnahme in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [17] Die Ansprache hielt Lou Reed.[18]
Am 1. Oktober 1989 gab Dion sein einziges Live-Konzert in Deutschland im Schlachthof in München. Ein Jahr später gründete er die Band The Little Kings, mit der er lange an der US-amerikanischen Ostküste tourte. Die Little Kings bestanden aus Scott Kempner (Lead-Gitarre), Mike Mesaros (Bass) und Frank Funaro (Schlagzeug). Am 26. April 1996 wurde ein Konzert von Dion 'n' Little Kings in der Mercury Lounge in New York aufgezeichnet, das 2001 bei Ace Records als CD erschienen ist.
Ende der 1990er Jahre kehrte er zu seiner Taufkirche, Mount Carmel Catholic Church, zurück, fand dort die Antworten auf alle religiösen Fragen, die ihn viele Jahre beschäftigt hatten und konvertierte wieder zum Katholizismus.[19]
ab 2000
Im Jahr 2000 erschien bei Ace Records Dions Album Déjà Nu im Gedenken an Gene Schwartz, den Gründer und Produzenten von Laurie Records, wo Dion seine Karriere begonnen hatte. Die Lieder des Albums wurden mit demselben Equipment aufgenommen wie seine großen Hits von 1961 "The Wanderer" und "Runaround Sue" und klingen wie lange verschollene und wieder aufgetauchte Stücke.[20]
Dion geht nach wie vor in unregelmäßigen Abständen auf Tournee in den USA. Sein Konzert im Tropicana, Atlantik City, USA, im Jahre 2004 wurde mitgeschnitten und ist mit zahlreichem Bonusmaterial als DVD unter dem Titel Dion Live erschienen. Er geht auch nach wie vor ins Studio, um Alben aufzunehmen.
Am 29. Oktober 2009 trat Dion beim 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert mit seinem Hit "The Wanderer" auf. [21]
Im April 2011 ist sein zweites Buch The Wanderer Talks Truth erschienen mit zahlreichen Geschichten und Anekdoten aus seinem langen Leben. Rund die Hälfte des Buches widmet Dion der Entwicklung und dem Wandel seiner religiösen Überzeugungen im Laufe der Jahrzehnte.[22]
Am 24. Januar 2012 ist sein neues Album Tank Full of Blues erschienen.
.jpg)
Stewart (center) at the grand piano with the Rolling Stones and Billy Preston (left)
1962 erster Gitarrenunterricht Musikverein Kindsbach
1965 - 68 Musikkonservatorium Kaiserslautern
erste Bands: "Tak Taffi Jam", "Penicillin"
1970 - 73 EWH Landau (Hauptfächer Musik und Mathematik)
ab 1970 Beginn der Laufbahn als Semi-, dann als Profimusiker in amerikanischen Clubs mit Rock und Soulbands, u.a. "Soulcrusaders"
1974 Monatsengagement im legendären "PN" in München
1973 - 76 Privatunterricht bei Professor Wolfgang Lendle an der Musikhochschule Saarbrücken
1977 - 81 Gitarrist der Gruppe "EPITAPH"
große Europa-Tournee sowie 3 LP`s
Auftritt im WDR "Rockpalast"
1982 - 85 Gitarrenlehrer an der Musikschule Nienburg
1983 Solo-Tourneen
1 LP: Heinz Glass - Akustik Gitarre
1983 - 84 "Moby Dick"
1984 Gitarrenlehrgang bei Professor Heinz Teuchert
1984 "VIOMANDO"
1 Folk-Jazz LP mit Musikern aus Hannover
1984 - 87 "Pfalz Gang"
1984 - 87 ca. 70 Auftritte pro Jahr mit "John Kirkbride", Bluessänger und Gitarrist aus Schottland
1 LP: Blues
1985 Tournee mit "Percy Sledge"
1987 Übersiedlung nach Berlin
1987 - 90 Jeden Montag Rock-Blues-Session in der "Museumskneipe Kreuzberg"
1988 Studiogitarrist bei der 2-teiligen Fernsehsendung "Geschichte der Rockmusik" (wurde über 2 Jahre auf allen Regionalsendern mehrmals gesendet)
ab 1989 "GLASS BAND", ca. 50 Auftritte im Jahr, 4 CD's
1995 Gastgitarrist bei "Engerling", 1 Live CD
1996 "GLASS BAND" auf "FAB" (Fernsehen aus Berlin), Livemitschnitt aus dem "FRANZ-CLUB", Berlin
1996 "GLASS OF BAILEY"
1998 25-jähriges Bühnenjubiläum im "Cotton Club", Kaiserslautern
1998 "HATTIE ST. JOHN & HEINZ GLASS"
1999 10 Jahre "GLASS BAND"
2000 Reunion "EPITAPH"
ab 2000 Gitarrenlehrer in der JVA Moabit, Berlin
jährlich 2 Konzerte in der JVA
2001 Burg Herzberg-Festival "EPITAPH"
2003 Burg Herzberg-Festival "EPITAPH"
2003 "KIWIROSENPFALZ"
2004 Einstieg bei "MONOKEL BLUES BAND"
2004 WDR "Kraut-Rockpalast" mit "EPITAPH"
http://www.heinzglass.de/
Screamin' Jay Hawkins- "I Put a Spell On You" (Merv Griffin Show 1966)
Brian Auger *18.07.1939
http://www.brianauger.com/
Brian Auger (* 18. Juli 1939 in London) ist ein britischer Jazz- und Rockorganist. Auger ist einer der bedeutendsten Fusionorganisten der populären Musik. Sein Hauptinstrument ist die Hammond-Orgel B3, die er nicht wie üblich über ein Leslie-Kabinett spielt, sondern direkt verstärkt und mit Einsatz des C3-Vibratos benutzt; daneben spielt er Fender Rhodes E-Piano (oder entsprechende Sounds), Piano und Synthesizer.
Schon früh erhielt er Klavierunterricht. 1962 formierte er sein Brian Auger Trio mit Rick Laird und Schlagzeuger Phil Kinorra als zunächst reine Jazzcombo. 1965 gründete er zusammen mit Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll und John Baldry die Gruppe The Steampacket. Nachdem Rod Stewart und John Baldry die Gruppe verlassen hatten, gründete Auger mit Julie Driscoll die Gruppe Trinity. In dieser Besetzung hatte die Band mehrere Single-Hits (Road To Cairo, This Wheel's on Fire, Season Of The Witch) und brachte das viel beachtete Doppelalbum „Streetnoise“ (1969) heraus.
Nachdem Driscoll 1969 Trinity verlassen hatte, besetzte Auger die Gruppe um (mit Gary Boyle), doch konnte er nicht mehr an die Erfolge der späten 1960er Jahre anknüpfen und löste Trinity 1970 auf. Auch mit seiner anschließend gegründeten Band Oblivion Express hatte Auger zunächst keinen übermäßigen Erfolg. Seit dem Album „Closer To It“ (1973), das es in die Charts schaffte, festigte sich der Gruppenstil zu einer groove-betonten Mischung aus rhythmischen Elementen des R&B und Funk und harmonischen und melodischen Elementen des Jazz. Brian Auger trat auch mit Klaus Doldinger, Alexis Korner, Pete York, Eric Burdon und anderen Größen der populären Musik auf.
1974 zog Auger in die USA, wo er weiter Alben aufnahm. In den USA bekam er wieder Kontakt zu Julie Tippetts-Driscoll. Mit ihr nahm Auger 1977 das Album „Encore“ auf. Die Washington Post schrieb: „Dieses Album ist ein unentbehrlicher Bestandteil einer jeden Jazz-Fusion-Bibliothek!“. 1981 spielte er zusammen mit Chris Farlowe, Pete York und John C. Marshall das Album "Olympic Rock & Blues Circus" ein. Dieses Album wurde im Direktschnitt-Verfahren (direct to disk) aufgenommen. 1985 beteiligte er sich an einer Neuauflage der Spencer Davis Group. Im gleichen Jahr erschien das Album Steaming, das Auger in Freiburg mit Colin Hodgkinson und Pete York aufgenommen hatte. 1989 war er als musikalischer Leiter, Arrangeur und Komponist für die dritte Staffel der Fernsehserie „Super Drumming“ tätig. Ab 1990 ging Auger mit Eric Burdon auf Tour.
Bis ins vorgerückte Alter gibt er, inzwischen mit Sohn Karma am Schlagzeug und Tochter Savannah Grace als Sängerin in seiner Band Oblivion Express (zunächst zur Unterscheidung von der alten Band auch „New Oblivion“ genannt), Konzerte und veröffentlicht CDs. Die neu gegründete Band hat inzwischen mehrere Alben herausgebracht und ist mehrfach in den USA und Europa getourt.
Preise und Auszeichnungen
Im November 2007 wurde Brian Auger vom Direktor des Temecula International Jazz Festivals eine Auszeichnung für sein Lebenswerk (Lifetime Achievement Award) verliehen.
Schon früh erhielt er Klavierunterricht. 1962 formierte er sein Brian Auger Trio mit Rick Laird und Schlagzeuger Phil Kinorra als zunächst reine Jazzcombo. 1965 gründete er zusammen mit Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll und John Baldry die Gruppe The Steampacket. Nachdem Rod Stewart und John Baldry die Gruppe verlassen hatten, gründete Auger mit Julie Driscoll die Gruppe Trinity. In dieser Besetzung hatte die Band mehrere Single-Hits (Road To Cairo, This Wheel's on Fire, Season Of The Witch) und brachte das viel beachtete Doppelalbum „Streetnoise“ (1969) heraus.
Nachdem Driscoll 1969 Trinity verlassen hatte, besetzte Auger die Gruppe um (mit Gary Boyle), doch konnte er nicht mehr an die Erfolge der späten 1960er Jahre anknüpfen und löste Trinity 1970 auf. Auch mit seiner anschließend gegründeten Band Oblivion Express hatte Auger zunächst keinen übermäßigen Erfolg. Seit dem Album „Closer To It“ (1973), das es in die Charts schaffte, festigte sich der Gruppenstil zu einer groove-betonten Mischung aus rhythmischen Elementen des R&B und Funk und harmonischen und melodischen Elementen des Jazz. Brian Auger trat auch mit Klaus Doldinger, Alexis Korner, Pete York, Eric Burdon und anderen Größen der populären Musik auf.
1974 zog Auger in die USA, wo er weiter Alben aufnahm. In den USA bekam er wieder Kontakt zu Julie Tippetts-Driscoll. Mit ihr nahm Auger 1977 das Album „Encore“ auf. Die Washington Post schrieb: „Dieses Album ist ein unentbehrlicher Bestandteil einer jeden Jazz-Fusion-Bibliothek!“. 1981 spielte er zusammen mit Chris Farlowe, Pete York und John C. Marshall das Album "Olympic Rock & Blues Circus" ein. Dieses Album wurde im Direktschnitt-Verfahren (direct to disk) aufgenommen. 1985 beteiligte er sich an einer Neuauflage der Spencer Davis Group. Im gleichen Jahr erschien das Album Steaming, das Auger in Freiburg mit Colin Hodgkinson und Pete York aufgenommen hatte. 1989 war er als musikalischer Leiter, Arrangeur und Komponist für die dritte Staffel der Fernsehserie „Super Drumming“ tätig. Ab 1990 ging Auger mit Eric Burdon auf Tour.
Bis ins vorgerückte Alter gibt er, inzwischen mit Sohn Karma am Schlagzeug und Tochter Savannah Grace als Sängerin in seiner Band Oblivion Express (zunächst zur Unterscheidung von der alten Band auch „New Oblivion“ genannt), Konzerte und veröffentlicht CDs. Die neu gegründete Band hat inzwischen mehrere Alben herausgebracht und ist mehrfach in den USA und Europa getourt.
Preise und Auszeichnungen
Im November 2007 wurde Brian Auger vom Direktor des Temecula International Jazz Festivals eine Auszeichnung für sein Lebenswerk (Lifetime Achievement Award) verliehen.
Brian Auger (born 18 July 1939, London, England)[1] is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialised in playing the Hammond organ.
A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix,[2] John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon and others. He has incorporated jazz, early British pop, R&B, soul music and rock, and he has been nominated for a Grammy.
Biography
In 1965 Auger formed the group The Steampacket, along with Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll, Vic Briggs and Rod Stewart. With Driscoll and the band, Trinity, he went on to record several hit singles, notably a cover version of David Ackles' "Road to Cairo" and Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire", which was featured on Dylan Covered. In 1969 Auger, Driscoll and Trinity appeared performing in the United States on the nationally telecast 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee.
In 1970 he formed Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, shortly after abandoning the abortive "Wassenaar Arrangement" jazz-fusion commune in a small suburb of The Hague. The Oblivion Express served to cultivate several musicians, including future The Average White Band drummers Robbie McIntosh and Steve Ferrone, as well as guitarist Jim Mullen. Likewise, in 1971 he produced and appeared on Mogul Thrash's only album, Mogul Thrash. Two members of that band, Roger Ball and Malcolm Duncan, would also go on to form the Average White Band.
In 1986, he played keyboards for the Italian singer Mango on the album Odissea.
In 1989, Auger was musical director for the thirteen-part film retrospective series Villa Fantastica, made for German TV. A live recording of the series, Super Jam (1990), features Auger on piano, Pete York on drums, Dick Morrissey on tenor saxophone, Roy Williams on trombone, Harvey Weston on bass guitar, with singers Zoot Money and Maria Muldaur.
Auger toured with blues rocker Eric Burdon in the early 1990s, and recorded the live album Access All Areas with him in 1993. After several projects, including albums with family members, he reformed the Oblivion Express in the late 1990s, with a line-up that eventually featured both his son and daughter.
The Oblivion Express was revived with a 2005 recording and subsequent touring. The group featured Brian Auger, his son Karma Auger on drums, his daughter Savannah Auger on vocals, and Derek Frank on bass.
In 2012, Auger released one of the few solo albums of his career, Language of the Heart, produced by Tea. It features Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Julian Coryell on guitars.
Auger is currently recording with Latin Rock legends El Chicano and is featured on B3 Organ in several tracks from El Chicano's most recent studio album due to be released in April 2014.
In 2014 Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express played at the KJAZZ festival in Los Angeles and toured in Japan and Europe with the following line-up: son Karma Auger on drums, daughter Ali Auger on vocals, Alex Ligertwood on vocals, Yarone Levy on guitar, Les King on bass and Travis Carlton on bass.
A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix,[2] John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon and others. He has incorporated jazz, early British pop, R&B, soul music and rock, and he has been nominated for a Grammy.
Biography
In 1965 Auger formed the group The Steampacket, along with Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll, Vic Briggs and Rod Stewart. With Driscoll and the band, Trinity, he went on to record several hit singles, notably a cover version of David Ackles' "Road to Cairo" and Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire", which was featured on Dylan Covered. In 1969 Auger, Driscoll and Trinity appeared performing in the United States on the nationally telecast 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee.
In 1970 he formed Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, shortly after abandoning the abortive "Wassenaar Arrangement" jazz-fusion commune in a small suburb of The Hague. The Oblivion Express served to cultivate several musicians, including future The Average White Band drummers Robbie McIntosh and Steve Ferrone, as well as guitarist Jim Mullen. Likewise, in 1971 he produced and appeared on Mogul Thrash's only album, Mogul Thrash. Two members of that band, Roger Ball and Malcolm Duncan, would also go on to form the Average White Band.
In 1986, he played keyboards for the Italian singer Mango on the album Odissea.
In 1989, Auger was musical director for the thirteen-part film retrospective series Villa Fantastica, made for German TV. A live recording of the series, Super Jam (1990), features Auger on piano, Pete York on drums, Dick Morrissey on tenor saxophone, Roy Williams on trombone, Harvey Weston on bass guitar, with singers Zoot Money and Maria Muldaur.
Auger toured with blues rocker Eric Burdon in the early 1990s, and recorded the live album Access All Areas with him in 1993. After several projects, including albums with family members, he reformed the Oblivion Express in the late 1990s, with a line-up that eventually featured both his son and daughter.
The Oblivion Express was revived with a 2005 recording and subsequent touring. The group featured Brian Auger, his son Karma Auger on drums, his daughter Savannah Auger on vocals, and Derek Frank on bass.
In 2012, Auger released one of the few solo albums of his career, Language of the Heart, produced by Tea. It features Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Julian Coryell on guitars.
Auger is currently recording with Latin Rock legends El Chicano and is featured on B3 Organ in several tracks from El Chicano's most recent studio album due to be released in April 2014.
In 2014 Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express played at the KJAZZ festival in Los Angeles and toured in Japan and Europe with the following line-up: son Karma Auger on drums, daughter Ali Auger on vocals, Alex Ligertwood on vocals, Yarone Levy on guitar, Les King on bass and Travis Carlton on bass.
Blues Project feat. Brian Auger - Gimme Some Lovin' - Regenstauf 2011
Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - Blues Garage - 02.10.14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPnn80l5yJI
Erwin Java *18.07.1956
Erwin Raymond Java ( Assen , 18. Juli 1956 ) ist eine niederländische Gitarrist .
Java studierte niederländische Sprache und Literatur an der Universität Groningen , aber diese Studie abgeschlossen nie fertig. Am Groningen Conservatory in erwarb er 1991 das Diplom Lehrer Haltungsmusik mit Schwerpunkt E-Gitarre.
Während seines Studiums Java professionelle Musiker und Bands wie unter anderem spielte Weiß Honig ( 1978. - 1 981 mit Hanneke Kappen ), Herman Brood die Wild Romance ( die 1,981th - 1,982th ), Cuby and the Blizzards (seit 1986). Zusätzlich Java Produzent und Studio und Session-Gitarrist für ua Marjol Flore , Split , Gina de Wit , Bertus Borgers , Daniel Sahuleka , Kaz Lux und Tineke Schoemaker .
Einer der Java erste Instrument war ein Fender Stratocaster , die er als Teenager von seinem Vater bekam.
Im Dezember 1996 war Java ein Gründungsmitglied der Northern Music Institute in Groningen, wo er seitdem auch als ein Lehrer verbunden ist. Seit August 2006 ist er auch als Lehrer an der gearbeitet IVAK Delfzijl.
Zusammen mit Rik Meyer, machte er die CD Spuren der Vergangenheit, die Beiträge der gehören Herman Brood .
Im Rahmen der fünf großen Guitars Erwin in 2006/2007 kam mit Harry Sacksioni , Jan Kuiper, Zou Diarra und Digmon Roovers im Programm Groove Masters. Im Dezember 2006 wurde mit special guest Larry Carlton
Seit 2011 ist Erwin spielt auf einer eigens für ihn geschaffen Otenticgitaar ", der Emerald".
Im Jahr 2012 gründete er die Bluesband König der Welt auf.
Java studierte niederländische Sprache und Literatur an der Universität Groningen , aber diese Studie abgeschlossen nie fertig. Am Groningen Conservatory in erwarb er 1991 das Diplom Lehrer Haltungsmusik mit Schwerpunkt E-Gitarre.
Während seines Studiums Java professionelle Musiker und Bands wie unter anderem spielte Weiß Honig ( 1978. - 1 981 mit Hanneke Kappen ), Herman Brood die Wild Romance ( die 1,981th - 1,982th ), Cuby and the Blizzards (seit 1986). Zusätzlich Java Produzent und Studio und Session-Gitarrist für ua Marjol Flore , Split , Gina de Wit , Bertus Borgers , Daniel Sahuleka , Kaz Lux und Tineke Schoemaker .
Einer der Java erste Instrument war ein Fender Stratocaster , die er als Teenager von seinem Vater bekam.
Im Dezember 1996 war Java ein Gründungsmitglied der Northern Music Institute in Groningen, wo er seitdem auch als ein Lehrer verbunden ist. Seit August 2006 ist er auch als Lehrer an der gearbeitet IVAK Delfzijl.
Zusammen mit Rik Meyer, machte er die CD Spuren der Vergangenheit, die Beiträge der gehören Herman Brood .
Im Rahmen der fünf großen Guitars Erwin in 2006/2007 kam mit Harry Sacksioni , Jan Kuiper, Zou Diarra und Digmon Roovers im Programm Groove Masters. Im Dezember 2006 wurde mit special guest Larry Carlton
Seit 2011 ist Erwin spielt auf einer eigens für ihn geschaffen Otenticgitaar ", der Emerald".
Im Jahr 2012 gründete er die Bluesband König der Welt auf.
Since the kick-off early 2012 of “K(ing) (O)f (T)he W(orld)” ( Erwin Java (gtr), Fokke de Jong (drs/bvox), Govert van der Kolm (Hammond/bvox) and Ruud Weber (leadvox/bgtr), things have developed prosperously for this Dutch blues-, rhythm & roots band. Through the release of the 2 albums “Can't Go Home “(2013) and “KOTW” (2014) the band definitely confirmed its status in the Dutch blues scene. Both albums scored sheer positive reviews as well in the Dutch as in the foreign music press.
But also the live reputation that has been built up through shows at festivals like the Rhythm & Blues Night Groningen, Bluesrock Tegelen and the Highlandsfestival, has contributed to the forementioned status. And the band is not only playing at festivals but is also a regular guest at Dutch rock venues like Paradiso Amsterdam, De Boerderij Zoetermeer, Hedon Zwolle and many others. A living proof that the band has succeeded in expressing the blues in its various forms. Furthermore, other than the press, also radio and TV is spotting the band: in march 2013 the group is live presenting “Can't Go Home” in the radio show “TROS Music Café”. In that same period the band is making a live-appearance in the TV-show “Vrije Geluiden “ (transl. Free Sounds). The latter being the first time ever for a Dutch blues-orientated band.
Meanwhile: 2015.
The group has won 5 Dutch Blues Awards in 2014 (best drummer, best keyboardplayer, best bass player, best guitarist and best bluesband). Two unique live-appearances early 2014 on the prestigious late night TV-show “Pauw & Witteman” is confirming the bands growing nationwide recognition. On June 2nd 2014 the band is spotlighted for 45 minutes in a RTL7 TV-special called “Derksen on the Road”. 2014 is marked by no less than 60 KOTW-shows from which the one on the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam (July 13th) is considered to be one of the highlights. Also the band plays 2 successful shows in Germany, which is leading to, more shows over there. So we can expect something there in the near future. In November 2014 the soundbook “Pioniers van de Nederpop” (transl. Pioneers of Dutch Rock) is released as a result of forementioned “Derksen on the Road”. The DVD contains a.o. the TV-special concerning King Of The World where the CD contains a.o. 4 KOTW-songs. X-mass 2014 KOTW is playing 8 songs live in a regional TV-show called “ Jongens van het Noorden” (transl. Boys from the North). It 's another intimate portrait of the band. In this last month of that year KOTW is recording several live shows. The show at Dutch Rockvenue nr. 1 “Paradiso“ (Amsterdam) has got that special atmosphere. Therefore the band has decided to release the album “Live at Paradiso” in May 2015 forthcoming. And...the planning for a third studio-album is on the roll. So...keep checking the media and the tourdates.
But also the live reputation that has been built up through shows at festivals like the Rhythm & Blues Night Groningen, Bluesrock Tegelen and the Highlandsfestival, has contributed to the forementioned status. And the band is not only playing at festivals but is also a regular guest at Dutch rock venues like Paradiso Amsterdam, De Boerderij Zoetermeer, Hedon Zwolle and many others. A living proof that the band has succeeded in expressing the blues in its various forms. Furthermore, other than the press, also radio and TV is spotting the band: in march 2013 the group is live presenting “Can't Go Home” in the radio show “TROS Music Café”. In that same period the band is making a live-appearance in the TV-show “Vrije Geluiden “ (transl. Free Sounds). The latter being the first time ever for a Dutch blues-orientated band.
Meanwhile: 2015.
The group has won 5 Dutch Blues Awards in 2014 (best drummer, best keyboardplayer, best bass player, best guitarist and best bluesband). Two unique live-appearances early 2014 on the prestigious late night TV-show “Pauw & Witteman” is confirming the bands growing nationwide recognition. On June 2nd 2014 the band is spotlighted for 45 minutes in a RTL7 TV-special called “Derksen on the Road”. 2014 is marked by no less than 60 KOTW-shows from which the one on the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam (July 13th) is considered to be one of the highlights. Also the band plays 2 successful shows in Germany, which is leading to, more shows over there. So we can expect something there in the near future. In November 2014 the soundbook “Pioniers van de Nederpop” (transl. Pioneers of Dutch Rock) is released as a result of forementioned “Derksen on the Road”. The DVD contains a.o. the TV-special concerning King Of The World where the CD contains a.o. 4 KOTW-songs. X-mass 2014 KOTW is playing 8 songs live in a regional TV-show called “ Jongens van het Noorden” (transl. Boys from the North). It 's another intimate portrait of the band. In this last month of that year KOTW is recording several live shows. The show at Dutch Rockvenue nr. 1 “Paradiso“ (Amsterdam) has got that special atmosphere. Therefore the band has decided to release the album “Live at Paradiso” in May 2015 forthcoming. And...the planning for a third studio-album is on the roll. So...keep checking the media and the tourdates.
Let's go get stoned - King of the World live @ Pauw en Witteman op 6 feb 2014
KingoftheWorld live CD presentation TROS muziekcafe
Dion DiMucci *18.07.1939
http://www.diondimucci.com/
Dion (* 18. Juli 1939 in der Bronx, New York; vollständiger Name Dion Francis DiMucci) ist ein US-amerikanischer Pop-, Rock-'n'-Roll- und Bluessänger und Songschreiber, der in den 1950er und 1960er Jahren seine größten Erfolge hatte.Leben
Kindheit und Jugend
Dion wurde in der New Yorker Bronx geboren. Er wurde in der Mount Carmel Church getauft, wo er auch die Kommunion erhielt. Als er 12 war, schenkte ihm sein Onkel eine gebrauchte Gitarre [1] und er begann, sich für Blues und Country-Musik zu interessieren. Seine besondere Vorliebe galt Hank Williams und Jimmy Reed, die ihn nicht nur inspirierten, sondern ohne die er - nach eigener Aussage - vielleicht nie seine musikalische Begabung entdeckt hätte.[2] Bereits als Teenager trat er in lokalen Bars auf.[3]
Etwa zur gleichen Zeit als Dion mit der Musik von Hank Williams und Jimmy Reed in Berührung kam, kam er auch mit Drogen in Berührung. Als fast Fünfzehnjähriger nahm er zum ersten Mal Heroin.[4]. Dadurch rutschte er in eine Abhängigkeit, die er erst im Alter von 30 Jahren überwinden konnte. Eine große Rolle bei der Überwindung seiner Sucht spielte Jack, der Vater seiner Ehefrau Susan, die er ebenfalls schon als Jugendlicher kennengelernt hatte. (Dions No.-1-Hit "Runaround Sue" hat übrigens nichts mit seiner Ehefrau zu tun.)[5]
Ebenfalls als Jugendlicher schloss sich Dion den Fordham Daggers und später den Baldies an, Straßengangs in der Bronx. Der Film The Wanderers, basierend auf dem gleichnamigen Roman von Richard Price, porträtiert das Leben der Gangs in der Bronx zu der Zeit sehr treffend. Parallelen zu Dions Jugend sind nicht zufällig - Buch- und Filmtitel sind nach Dions bekanntestem Hit "The Wanderer" benannt und Price hat seinen Roman unter anderem Dion gewidmet.[6]
1950er Jahre
Seine erste Platte nahm Dion 1957 für Mohawk Records (No. 105) auf - "The Chosen Few" / "Out in Colorado". Sie wurde unter dem Namen Dion and the Timberlanes veröffentlicht. Bemerkenswert war dabei, dass Dion die Timberlanes nie persönlich kennenlernte. Das Lied wurde unter der Leitung von Hugo Montenegro vollständig aufgenommen, allerdings ohne Leadgesang. Die Leadstimme kam von Dion. Bob und Gene Schwartz, die Eigentümer von Mohawk Records, gaben Dion die Möglichkeit hierzu, nachdem er ihnen "Wonderful Girl" vorgesungen und damit offenbar einen guten Eindruck hinterlassen hatte.[7]
Aber Mohawk Records suchte eine Gruppe und keinen Einzelsänger. Also brachte Dion seine Freunde aus der Nachbarschaft mit - Carlo Mastrangelo, Fred Milano und Angelo D'Aleo -, die unter dem Namen Dion and the Belmonts Musik aufzunehmen begannen. Die erste gemeinsame Single war "Tag Along" / "We Went Away" (Mohawk No. 107). Kurz nach der Veröffentlichung der Single trennten sich die Mohawk-Eigentümer: Irv Spice behielt Mohawk und Gene und Bob Schwartz gründeten mit Alan Sussell das Plattenlabel Laurie Records.[8] Der Name The Belmonts leitet sich von der Belmont Avenue ab.[9]. Im April 1958 gelang ihnen der Durchbruch mit "I Wonder Why", der ersten bei Laurie Records überhaupt veröffentlichten Single. Ihr größter Hit wurde "A Teenager in Love", geschrieben von Doc Pomus und Mort Shuman, der Platz fünf der Billboardcharts erreichte. Dion wurde zum erfolgreichsten Vertreter des Doo-Wop-Stils.
1959 war er mit Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper (alias J. P. Richardson) und anderen im tiefsten Winter auf der Winter-Dance-Party-Tournee. Da der Tourbus keine richtige Heizung hatte und ständig liegen blieb, arrangierte Buddy Holly in Clear Lake (Iowa) einen Charterflug nach Fargo, North Dakota, um schneller nach Moorhead (Minnesota) zu kommen. Das Flugzeug hatte vier Plätze. Einen für den Piloten, einen für Buddy Holly. Um die verbleibenden Plätze wurde per Münzwurf entschieden. Schließlich stiegen Richardson und Valens mit in die Maschine. Das Flugzeug, eine Beechcraft Bonanza, stürzte in der Nacht zum 3. Februar 1959 kurz nach dem Start in Mason City in Iowa bei schlechtem Wetter auf einem Acker ab. Alle vier Insassen der Maschine kamen uns Leben. Dieser Tag ist 1971 durch Don McLeans "American Pie" als "der Tag, an dem die Musik starb" (The Day the Music Died) in die Musikgeschichte eingegangen.
1960er Jahre
Im selben Jahr noch trennte sich Dion von den Belmonts aufgrund musikalischer Differenzen. Während die Belmonts sanfte Harmonien bevorzugten, fühlte sich Dion mehr zum Rock 'n' Roll berufen. Ab 1960 versuchte er sich als Solokünstler und hatte im selben Jahr auch schnell wieder Hits wie "Lonely Teenager" und 1961 die von oder gemeinsam mit Ernie Maresca geschriebenen "The Wanderer" und "Runaround Sue".[10]
Im September 1962 wechselte Dion von Laurie Records zu Columbia Records und setzte 1963 seine Hitreihe mit dem Maresca-Song "Donna the Prima Donna" und dem Drifters-Klassiker "Ruby Baby" (Leiber/Stoller) fort. Er war der erste Rock-'n'-Roll-Sänger, den Columbia Records unter Vertrag nahm. Der Vertrag lief über fünf Jahre und brachte Dion garantierte US$ 100.000 pro Jahr unabhängig von irgendwelchen Veröffentlichungen.[11] Sein Stil entwickelte sich weg vom Doo Wop der Belmonts hin zu "erwachsenerem" R&B und Blues.
Er trat in drei Filmen auf (Ten Girls Ago, Teenage Millionaire, Twist Around the Clock).
Mitte der 1960er Jahre nahmen seine Drogenprobleme - er war lange Jahre heroin- und später auch alkoholabhängig - überhand und zwangen ihn zu einer längeren Aufnahmepause. Erst mithilfe seines Schwiegervaters Jack, selbst trockener Alkoholiker, fand Dion 1969 den endgültigen Weg aus der Drogenabhängigkeit durch seinen neu entstandenen Glauben an Gott.
1968 meldete er sich - fast drogenfrei und mit neuem Stil - bei Laurie Records zurück und nahm Protestsongs auf: "Abraham, Martin and John" über Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King und John F. Kennedy schaffte es in die Top Five.
Dion und Bob Dylan sind die einzigen Musiker, die auf dem Cover des 1967 erschienen Beatles-Albums Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band zu sehen sind. John Lennon, mit dem Dion gut bekannt war, verwendete für die Sgt.-Pepper-Kollage das Foto von Dions "Ruby-Baby"-Single.[12][13]
1970er Jahre
Dion fand mit Warner Bros. Records ein Plattenlabel, das seine Folk-Songs veröffentlichte. Von 1970 bis 1972 entstanden vier Alben in klassischer Liedermacher-Manier. Sie sind nur spärlich instrumentiert - vielfach ist nur Dion mit seiner Gitarre zu hören. In der Folge trat er in kleineren Clubs auf, wie z. B. dem Troubadour in Los Angeles oder dem Bitter End in New York.[14] Er wollte an seine drogenbelastete Rock-'n'-Roll-Karriere nicht erinnert werden und weigerte sich lange Zeit, seine Hits aus den späten 50er und frühen 1960er Jahren bei öffentlichen Auftritten zu spielen. Seine folkorientierten Alben verkauften sich trotz lobender Kritiken eher schleppend.
1972 kam es zu einer einmaligen musikalischen Wiedervereinigung mit den Belmonts im New Yorker Madison Square Garden - ohne größere Proben.[15] Ausschnitte des Konzerts sind auf der LP Reunion erschienen.
1975 entstand in mehrmonatiger Studioarbeit das Album Born to Be with You, das von Phil Spector produziert wurde. Anders als die vorherigen Folk-Alben war Born to Be with You instrumentell völlig überladen. Auch Phil Spector schien sich seiner Sache nicht ganz sicher zu sein, so dass das Album letztlich nur in England veröffentlicht wurde.
Am 14. Dezember 1979 hatte Dion eine Erleuchtung, die sein Leben und seine Musik veränderte.[16] Er schloss sich einer evangelischen Born-Again-Kirche an.
1980er und 1990er Jahre
Die 1980er Jahre waren geprägt von Dions Spiritualität, was auch in seiner Musik zum Ausdruck kam. Er veröffentlichte zahlreiche Gospel-Alben bei DaySpring Records, die ihm auch eine Grammy-Nominierung einbrachten.
1987 stimmte er zu, ein Konzert in der Radio City Music Hall zu geben. Dieses wurde mitgeschnitten, aber erst 2005 als CD veröffentlicht.
1988 veröffentlichte Dion schließlich seine Autobiografie The Wanderer - Dion's Story.
1989 erschien sein Comeback-Album Yo Frankie bei Arista Records und es folgte im selben Jahr seine Aufnahme in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [17] Die Ansprache hielt Lou Reed.[18]
Am 1. Oktober 1989 gab Dion sein einziges Live-Konzert in Deutschland im Schlachthof in München. Ein Jahr später gründete er die Band The Little Kings, mit der er lange an der US-amerikanischen Ostküste tourte. Die Little Kings bestanden aus Scott Kempner (Lead-Gitarre), Mike Mesaros (Bass) und Frank Funaro (Schlagzeug). Am 26. April 1996 wurde ein Konzert von Dion 'n' Little Kings in der Mercury Lounge in New York aufgezeichnet, das 2001 bei Ace Records als CD erschienen ist.
Ende der 1990er Jahre kehrte er zu seiner Taufkirche, Mount Carmel Catholic Church, zurück, fand dort die Antworten auf alle religiösen Fragen, die ihn viele Jahre beschäftigt hatten und konvertierte wieder zum Katholizismus.[19]
ab 2000
Im Jahr 2000 erschien bei Ace Records Dions Album Déjà Nu im Gedenken an Gene Schwartz, den Gründer und Produzenten von Laurie Records, wo Dion seine Karriere begonnen hatte. Die Lieder des Albums wurden mit demselben Equipment aufgenommen wie seine großen Hits von 1961 "The Wanderer" und "Runaround Sue" und klingen wie lange verschollene und wieder aufgetauchte Stücke.[20]
Dion geht nach wie vor in unregelmäßigen Abständen auf Tournee in den USA. Sein Konzert im Tropicana, Atlantik City, USA, im Jahre 2004 wurde mitgeschnitten und ist mit zahlreichem Bonusmaterial als DVD unter dem Titel Dion Live erschienen. Er geht auch nach wie vor ins Studio, um Alben aufzunehmen.
Am 29. Oktober 2009 trat Dion beim 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert mit seinem Hit "The Wanderer" auf. [21]
Im April 2011 ist sein zweites Buch The Wanderer Talks Truth erschienen mit zahlreichen Geschichten und Anekdoten aus seinem langen Leben. Rund die Hälfte des Buches widmet Dion der Entwicklung und dem Wandel seiner religiösen Überzeugungen im Laufe der Jahrzehnte.[22]
Am 24. Januar 2012 ist sein neues Album Tank Full of Blues erschienen.
Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known mononymously as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, rock and R&B styles—and, most recently, straight blues. He was one of the most popular American rock and roll performers of the pre-British Invasion era. He had more than a dozen Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 60s. He is best remembered for the 1961 singles, "Runaround Sue" and "The Wanderer", written with Ernie Maresca.
Dion's popularity waned in the mid-1960s, perhaps due to the public's changing taste in pop music, and perhaps in part due to personal difficulties he had during this period. But toward the end of the decade, he shifted his style and produced songs with a more mature, contemplative feeling, such as "Abraham, Martin and John". He became popular again in the late 1960s and into the mid-1970s, and he has continued making music ever since. Critics who had dismissed his early work, pegging him as merely a teen idol, praised his later work, and noted the influence he has had on other musicians.[1]
Dion was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.
Early years
Dion was born to an Italian-American family in the Bronx, New York.[2] As a child, he accompanied his father, Pasquale DiMucci, a vaudeville entertainer, on tour, and developed a love of country music – particularly the work of Hank Williams. He also developed a fondness for the blues and doo-wop musicians he heard performing in local bars and on the radio. His singing was honed on the street corners and local clubs of the Bronx, where he and other neighborhood singers created a cappella riffs.
In early 1957, he auditioned for Bob and Gene Schwartz, who had just formed Mohawk Records. They recorded Dion singing lead on a song which had been arranged by Hugo Montenegro and pre-recorded with everything but the lead vocals. The backing vocals were by a group called "The Timberlanes", whom Dion had never met.[3] The resulting single, "The Chosen Few", was released under the name, Dion and the Timberlanes, and became a minor regional hit. Writing about this experience later, in his autobiography, The Wanderer, Dion said that that he had never met the Timberlanes and didn't even know who they were. "The vocal group was so white bread, I went back to my neighborhood and I recruited a bunch of guys --three guys-- and we called ourselves Dion and the Belmonts."[4]
Career
With the Belmonts: 1957–1960
Bob and Gene Schwartz also signed Dion's friends, the Belmonts, (Carlo Mastrangelo, Fred Milano, and Angelo D'Aleo), a vocal group named for nearby Belmont Avenue, and teamed them, with Dion singing lead. The new group's breakthrough came in early 1958, when "I Wonder Why" (on their newly formed "Laurie" label) made No. 22 on the U.S. charts. Dion said of the Belmonts; "I'd give 'em sounds. I'd give 'em parts and stuff. That's what 'I Wonder Why' was about. We kind of invented this percussive rhythmic sound. If you listen to that song, everybody was doing something different. There's four guys, one guy was doing bass, I was singing lead, one guy's going 'ooh wah ooh', and another guy's doing tenor. It was totally amazing. When I listen to it today, often times I think, 'Man, those kids are talented.'"[4]
Their initial hit was followed by "No One Knows" and "Don't Pity Me", which also charted the Billboard Top 100. This success won Dion and the Belmonts a place on the tragic "The Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) and other performers. On February 3, 1959, after a concert stop in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly and others decided to take a flight to the next venue rather than travel on the tour bus. Dion was invited to accompany the group but decided that he did not want to spend $36 for the flight, as it was the same monthly rent his parents paid for his childhood apartment and he couldn't justify the indulgence.[5][6] The plane crashed, killing all on board; Holly, Valens, Richardson, and the pilot Roger Peterson. Dion and the Belmonts continued on the tour, while Bobby Vee, then an unknown artist, performed in Holly's place at the very next concert. Later, Jimmy Clanton, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian were added to replace the other now-deceased headliners.
Dion and the Belmonts' next single, "A Teenager in Love", was released in March 1959, eventually hitting No. 5 on the U.S. pop charts and No. 28 in the UK.[7] The trio's biggest hit, "Where or When", was released in November of that year, and reached No. 3 on the U.S. charts. However, in early 1960, Dion checked into hospital for heroin addiction, a problem he had had since his mid-teens.[citation needed] Further single releases for the group that year were less successful. There were musical, personal and financial differences between Dion and members of the Belmonts, and in October 1960, Dion decided to quit for a solo career. By the time of their breakup, all eight Laurie releases had charted on the Hot 100.
Solo stardom: 1960–1964
By the end of 1960, Dion had released his first solo album on Laurie, Alone with Dion, and the single "Lonely Teenager", which rose to No. 12 in the US charts. The name on his solo releases was simply "Dion". Follow-ups "Havin' Fun" and "Kissin' Game" had less success, and the signs were that Dion would drift onto the cabaret circuit. However, he then recorded, with a new vocal group, the Del-Satins, an up-tempo number co-written with Ernie Maresca. The record, "Runaround Sue", stormed up the U.S. charts, reaching No. 1 in October 1961, and No. 11 in the UK,[7] where he also toured. "Runaround Sue" sold over a million copies, achieving gold disc status.[8]
For the next single, Laurie promoted the A-side, "The Majestic", but it was the B-side, Maresca's "The Wanderer", which received more radio play and climbed swiftly up the charts to reach No. 2 in the U.S. in February 1962 and No. 10 in the UK (the 1976 re-release made the UK Top 20).[7]
By the end of 1961, Dion had become a major star, touring worldwide and making an appearance in the Columbia Pictures musical film Twist Around the Clock. He followed with a string of singles – "Lovers Who Wander" (No. 3), "Little Diane" (No. 8), "Love Came to Me" (No. 10) – in 1962, several of which he wrote or co-wrote. He also had successful albums with Runaround Sue and Lovers Who Wander.
At the end of 1962, Dion moved from Laurie to Columbia Records. The first Columbia single, Leiber and Stoller's "Ruby Baby" (originally a hit for the Drifters) reached No. 2, while "Donna the Prima Donna" and "Drip Drop" (another cover of a Drifters hit) both reached No. 6 in late 1963. (Dion also recorded an Italian version of "Donna the Prima Donna" using the identical backup vocals.) His other Columbia releases were less successful, and problems with his addiction and changing public tastes saw a period of commercial decline.
Changing fortunes: 1965–1968
Following a European tour, Dion returned to the U.S. and was introduced to classic blues by Columbia’s John Hammond. To the consternation of his management, he began recording more blues-oriented material, including Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Spoonful", but these releases – some produced by Tom Wilson, with Al Kooper on keyboards – were not commercially successful. In 1965, still with Columbia, Dion formed a new group to back him, The Wanderers, composed of John Falbo on guitar, Pete Baron (Pete Falciglia) on bass, and Carlo Mastrangelo of The Belmonts on drums. They made national appearances on Dick Clark's, "Where The Action Is", and "The Lloyd Thaxton Show". A number of self-penned tracks were recorded and released unsuccessfully as singles, and did not appear in album format until years later. In June 1965 he recorded fellow Columbia Records’s contemporary Bob Dylan's composition "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" a half year before Them (featuring Van Morrison)'s hit version.
In 1966–67, Dion briefly reunited with The Belmonts recording the LP Together Again for ABC Records. The album was unsuccessful, despite one classic self-penned song, "My Girl The Month Of May". Two singles were released from the LP. While neither charted in the United States, they fared better in the UK. "My Girl The Month Of May" broke the "Radio London Fab 40" top ten at No. 9 the week of December 25, 1966. One reviewer stated, "some British radio DJ's gave it a lot of airplay at the time." The follow up, "Movin Man", reached No. 17 on the "Radio London" charts on March 26, 1967. "My Girl The Month Of May", was later covered by English artists Alan Bown in 1967, and The Bunch (featuring Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention) in April 1972. During their brief mid 60's reunion, Dion and the Belmonts appeared on the popular "Clay Cole Show" performing "Berimbau" and "My Girl The Month of May", and occasionally performed at local New York City clubs such as "The Mardi Gras" on Staten Island (April 29, 1967) before disbanding. While Dion’s career appeared to be nearing an end, he still retained enough credibility to be, along with Bob Dylan, one of only two rock artists featured on the album cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.
In April 1968, Dion experienced what he identified as a powerful religious experience. After getting clean once again from heroin addiction, an experience he documented in his 1970 song "Your Own Backyard", he approached Laurie Records for a new contract. They agreed on condition that he record the song "Abraham, Martin & John", written by Dick Holler (also the writer of the Royal Guardsmen's "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron") in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and those of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy during the summer of 1968. The success of this song – later recorded by many others including Marvin Gaye – which reached No. 4 in the US charts and No. 1 in Canada, resuscitated Dion's career. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[8]
Mature and Christian period: 1969–1986
For the next few years, Dion's music became radically different, moving to more contemplative and mature material. He released several albums essentially as a singer-songwriter, to moderate sales, moving to the Warner Brothers label in 1969.
There followed a live reunion show with the Belmonts at Madison Square Garden on June 2, 1972, which was recorded and released as a live album by Warner. A year later, in 1973, Dion and the original Belmonts performed once more, doing a sold out concert at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York. However, no recording of the 1973 reunion was ever released. This was followed in 1975 by the album Born To Be With You, produced by Phil Spector. The album was a commercial failure, but has been subsequently praised by such artists as Jason Pierce of Spiritualized and Pete Townshend of the Who.
In 1978, Dion released an album drawing on many of his teenage influences, Return of the Wanderer, another commercial failure.
In December 1979, there was a radical spiritual change in Dion, who had become a born-again Christian.[9] Thereafter, his recordings for several years were in a contemporary Christian vein, in which he released five albums on the DaySpring Records label, a division of Word Records in Waco, Texas. These albums reflecting his evangelical Christian convictions were Inside Job (1980), Only Jesus (1981), I Put Away My Idols (1983) which charted at #37, Seasons (1984), Kingdom in the Streets (1985) and Velvet & Steel (1986). Several singles were successfully released to Christian radio, notably "Still in the Spirit" from Kingdom in the Streets.
In 1984, Dion won the GMA Dove Award (Christian Music Award) for the album I Put Away My Idols. He was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance,
Male for the same album.
On September 24, 1985, Dion was a guest on 100 Huntley Street.
Return to secular music and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction and Controversy: 1987–1999
In 1987, Dion agreed to do a concert of his old hits at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The two disc CD of this concert was released in 2005, featuring concert photos by Dion's friend, Michael J. Friedman. This concert helped free him to celebrate both his past and his future, and led to a series of special appearances, including a fundraiser for homeless medical relief. There he shared the stage with fans such as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Lou Reed, all of whom cited Dion as one of their prime influences.
In 1988, Dion's autobiography (co-authored by Davin Seay) titled The Wanderer: Dion's Story was published.
In 1989, DiMucci returned to rock music with the contemporary album Yo Frankie, which included appearances by Paul Simon, Lou Reed, k.d. lang, Patty Smyth and Bryan Adams.[10] Produced by Dave Edmunds (who also played guitar on the album), "Yo Frankie has a sharp sound while never losing sight of Dion's soulful, doo-wop voice."[11] Overall, "the relevant and nostalgic statement from an artist who helped forge rock & roll's first wave" found his way back on radio and in music videos during this period (both on VH1 and MTV), as well as touring.[12][13][14][15]
Dion was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 (with a moving introduction by Lou Reed).[16] Controversially, when Dion's solo induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame occurred, the other original members of the Belmonts, (Carlo Mastrangelo, Fred Milano, and Angelo D'Aleo) were not inducted, and as of 2014, have yet to be.[17] In a Billboard Magazine article, dated January 3rd 2012, it was stated: "There was strife between DiMucci and Belmonts members, who were not pleased when DiMucci was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame without them in 1989." [18]
In the late 1990s, Dion visited his old Bronx parish, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and returned to Catholicism.[19]
DiMucci joined Scott Kempner and Frank Funaro of the Del-Lords and Mike Mesaros of the Smithereens in a short-lived band called Little Kings. A live album was later released, but not widely circulated or promoted.[20]
Most recent work: 2000s–2010s
Dion has released several albums with contemporary rock artists. His Déjà Nu album in 2000 found him covering Bruce Springsteen, a major follower over the years. He joined Bruce Springsteen onstage in Miami in 2002 for a performance of "If I Should Fall Behind" from Dream On Fire.
In 2002, Dion was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Runaround Sue". He continues to perform songs from his albums live.[21]
In January 2006, Dion released Bronx in Blue, an album of blues and country standards, which was nominated for a Grammy. In November 2007 he issued a follow-up in similar vein, Son of Skip James.
In October 2008, DiMucci released Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock, an album of his covers of early rock and roll songs he considers seminal to the genre.[22] The album includes versions of songs originally recorded by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash and many other early rock guitarists.[23]
In October 2009, Dion performed "The Wanderer" with Paul Simon at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert.[24]
Now a practicing Roman Catholic, Dion pursues prison ministry and reaches out to men going through addiction recovery. He is also a member of the American Board of Directors of Renewal Ministries.[25] He currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida, and New York City.
On January 24, 2012, Dion released a new album, Tank Full of Blues.
The Wanderer musical
On October 13, 2011, an industry-only reading of a new play about Dion's life was performed in New York City.[26]
In a December 9, 2011 article in The New York Times, Dion and his collaborator, writer/director Charles Messina, discussed details about the project, titled The Wanderer: The Life and Music of Dion, revealing that it will focus on the years between 1957 until the late 60s and will feature more than 20 songs from that era as well as new, original music. In the article, Dion gave his perspective on the story: "You know, I always saw my story as a young Sopranos with great music and a Rocky Graziano Somebody Up There Likes Me ending. It's a story of redemption. A rock and roll redemption story!"
Dion's popularity waned in the mid-1960s, perhaps due to the public's changing taste in pop music, and perhaps in part due to personal difficulties he had during this period. But toward the end of the decade, he shifted his style and produced songs with a more mature, contemplative feeling, such as "Abraham, Martin and John". He became popular again in the late 1960s and into the mid-1970s, and he has continued making music ever since. Critics who had dismissed his early work, pegging him as merely a teen idol, praised his later work, and noted the influence he has had on other musicians.[1]
Dion was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.
Early years
Dion was born to an Italian-American family in the Bronx, New York.[2] As a child, he accompanied his father, Pasquale DiMucci, a vaudeville entertainer, on tour, and developed a love of country music – particularly the work of Hank Williams. He also developed a fondness for the blues and doo-wop musicians he heard performing in local bars and on the radio. His singing was honed on the street corners and local clubs of the Bronx, where he and other neighborhood singers created a cappella riffs.
In early 1957, he auditioned for Bob and Gene Schwartz, who had just formed Mohawk Records. They recorded Dion singing lead on a song which had been arranged by Hugo Montenegro and pre-recorded with everything but the lead vocals. The backing vocals were by a group called "The Timberlanes", whom Dion had never met.[3] The resulting single, "The Chosen Few", was released under the name, Dion and the Timberlanes, and became a minor regional hit. Writing about this experience later, in his autobiography, The Wanderer, Dion said that that he had never met the Timberlanes and didn't even know who they were. "The vocal group was so white bread, I went back to my neighborhood and I recruited a bunch of guys --three guys-- and we called ourselves Dion and the Belmonts."[4]
Career
With the Belmonts: 1957–1960
Bob and Gene Schwartz also signed Dion's friends, the Belmonts, (Carlo Mastrangelo, Fred Milano, and Angelo D'Aleo), a vocal group named for nearby Belmont Avenue, and teamed them, with Dion singing lead. The new group's breakthrough came in early 1958, when "I Wonder Why" (on their newly formed "Laurie" label) made No. 22 on the U.S. charts. Dion said of the Belmonts; "I'd give 'em sounds. I'd give 'em parts and stuff. That's what 'I Wonder Why' was about. We kind of invented this percussive rhythmic sound. If you listen to that song, everybody was doing something different. There's four guys, one guy was doing bass, I was singing lead, one guy's going 'ooh wah ooh', and another guy's doing tenor. It was totally amazing. When I listen to it today, often times I think, 'Man, those kids are talented.'"[4]
Their initial hit was followed by "No One Knows" and "Don't Pity Me", which also charted the Billboard Top 100. This success won Dion and the Belmonts a place on the tragic "The Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) and other performers. On February 3, 1959, after a concert stop in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly and others decided to take a flight to the next venue rather than travel on the tour bus. Dion was invited to accompany the group but decided that he did not want to spend $36 for the flight, as it was the same monthly rent his parents paid for his childhood apartment and he couldn't justify the indulgence.[5][6] The plane crashed, killing all on board; Holly, Valens, Richardson, and the pilot Roger Peterson. Dion and the Belmonts continued on the tour, while Bobby Vee, then an unknown artist, performed in Holly's place at the very next concert. Later, Jimmy Clanton, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian were added to replace the other now-deceased headliners.
Dion and the Belmonts' next single, "A Teenager in Love", was released in March 1959, eventually hitting No. 5 on the U.S. pop charts and No. 28 in the UK.[7] The trio's biggest hit, "Where or When", was released in November of that year, and reached No. 3 on the U.S. charts. However, in early 1960, Dion checked into hospital for heroin addiction, a problem he had had since his mid-teens.[citation needed] Further single releases for the group that year were less successful. There were musical, personal and financial differences between Dion and members of the Belmonts, and in October 1960, Dion decided to quit for a solo career. By the time of their breakup, all eight Laurie releases had charted on the Hot 100.
Solo stardom: 1960–1964
By the end of 1960, Dion had released his first solo album on Laurie, Alone with Dion, and the single "Lonely Teenager", which rose to No. 12 in the US charts. The name on his solo releases was simply "Dion". Follow-ups "Havin' Fun" and "Kissin' Game" had less success, and the signs were that Dion would drift onto the cabaret circuit. However, he then recorded, with a new vocal group, the Del-Satins, an up-tempo number co-written with Ernie Maresca. The record, "Runaround Sue", stormed up the U.S. charts, reaching No. 1 in October 1961, and No. 11 in the UK,[7] where he also toured. "Runaround Sue" sold over a million copies, achieving gold disc status.[8]
For the next single, Laurie promoted the A-side, "The Majestic", but it was the B-side, Maresca's "The Wanderer", which received more radio play and climbed swiftly up the charts to reach No. 2 in the U.S. in February 1962 and No. 10 in the UK (the 1976 re-release made the UK Top 20).[7]
By the end of 1961, Dion had become a major star, touring worldwide and making an appearance in the Columbia Pictures musical film Twist Around the Clock. He followed with a string of singles – "Lovers Who Wander" (No. 3), "Little Diane" (No. 8), "Love Came to Me" (No. 10) – in 1962, several of which he wrote or co-wrote. He also had successful albums with Runaround Sue and Lovers Who Wander.
At the end of 1962, Dion moved from Laurie to Columbia Records. The first Columbia single, Leiber and Stoller's "Ruby Baby" (originally a hit for the Drifters) reached No. 2, while "Donna the Prima Donna" and "Drip Drop" (another cover of a Drifters hit) both reached No. 6 in late 1963. (Dion also recorded an Italian version of "Donna the Prima Donna" using the identical backup vocals.) His other Columbia releases were less successful, and problems with his addiction and changing public tastes saw a period of commercial decline.
Changing fortunes: 1965–1968
Following a European tour, Dion returned to the U.S. and was introduced to classic blues by Columbia’s John Hammond. To the consternation of his management, he began recording more blues-oriented material, including Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Spoonful", but these releases – some produced by Tom Wilson, with Al Kooper on keyboards – were not commercially successful. In 1965, still with Columbia, Dion formed a new group to back him, The Wanderers, composed of John Falbo on guitar, Pete Baron (Pete Falciglia) on bass, and Carlo Mastrangelo of The Belmonts on drums. They made national appearances on Dick Clark's, "Where The Action Is", and "The Lloyd Thaxton Show". A number of self-penned tracks were recorded and released unsuccessfully as singles, and did not appear in album format until years later. In June 1965 he recorded fellow Columbia Records’s contemporary Bob Dylan's composition "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" a half year before Them (featuring Van Morrison)'s hit version.
In 1966–67, Dion briefly reunited with The Belmonts recording the LP Together Again for ABC Records. The album was unsuccessful, despite one classic self-penned song, "My Girl The Month Of May". Two singles were released from the LP. While neither charted in the United States, they fared better in the UK. "My Girl The Month Of May" broke the "Radio London Fab 40" top ten at No. 9 the week of December 25, 1966. One reviewer stated, "some British radio DJ's gave it a lot of airplay at the time." The follow up, "Movin Man", reached No. 17 on the "Radio London" charts on March 26, 1967. "My Girl The Month Of May", was later covered by English artists Alan Bown in 1967, and The Bunch (featuring Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention) in April 1972. During their brief mid 60's reunion, Dion and the Belmonts appeared on the popular "Clay Cole Show" performing "Berimbau" and "My Girl The Month of May", and occasionally performed at local New York City clubs such as "The Mardi Gras" on Staten Island (April 29, 1967) before disbanding. While Dion’s career appeared to be nearing an end, he still retained enough credibility to be, along with Bob Dylan, one of only two rock artists featured on the album cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967.
In April 1968, Dion experienced what he identified as a powerful religious experience. After getting clean once again from heroin addiction, an experience he documented in his 1970 song "Your Own Backyard", he approached Laurie Records for a new contract. They agreed on condition that he record the song "Abraham, Martin & John", written by Dick Holler (also the writer of the Royal Guardsmen's "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron") in response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and those of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy during the summer of 1968. The success of this song – later recorded by many others including Marvin Gaye – which reached No. 4 in the US charts and No. 1 in Canada, resuscitated Dion's career. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[8]
Mature and Christian period: 1969–1986
For the next few years, Dion's music became radically different, moving to more contemplative and mature material. He released several albums essentially as a singer-songwriter, to moderate sales, moving to the Warner Brothers label in 1969.
There followed a live reunion show with the Belmonts at Madison Square Garden on June 2, 1972, which was recorded and released as a live album by Warner. A year later, in 1973, Dion and the original Belmonts performed once more, doing a sold out concert at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, New York. However, no recording of the 1973 reunion was ever released. This was followed in 1975 by the album Born To Be With You, produced by Phil Spector. The album was a commercial failure, but has been subsequently praised by such artists as Jason Pierce of Spiritualized and Pete Townshend of the Who.
In 1978, Dion released an album drawing on many of his teenage influences, Return of the Wanderer, another commercial failure.
In December 1979, there was a radical spiritual change in Dion, who had become a born-again Christian.[9] Thereafter, his recordings for several years were in a contemporary Christian vein, in which he released five albums on the DaySpring Records label, a division of Word Records in Waco, Texas. These albums reflecting his evangelical Christian convictions were Inside Job (1980), Only Jesus (1981), I Put Away My Idols (1983) which charted at #37, Seasons (1984), Kingdom in the Streets (1985) and Velvet & Steel (1986). Several singles were successfully released to Christian radio, notably "Still in the Spirit" from Kingdom in the Streets.
In 1984, Dion won the GMA Dove Award (Christian Music Award) for the album I Put Away My Idols. He was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance,
Male for the same album.
On September 24, 1985, Dion was a guest on 100 Huntley Street.
Return to secular music and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction and Controversy: 1987–1999
In 1987, Dion agreed to do a concert of his old hits at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The two disc CD of this concert was released in 2005, featuring concert photos by Dion's friend, Michael J. Friedman. This concert helped free him to celebrate both his past and his future, and led to a series of special appearances, including a fundraiser for homeless medical relief. There he shared the stage with fans such as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Lou Reed, all of whom cited Dion as one of their prime influences.
In 1988, Dion's autobiography (co-authored by Davin Seay) titled The Wanderer: Dion's Story was published.
In 1989, DiMucci returned to rock music with the contemporary album Yo Frankie, which included appearances by Paul Simon, Lou Reed, k.d. lang, Patty Smyth and Bryan Adams.[10] Produced by Dave Edmunds (who also played guitar on the album), "Yo Frankie has a sharp sound while never losing sight of Dion's soulful, doo-wop voice."[11] Overall, "the relevant and nostalgic statement from an artist who helped forge rock & roll's first wave" found his way back on radio and in music videos during this period (both on VH1 and MTV), as well as touring.[12][13][14][15]
Dion was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 (with a moving introduction by Lou Reed).[16] Controversially, when Dion's solo induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame occurred, the other original members of the Belmonts, (Carlo Mastrangelo, Fred Milano, and Angelo D'Aleo) were not inducted, and as of 2014, have yet to be.[17] In a Billboard Magazine article, dated January 3rd 2012, it was stated: "There was strife between DiMucci and Belmonts members, who were not pleased when DiMucci was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame without them in 1989." [18]
In the late 1990s, Dion visited his old Bronx parish, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and returned to Catholicism.[19]
DiMucci joined Scott Kempner and Frank Funaro of the Del-Lords and Mike Mesaros of the Smithereens in a short-lived band called Little Kings. A live album was later released, but not widely circulated or promoted.[20]
Most recent work: 2000s–2010s
Dion has released several albums with contemporary rock artists. His Déjà Nu album in 2000 found him covering Bruce Springsteen, a major follower over the years. He joined Bruce Springsteen onstage in Miami in 2002 for a performance of "If I Should Fall Behind" from Dream On Fire.
In 2002, Dion was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Runaround Sue". He continues to perform songs from his albums live.[21]
In January 2006, Dion released Bronx in Blue, an album of blues and country standards, which was nominated for a Grammy. In November 2007 he issued a follow-up in similar vein, Son of Skip James.
In October 2008, DiMucci released Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock, an album of his covers of early rock and roll songs he considers seminal to the genre.[22] The album includes versions of songs originally recorded by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash and many other early rock guitarists.[23]
In October 2009, Dion performed "The Wanderer" with Paul Simon at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert.[24]
Now a practicing Roman Catholic, Dion pursues prison ministry and reaches out to men going through addiction recovery. He is also a member of the American Board of Directors of Renewal Ministries.[25] He currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida, and New York City.
On January 24, 2012, Dion released a new album, Tank Full of Blues.
The Wanderer musical
On October 13, 2011, an industry-only reading of a new play about Dion's life was performed in New York City.[26]
In a December 9, 2011 article in The New York Times, Dion and his collaborator, writer/director Charles Messina, discussed details about the project, titled The Wanderer: The Life and Music of Dion, revealing that it will focus on the years between 1957 until the late 60s and will feature more than 20 songs from that era as well as new, original music. In the article, Dion gave his perspective on the story: "You know, I always saw my story as a young Sopranos with great music and a Rocky Graziano Somebody Up There Likes Me ending. It's a story of redemption. A rock and roll redemption story!"
The Wanderer (Live) by Dion DiMucci
Dion - Tank Full Of Blues
DION - Hoodoo Man Blues
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart *18.07.1938
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart (18 July 1938 – 12 December 1985) was a Scottish keyboardist and co-founder of the Rolling Stones. He was dismissed from the line-up in May 1963 but he remained as road manager and pianist. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Role in the Rolling Stones
Born at Kirklatch Farm, Pittenweem, East Neuk, Fife, Scotland, and raised in Sutton, Surrey, Stewart (often called Stu) started playing piano when he was six. He took up the banjo and played with amateur groups on both instruments.[1] Stewart, who loved rhythm & blues, boogie-woogie, blues and big-band jazz, was first to respond to Brian Jones's advertisement in Jazz News of 2 May 1962 seeking musicians to form a rhythm & blues group.[2] Mick Jagger and Keith Richards joined in June, and the group, with Dick Taylor on bass and Mick Avory on drums, played their first gig under the name the Rollin' Stones at the Marquee Club on 12 July 1962.[3][4] Richards described meeting Stewart thus: "He used to play boogie-woogie piano in jazz clubs, apart from his regular job. He blew my head off too, when he started to play. I never heard a white piano player play like that before."[5] By December 1962 and January 1963, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts had joined, replacing a series of bassists and drummers.[6]
Stewart had a job at Imperial Chemical Industries. None of the other band members had a telephone; Stewart said, "[My] desk at ICI was the headquarters of the Stones organisation. My number was advertised in Jazz News and I handled the Stones' bookings at work." He also bought a van to transport the group and their equipment to their gigs.[7]
In early May 1963, the band's manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, said Stewart should no longer be onstage, that six members were too many for a popular group and that the older, burly, and square-jawed Stewart did not fit the image.[8] He said Stewart could stay as road manager and play piano on recordings. Stewart accepted this demotion. Richards said: "[Stu] might have realised that in the way it was going to have to be marketed, he would be out of sync, but that he could still be a vital part. I'd probably have said, 'Well, fuck you', but he said 'OK, I'll just drive you around.' That takes a big heart, but Stu had one of the largest hearts around."[9]
Stewart loaded gear into his van, drove the group to gigs, replaced guitar strings and set up Watts' drums the way he himself would play them. "I never ever swore at him," Watts says, with rueful amazement.[10] He also played piano and occasionally organ on most of the band's albums in the first decades, as well as providing criticism. Shortly after Stewart's death Mick Jagger said: "He really helped this band swing, on numbers like 'Honky Tonk Women' and loads of others. Stu was the one guy we tried to please. We wanted his approval when we were writing or rehearsing a song. We'd want him to like it."[11]
Stewart contributed piano, organ, marimbas and/or percussion to all Rolling Stones albums released between 1964 and 1986, except for Their Satanic Majesties Request and Beggars Banquet. Stewart was not the only keyboard player who worked extensively with the band: Jack Nitzsche, Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, and Ian McLagan all supplemented his work. Stewart played piano on numbers of his choosing throughout tours in 1969, 1975–76, 1978 and 1981–82.[6] Stewart favoured blues and country rockers, and remained dedicated to boogie-woogie and early rhythm & blues. He refused to play in minor keys, saying: "When I'm on stage with the Stones and a minor chord comes along, I lift my hands in protest."[12] Stewart also stated –
“ You can squawk about money, but the money the Stones have made hasn't done them much good. It's really gotten them into some trouble. They can't even live in their own country now. ”
NME – April 1976[13]
Stewart remained aloof from the band's lifestyle. "I think he looked upon it as a load of silliness," said guitarist Mick Taylor. "I also think it was because he saw what had happened to Brian. I could tell from the expression on his face when things started to get a bit crazy during the making of Exile on Main Street. I think he found it very hard. We all did."[14] Stewart played golf and as road manager showed preference for hotels with courses. Richards recalls: "We'd be playing in some town where there's all these chicks, and they want to get laid and we want to lay them. But Stu would have booked us into some hotel about ten miles out of town. You'd wake up in the morning and there's the links. We’re bored to death looking for some action and Stu's playing Gleneagles."[15]
Other work
Stewart contributed to Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" from Led Zeppelin IV and "Boogie with Stu" from Physical Graffiti, two numbers in traditional rock and roll vein, both featuring his boogie-woogie style. Another was Howlin' Wolf's 1971 The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions album, featuring Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman, Steve Winwood, and Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. He also played piano and organ on the 1982 Bad to the Bone album of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Moreover, he performed with Ronnie Lane in a televised concert.
In 1981 Stewart and Charlie Watts contributed to the song "Bad Penny Blues", which appeared on the album, These Kind of Blues by the Blues Band,[16] and was a founding member, with Watts, of Rocket 88.
Death and posthumous recognition
Stewart contributed to the Rolling Stones' 1983 Undercover, and was present during the 1985 recording for Dirty Work (released in 1986). In early December 1985, Stewart began having respiratory problems. On 12 December he went to a clinic to have the problem examined, but he suffered a heart attack and died in the waiting room.[17]
The Rolling Stones played a tribute gig with Rocket 88 in February 1986 at London's 100 Club, and included a 30-second clip of Stewart playing the blues standard "Key to the Highway" at the end of Dirty Work. When the Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, they requested Stewart's name be included.
In his 2010 autobiography Life, Keith Richards says: "Ian Stewart. I'm still working for him. To me the Rolling Stones is his band. Without his knowledge and organisation... we'd be nowhere."[18]
On 19 April 2011, pianist Ben Waters released an Ian Stewart tribute album, entitled Boogie 4 Stu. One of the songs recorded for this album was Bob Dylan's "Watching the River Flow", played by the Rolling Stones featuring Bill Wyman on bass. This was the first time since 1992 that Wyman joined his former band.[19]
Works inspired by Stewart
According to a Sunday Herald article in March 2006, Stewart was the basis for a fictional detective:
“ ...Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin has revealed that John Rebus, the star of 15 novels set in the grimy underbelly of the nation's capital, may have more to do with the Rolling Stones than any detective could have surmised. The award-winning novelist admits during a new Radio 4 series exploring the relationships between crime writers and their favourite music that he took some of his inspiration for the unruly inspector from the "sixth Stone", Ian Stewart. ”
The lyrics to Aidan Moffat & the Best-Of's song "The Sixth Stone" were written by Ian Rankin about Stewart. The song is included on Chemikal Underground's compilation Ballads of the Book, which features Scottish authors and poets writing lyrics for contemporary Scottish bands.
Role in the Rolling Stones
Born at Kirklatch Farm, Pittenweem, East Neuk, Fife, Scotland, and raised in Sutton, Surrey, Stewart (often called Stu) started playing piano when he was six. He took up the banjo and played with amateur groups on both instruments.[1] Stewart, who loved rhythm & blues, boogie-woogie, blues and big-band jazz, was first to respond to Brian Jones's advertisement in Jazz News of 2 May 1962 seeking musicians to form a rhythm & blues group.[2] Mick Jagger and Keith Richards joined in June, and the group, with Dick Taylor on bass and Mick Avory on drums, played their first gig under the name the Rollin' Stones at the Marquee Club on 12 July 1962.[3][4] Richards described meeting Stewart thus: "He used to play boogie-woogie piano in jazz clubs, apart from his regular job. He blew my head off too, when he started to play. I never heard a white piano player play like that before."[5] By December 1962 and January 1963, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts had joined, replacing a series of bassists and drummers.[6]
Stewart had a job at Imperial Chemical Industries. None of the other band members had a telephone; Stewart said, "[My] desk at ICI was the headquarters of the Stones organisation. My number was advertised in Jazz News and I handled the Stones' bookings at work." He also bought a van to transport the group and their equipment to their gigs.[7]
In early May 1963, the band's manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, said Stewart should no longer be onstage, that six members were too many for a popular group and that the older, burly, and square-jawed Stewart did not fit the image.[8] He said Stewart could stay as road manager and play piano on recordings. Stewart accepted this demotion. Richards said: "[Stu] might have realised that in the way it was going to have to be marketed, he would be out of sync, but that he could still be a vital part. I'd probably have said, 'Well, fuck you', but he said 'OK, I'll just drive you around.' That takes a big heart, but Stu had one of the largest hearts around."[9]
Stewart loaded gear into his van, drove the group to gigs, replaced guitar strings and set up Watts' drums the way he himself would play them. "I never ever swore at him," Watts says, with rueful amazement.[10] He also played piano and occasionally organ on most of the band's albums in the first decades, as well as providing criticism. Shortly after Stewart's death Mick Jagger said: "He really helped this band swing, on numbers like 'Honky Tonk Women' and loads of others. Stu was the one guy we tried to please. We wanted his approval when we were writing or rehearsing a song. We'd want him to like it."[11]
Stewart contributed piano, organ, marimbas and/or percussion to all Rolling Stones albums released between 1964 and 1986, except for Their Satanic Majesties Request and Beggars Banquet. Stewart was not the only keyboard player who worked extensively with the band: Jack Nitzsche, Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, and Ian McLagan all supplemented his work. Stewart played piano on numbers of his choosing throughout tours in 1969, 1975–76, 1978 and 1981–82.[6] Stewart favoured blues and country rockers, and remained dedicated to boogie-woogie and early rhythm & blues. He refused to play in minor keys, saying: "When I'm on stage with the Stones and a minor chord comes along, I lift my hands in protest."[12] Stewart also stated –
“ You can squawk about money, but the money the Stones have made hasn't done them much good. It's really gotten them into some trouble. They can't even live in their own country now. ”
NME – April 1976[13]
Stewart remained aloof from the band's lifestyle. "I think he looked upon it as a load of silliness," said guitarist Mick Taylor. "I also think it was because he saw what had happened to Brian. I could tell from the expression on his face when things started to get a bit crazy during the making of Exile on Main Street. I think he found it very hard. We all did."[14] Stewart played golf and as road manager showed preference for hotels with courses. Richards recalls: "We'd be playing in some town where there's all these chicks, and they want to get laid and we want to lay them. But Stu would have booked us into some hotel about ten miles out of town. You'd wake up in the morning and there's the links. We’re bored to death looking for some action and Stu's playing Gleneagles."[15]
Other work
Stewart contributed to Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" from Led Zeppelin IV and "Boogie with Stu" from Physical Graffiti, two numbers in traditional rock and roll vein, both featuring his boogie-woogie style. Another was Howlin' Wolf's 1971 The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions album, featuring Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman, Steve Winwood, and Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. He also played piano and organ on the 1982 Bad to the Bone album of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Moreover, he performed with Ronnie Lane in a televised concert.
In 1981 Stewart and Charlie Watts contributed to the song "Bad Penny Blues", which appeared on the album, These Kind of Blues by the Blues Band,[16] and was a founding member, with Watts, of Rocket 88.
Death and posthumous recognition
Stewart contributed to the Rolling Stones' 1983 Undercover, and was present during the 1985 recording for Dirty Work (released in 1986). In early December 1985, Stewart began having respiratory problems. On 12 December he went to a clinic to have the problem examined, but he suffered a heart attack and died in the waiting room.[17]
The Rolling Stones played a tribute gig with Rocket 88 in February 1986 at London's 100 Club, and included a 30-second clip of Stewart playing the blues standard "Key to the Highway" at the end of Dirty Work. When the Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, they requested Stewart's name be included.
In his 2010 autobiography Life, Keith Richards says: "Ian Stewart. I'm still working for him. To me the Rolling Stones is his band. Without his knowledge and organisation... we'd be nowhere."[18]
On 19 April 2011, pianist Ben Waters released an Ian Stewart tribute album, entitled Boogie 4 Stu. One of the songs recorded for this album was Bob Dylan's "Watching the River Flow", played by the Rolling Stones featuring Bill Wyman on bass. This was the first time since 1992 that Wyman joined his former band.[19]
Works inspired by Stewart
According to a Sunday Herald article in March 2006, Stewart was the basis for a fictional detective:
“ ...Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin has revealed that John Rebus, the star of 15 novels set in the grimy underbelly of the nation's capital, may have more to do with the Rolling Stones than any detective could have surmised. The award-winning novelist admits during a new Radio 4 series exploring the relationships between crime writers and their favourite music that he took some of his inspiration for the unruly inspector from the "sixth Stone", Ian Stewart. ”
The lyrics to Aidan Moffat & the Best-Of's song "The Sixth Stone" were written by Ian Rankin about Stewart. The song is included on Chemikal Underground's compilation Ballads of the Book, which features Scottish authors and poets writing lyrics for contemporary Scottish bands.
The Rolling Stones - Stewed'n Keefed
... there would be no Stones without Ian Andrew Robert Stewart ... now,
listen, Brian and Stew do da whole job ... dat was and still is da
Rolling Stones ... just only take Stew in yer heart and feel da shit ...
YAY! ... so so thankful that they are with us ...
Heinz Glass *18.07.1952
Heinz Glass, geb. 1952 in Kindsbach bei Kaisers- lautern (Rheinland-Pfalz), entdeckte seine Liebe zur Musik schon in seinen frühesten Kindheitstagen: mit allen Gegenständen versuchte er Klänge zu erzeu- gen.
1962 erfüllte sich dann sein Traum - er durfte Gitar- renunterricht beim Musikverein Kindsbach nehmen. Eifriges Üben und die Besessenheit, die Gitarre zu beherrschen, brachten ihn auf das Musikkonserva- torium Kaiserslautern. Nach dem Besuch eines Jimi Hendrix-Konzert in der Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt stand für den damals 16-jährigen endgültig fest: Ich werde Musiker!
Nach seinem Schulabschluss begann seine Lauf- bahn als Musiker, zuerst als Semi- dann als Profi- musiker. "Nebenher" studierte er dann noch bei Professor Wolfgang Lendle an der Musikhochschule Saarbrücken zwei Jahre klassische Gitarre und stieg 1977 bei der Gruppe "Epitaph" als Leadgitarrist ein. Die weiteren Station seiner Laufbahn kannst Du in seiner Biographie nachlesen.
Ich habe Heinz Glass 1978 in Finkenbach (Oden- wald) beim "2. Finkenbach-Festival" kennengelernt. Seine unaufdringliche Art, seine Ausstrahlung und sein verschmitztes Lächeln waren mir von Anfang an sympathisch.
Und ich glaube, ich war ihm auch sympathisch - warum sonst hätte er mich wohl zu einem Konzert in Neunkirchen (Saarland) oder zur Sylvesterfeier zu sich nach Asendorf/Graue (bei Nienburg) einge- laden?
In einem Interview anläßlich eines "Night Concerts"-Events wurde ich von dem Interviewer Peter Krositz u.a. gefragt: "Heiner, ich weiß, dass Du viele bekannte und unbekannte Musiker persönlich kennst. Welche von denen würdest Du als die für Dich bedeutesten nennen?" Ich zitiere mich wörtlich: "Da steht bei mir ganz oben auf der Liste Petermichael Küstermann, ein wahrer Virtuose der akustischen Gitarre. Leider wollte er nie 'entdeckt' werden, so dass nur sehr wenige Menschen seine musikalischen Ausflüge genießen können. Dann kommen natürlich Jerry Garcia von Greatful Dead, Frank Zappa, Heinz Glass von Epitaph, Steve Hillage von Gong und Stomu Yamashta, die ich alle als absolute Perfektionisten kennengelernt habe und die für mich die bedeutesten Musiker dieser Zeit sind."
Heinz Glass lebt heute Berlin, arbeitet in verschiedenen Projekten (siehe Menü "Projekte") und hat mit seiner Lebensgefährtin zwei Töchter.
1952 geb. in Kindsbach bei Kaiserslautern (Rheinland-Pfalz)1962 erfüllte sich dann sein Traum - er durfte Gitar- renunterricht beim Musikverein Kindsbach nehmen. Eifriges Üben und die Besessenheit, die Gitarre zu beherrschen, brachten ihn auf das Musikkonserva- torium Kaiserslautern. Nach dem Besuch eines Jimi Hendrix-Konzert in der Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt stand für den damals 16-jährigen endgültig fest: Ich werde Musiker!
Nach seinem Schulabschluss begann seine Lauf- bahn als Musiker, zuerst als Semi- dann als Profi- musiker. "Nebenher" studierte er dann noch bei Professor Wolfgang Lendle an der Musikhochschule Saarbrücken zwei Jahre klassische Gitarre und stieg 1977 bei der Gruppe "Epitaph" als Leadgitarrist ein. Die weiteren Station seiner Laufbahn kannst Du in seiner Biographie nachlesen.
Ich habe Heinz Glass 1978 in Finkenbach (Oden- wald) beim "2. Finkenbach-Festival" kennengelernt. Seine unaufdringliche Art, seine Ausstrahlung und sein verschmitztes Lächeln waren mir von Anfang an sympathisch.
Und ich glaube, ich war ihm auch sympathisch - warum sonst hätte er mich wohl zu einem Konzert in Neunkirchen (Saarland) oder zur Sylvesterfeier zu sich nach Asendorf/Graue (bei Nienburg) einge- laden?
In einem Interview anläßlich eines "Night Concerts"-Events wurde ich von dem Interviewer Peter Krositz u.a. gefragt: "Heiner, ich weiß, dass Du viele bekannte und unbekannte Musiker persönlich kennst. Welche von denen würdest Du als die für Dich bedeutesten nennen?" Ich zitiere mich wörtlich: "Da steht bei mir ganz oben auf der Liste Petermichael Küstermann, ein wahrer Virtuose der akustischen Gitarre. Leider wollte er nie 'entdeckt' werden, so dass nur sehr wenige Menschen seine musikalischen Ausflüge genießen können. Dann kommen natürlich Jerry Garcia von Greatful Dead, Frank Zappa, Heinz Glass von Epitaph, Steve Hillage von Gong und Stomu Yamashta, die ich alle als absolute Perfektionisten kennengelernt habe und die für mich die bedeutesten Musiker dieser Zeit sind."
Heinz Glass lebt heute Berlin, arbeitet in verschiedenen Projekten (siehe Menü "Projekte") und hat mit seiner Lebensgefährtin zwei Töchter.
1962 erster Gitarrenunterricht Musikverein Kindsbach
1965 - 68 Musikkonservatorium Kaiserslautern
erste Bands: "Tak Taffi Jam", "Penicillin"
1970 - 73 EWH Landau (Hauptfächer Musik und Mathematik)
ab 1970 Beginn der Laufbahn als Semi-, dann als Profimusiker in amerikanischen Clubs mit Rock und Soulbands, u.a. "Soulcrusaders"
1974 Monatsengagement im legendären "PN" in München
1973 - 76 Privatunterricht bei Professor Wolfgang Lendle an der Musikhochschule Saarbrücken
1977 - 81 Gitarrist der Gruppe "EPITAPH"
große Europa-Tournee sowie 3 LP`s
Auftritt im WDR "Rockpalast"
1982 - 85 Gitarrenlehrer an der Musikschule Nienburg
1983 Solo-Tourneen
1 LP: Heinz Glass - Akustik Gitarre
1983 - 84 "Moby Dick"
1984 Gitarrenlehrgang bei Professor Heinz Teuchert
1984 "VIOMANDO"
1 Folk-Jazz LP mit Musikern aus Hannover
1984 - 87 "Pfalz Gang"
1984 - 87 ca. 70 Auftritte pro Jahr mit "John Kirkbride", Bluessänger und Gitarrist aus Schottland
1 LP: Blues
1985 Tournee mit "Percy Sledge"
1987 Übersiedlung nach Berlin
1987 - 90 Jeden Montag Rock-Blues-Session in der "Museumskneipe Kreuzberg"
1988 Studiogitarrist bei der 2-teiligen Fernsehsendung "Geschichte der Rockmusik" (wurde über 2 Jahre auf allen Regionalsendern mehrmals gesendet)
ab 1989 "GLASS BAND", ca. 50 Auftritte im Jahr, 4 CD's
1995 Gastgitarrist bei "Engerling", 1 Live CD
1996 "GLASS BAND" auf "FAB" (Fernsehen aus Berlin), Livemitschnitt aus dem "FRANZ-CLUB", Berlin
1996 "GLASS OF BAILEY"
1998 25-jähriges Bühnenjubiläum im "Cotton Club", Kaiserslautern
1998 "HATTIE ST. JOHN & HEINZ GLASS"
1999 10 Jahre "GLASS BAND"
2000 Reunion "EPITAPH"
ab 2000 Gitarrenlehrer in der JVA Moabit, Berlin
jährlich 2 Konzerte in der JVA
2001 Burg Herzberg-Festival "EPITAPH"
2003 Burg Herzberg-Festival "EPITAPH"
2003 "KIWIROSENPFALZ"
2004 Einstieg bei "MONOKEL BLUES BAND"
2004 WDR "Kraut-Rockpalast" mit "EPITAPH"
http://www.heinzglass.de/
Heinz Glass Band "Down Town Blues"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVQdgBfzeFg
https://za.pinterest.com/pin/292100725813315308/
http://epresskitz.com/kit.php?p=photos&u=35260896
Alex Wilson *18.07.
https://za.pinterest.com/pin/292100725813315308/
Alex Wilson grew up in a family of talented musicians.
Alex’s grandmother, Rosa Saviano was a renowned professional jazz singer in Chicago in the 1940’s and 50’s. Tom Wilson, Alex’s father, is a multi-faceted musician who has had the distinct pleasure of accompanying nearly every blues performer to pass through the Milwaukee/Chicago music scene in the last thirty years. Marc Wilson, Alex’s uncle AND drummer, is one of the most sought after drummers in the country. He’s played with B.B.King, Big Walter Horton, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Rodgers, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Susan Tedeschi, Anson Funderburgh and Sam Meyers to name but a few.
Alex picked up the guitar at five years old and never put it down. Immersed in the Milwaukee blues scene, Alex was surrounded, and influenced by such local luminaries as Stokes, Lee Gates, Jim Liban and Milwaukee Slim.
Alex formed his own garage band at thirteen. By seventeen he began to dig deep into the blues, learning the songs and styles of masters such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix and Magic Sam.
At seventeen Alex began playing professionally and by twenty-one he had joined Milwaukee’s Blue Rubies and was performing regionally while still playing part-time with his own band. Playing up to 25 gigs a month, Wilson honed and sharpened his skills as a singer/songwriter, guitar player and over all entertainer.
In ’05 and ’06 Alex began to focus solely on his own project, booking shows, finding his own sound and the right players from the mid-west music scene to take his show on the road.
With Alex’s uncle Marc Wilson on the drums, and Alex’s brother Matthew singing harmonies and playing bass, Alex is running with one of the toughest bands on the scene today. It’s no surprise that they won the 2007 WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Award for blues group/artist of the year. After playing a series of shows for the Chinese New Year in Beijing with Grammy nominated blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, Alex returned to the states to find himself a triple nominee for the WAMI Awards in 2008 and winner of the award for guitarist of the year…and then winning again in 2009 and 2011 for Blues Artist. In 2010 he was the recipient of the peoples choice award and was chosen to represent his local blues society in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2011 along with 130 other bands from all over the world. Alex and his band ended up finishing in the top 8 in the IBC finals at The Orpheum Theater.
A versatile musician, Alex effortlessly switches between genres. He plays everything from sweet Beale Street blues to West coast swing. From hard Texas grinders to stone cold Chicago grooves with a feeling that’s said to be timeless. Alex’s style and tasty originals matched with his undeniable stage presence and unmistakable guitar style will drive you to the dance floor.
His long-awaited and freshly nominated debut CD, Tell Me Why, has been released on “Rathskeller Records”.
To say that Alex Wilson is one to look out for down the road is an understatement. Taking the Midwest by storm, this young musician is a force to be reckoned with.
Alex’s grandmother, Rosa Saviano was a renowned professional jazz singer in Chicago in the 1940’s and 50’s. Tom Wilson, Alex’s father, is a multi-faceted musician who has had the distinct pleasure of accompanying nearly every blues performer to pass through the Milwaukee/Chicago music scene in the last thirty years. Marc Wilson, Alex’s uncle AND drummer, is one of the most sought after drummers in the country. He’s played with B.B.King, Big Walter Horton, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Rodgers, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Susan Tedeschi, Anson Funderburgh and Sam Meyers to name but a few.
Alex picked up the guitar at five years old and never put it down. Immersed in the Milwaukee blues scene, Alex was surrounded, and influenced by such local luminaries as Stokes, Lee Gates, Jim Liban and Milwaukee Slim.
Alex formed his own garage band at thirteen. By seventeen he began to dig deep into the blues, learning the songs and styles of masters such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix and Magic Sam.
At seventeen Alex began playing professionally and by twenty-one he had joined Milwaukee’s Blue Rubies and was performing regionally while still playing part-time with his own band. Playing up to 25 gigs a month, Wilson honed and sharpened his skills as a singer/songwriter, guitar player and over all entertainer.
In ’05 and ’06 Alex began to focus solely on his own project, booking shows, finding his own sound and the right players from the mid-west music scene to take his show on the road.
With Alex’s uncle Marc Wilson on the drums, and Alex’s brother Matthew singing harmonies and playing bass, Alex is running with one of the toughest bands on the scene today. It’s no surprise that they won the 2007 WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Award for blues group/artist of the year. After playing a series of shows for the Chinese New Year in Beijing with Grammy nominated blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite, Alex returned to the states to find himself a triple nominee for the WAMI Awards in 2008 and winner of the award for guitarist of the year…and then winning again in 2009 and 2011 for Blues Artist. In 2010 he was the recipient of the peoples choice award and was chosen to represent his local blues society in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2011 along with 130 other bands from all over the world. Alex and his band ended up finishing in the top 8 in the IBC finals at The Orpheum Theater.
A versatile musician, Alex effortlessly switches between genres. He plays everything from sweet Beale Street blues to West coast swing. From hard Texas grinders to stone cold Chicago grooves with a feeling that’s said to be timeless. Alex’s style and tasty originals matched with his undeniable stage presence and unmistakable guitar style will drive you to the dance floor.
His long-awaited and freshly nominated debut CD, Tell Me Why, has been released on “Rathskeller Records”.
To say that Alex Wilson is one to look out for down the road is an understatement. Taking the Midwest by storm, this young musician is a force to be reckoned with.
Alex Wilson Band #1 "Worried Mind" @ Montreal Jazz Festival 2011
Anita White (Lady A) *18.07.
http://epresskitz.com/kit.php?p=photos&u=35260896
This songstress began singing at age 5. She began her performance career as a back-up singer in a Motown Revue band during the 80's. Her musical ear, gospel, Louisiana roots, and her musical family always led her back to the Blues and Gospel music, mixed with flavors of soul and funk like a perfect jambalaya.
Though born and raised in Seattle, Washington, you can clearly hear the southern undertones in her music and lyrics on her April 2010 CD "BlueZ in the Key of Me". Her CD "How did I get here? She is now preparing for her third major CD project which will be produced in Mississippi, slated to be released in April 2016.
Lady A heads up one of Seattle's Hottest Bands - Lady A & the Baby Blues Funk band who have performed together for the better part of 18 years and she is currently a featured artist in the
West Coast Women's Blues Revue and The Randy Oxford Band
Lady A also performs as a solo act when on the road. April of 2012 - 2014 she toured with Bobby Rush, Eden Brent, Cedric Burnside , Dexter Allen and Supa Chikan on the Delta Music Experience Tour and recorded her single "Future Ex-Huzbun" at the famous, Sun Studio, in Memphis, TN.
Lady A also works and performs with her accompanist and pianist/producer John Oliver III, doing special projects such as, United by Music Europe and North America which she has been a mentor since 2011 and because of her assistance with the UBM organization was asked to come to Denmark by Music Unites Europe in order to work with and teach a Gospel Music Workshop with bands and singers from Germany, Holland, Sweden and Denmark. Both organization help intellectually disabled persons sing and perform on stage and are dear to Lady A's heart. My belief is to always "Give Back, that which you have been Blessed with"
She produced her first mini tour, Buzin The Northwest, in March of 2015 featuring Deep Rush Record Recording artist, Dexter Allen and herself from Seattle to Portland ~ This tour was met with acclaimed success by sold out audiences and festival producers have praised her accomplishment of producing and performing in this tour.
Continuing to be a National and International sensation, whether during a Festival, in a smokey nightclub, or private party setting or by helping others in order to educate herself in music and life, this Pacific NW Diva is always backed by one of the Best and Ferocious bands out of Washington, Oregon or across the pond. The ensemble of superb musicians keep the music pump'n and the joint always jump'n with their flavorful renditions which instills "A New Breed of Blues" ... The Lady also stays routed in her music by hosting a Back Porch Blues showcase - where she invites friends and family to participate in a night of old school blues, gospel and soul on stage to begin a perfect night out for audiences of all ages.
Stir it all up with Lady A's raw vocals and you have a Good Gumbo mix of party that won't stop! or a slow jam that percolates just under the surface of the music.
Though born and raised in Seattle, Washington, you can clearly hear the southern undertones in her music and lyrics on her April 2010 CD "BlueZ in the Key of Me". Her CD "How did I get here? She is now preparing for her third major CD project which will be produced in Mississippi, slated to be released in April 2016.
Lady A heads up one of Seattle's Hottest Bands - Lady A & the Baby Blues Funk band who have performed together for the better part of 18 years and she is currently a featured artist in the
West Coast Women's Blues Revue and The Randy Oxford Band
Lady A also performs as a solo act when on the road. April of 2012 - 2014 she toured with Bobby Rush, Eden Brent, Cedric Burnside , Dexter Allen and Supa Chikan on the Delta Music Experience Tour and recorded her single "Future Ex-Huzbun" at the famous, Sun Studio, in Memphis, TN.
Lady A also works and performs with her accompanist and pianist/producer John Oliver III, doing special projects such as, United by Music Europe and North America which she has been a mentor since 2011 and because of her assistance with the UBM organization was asked to come to Denmark by Music Unites Europe in order to work with and teach a Gospel Music Workshop with bands and singers from Germany, Holland, Sweden and Denmark. Both organization help intellectually disabled persons sing and perform on stage and are dear to Lady A's heart. My belief is to always "Give Back, that which you have been Blessed with"
She produced her first mini tour, Buzin The Northwest, in March of 2015 featuring Deep Rush Record Recording artist, Dexter Allen and herself from Seattle to Portland ~ This tour was met with acclaimed success by sold out audiences and festival producers have praised her accomplishment of producing and performing in this tour.
Continuing to be a National and International sensation, whether during a Festival, in a smokey nightclub, or private party setting or by helping others in order to educate herself in music and life, this Pacific NW Diva is always backed by one of the Best and Ferocious bands out of Washington, Oregon or across the pond. The ensemble of superb musicians keep the music pump'n and the joint always jump'n with their flavorful renditions which instills "A New Breed of Blues" ... The Lady also stays routed in her music by hosting a Back Porch Blues showcase - where she invites friends and family to participate in a night of old school blues, gospel and soul on stage to begin a perfect night out for audiences of all ages.
Stir it all up with Lady A's raw vocals and you have a Good Gumbo mix of party that won't stop! or a slow jam that percolates just under the surface of the music.
LADY A - European Blues Cruise 2015
Lady A sings "Death Letter"
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