1910 Houston Stackhouse*
1928 Koko Taylor*
1938 Ben E. King*
1951 Norton Buffalo*
1957 C.
J. (Clayton Joseph) Chenier*
1963 Laughing Charley
Lincoln+
1966 Lucky Millinder+
1975 Guitar Slim Green+
Harry Garner*
Happy Birthday
Houston Stackhouse *28.09.1910
Houston Stackhouse (* 28. September 1910 in Wesson, Mississippi; † 23. September 1980 in Helena, Arkansas) war ein US-amerikanischer Bluesgitarrist und Mundharmonikaspieler. Er hatte nie den großen musikalischen und kommerziellen Erfolg anderer Bluesmusiker aus dem Süden, doch war er eine zentrale Figur der Bluesszene, auch als Mentor vieler später erfolgreicher Künstler.
Houston Stackhouse wurde als Houston Goff in Wesson geboren. Seine Herkunft lernte Stackhouse erst kennen, als er in den 1970er Jahren einen Pass beantragte. Aufgewachsen ist er auf der Randall Ford Plantation, wo er den Namen seines Ziehvaters James Wade Stackhouse annahm. Um 1925 zog die Familie etwas weiter nach Norden nach Crystal Springs, wo seine musikalische Entwicklung begann. Neben lokalen Musikern beeinflussten ihn die Aufnahmen von Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson und Blind Blake. Das erste Instrument, das er erlernte, war die Harmonika.[3]Seine musikalische Karriere begann Mitte der 1930er-Jahre mi Auftritten gemeinsam mit den Mississippi Sheiks,Robert Johnson, Charlie McCoy, Walter Vinson und anderen in Mississippi, Arkansas und Louisiana . Die andauernsten Zusammenarbeiten waren die mit Carey “Ditty” Mason und seinem Cousin Robert McCollum, besser bekannt als Robert Nighthawk, dem er das Gitarrespielen beibrachte.
1946 zog er nach Helena, Arkansas, wo er ein Jahr in Robert Nighthawks Band spielte, der ihm auch das Gitarrespiel beibrachte. Von dieser Zeit an spielte er nur mehr Gitarre[4] Nach ihrer Trennung spielte er gemeinsam mit dem Schlagzeuger James “Peck” Curtis, dem Gitarristen Joe Willie Wilkins und den Pianisten Robert Traylor und Pinetop Perkins. 1948 kam der Mundharmonikaspieler Sonny Boy Williamson II. dazu, die Band trat im ganzen Delta auf. Stackhouse trat auch mit den meisten Bluesmusikern auf, die auf ihren Tourneen durch Helena kamen (z. B. Jimmy Rogers, Sammy Lawhorn-beide unterrichtete er an der Gitarre-, Elmore James, Earl Hooker, Willie Love, Ernest Lane und Roosevelt Sykes). Zwischen 1948 und 1954 arbeitete er tagsüber als Automobilarbeiter im Chrysler-Werk in West-Memphis (Crittenden County).
Im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Musikern blieb Stackhouse im Süden und arbeitete tagsüber und spielte nachts. Die ganzen 1950er und 1960er Jahre trat er immer wieder mit durchreisenden Musikern auf (Boyd Gilmore, Houston Boines, Frank Frost, Baby Face Turner u. a.). 1965 kehrte Sonny Boy Williamson II. nach Helena zurück und nahm Stackhouse in seine Band auf, die in der King Biscuit Time-Radiosendung von KFFA auftrat, im Mai nahm Chris Strachwitz von Arhoolie Records die Gruppe auf und veröffentlichte die Aufnahmen unter Williamson’s Namen als „King Biscuit Time“. 1967 nahmen zwei Fieldrecorder Stackhouse auf, einmal unter dem Namen Blues Rhythm Boys (mit Peck Curtis und Robert Nighthawk) und einmal mit seinem langjährigen Weggefährten Carey “Ditty” Mason. Nach dessen Tod zog er nach Memphis. In den 1970ern wurde er Teil des Bluesrevivals, spielte auf Festivals und tourte mit den King Biscuit Boys. 1976 reiste er sogar nach Wien, wo er für Wolf Records aufnahm. Ende der 1970er Jahre zog er sich aus dem Musikgeschäft zurück und übersiedelte nach Helena zurück. Hier starb er am 23. September 1980 im Helena Hospital.
Um ihn zu ehren ist eine der fünf Bühnen beim Arkansas Blues and Heritagefestival nach ihm benannt (Houston Stackhouse Acoustic Stage).
Houston Stackhouse (September 28, 1910 – September 23, 1980) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. He is best known for his association and work with Robert Nighthawk.[1] Although Stackhouse was not especially noted as a guitarist nor singer, Nighthawk showed gratitude to his guitar teacher Stackhouse, by backing him on a number of recordings in the late 1960s. Apart from a tour to Europe, Stackhouse confined his performing around the Mississippi Delta.[1]
Biography
Stackhouse was born Houston Goff, in Wesson, Mississippi, and was the son of Garfield Goff. He was raised by James Wade Stackhouse on the Randall Ford Plantation, and Stackhouse only learned the details of his parentage when he applied for a passport in later life.[2]
Relocating in his teenage years with his family to Crystal Springs, Mississippi, he became inspired listening to records by Blind Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson, and by local musicians. By the late 1930s, Stackhouse had played guitar around the Delta states and worked with members of the Mississippi Sheiks, plus Robert Johnson, Charlie McCoy and Walter Vinson.[2] He also teamed up with his distant cousin, Robert Nighthawk,[3] whom he taught how to play guitar.[4] Originally a fan of Tommy Johnson, Stackhouse often covered his songs.[1] In 1946, Stackhouse moved to Helena, Arkansas to live near to Nighthawk, and for a time was a member of Nighthawk’s band, playing on KFFA radio.[2]
He split from Nighthawk in 1947 and alongside the drummer James "Peck" Curtis, appeared on KFFA's "King Biscuit Time" programme, with the guitar player Joe Willie Wilkins plus pianists Pinetop Perkins and Robert Traylor. Sonny Boy Williamson II then rejoined the show, and that combo performed across the Delta, using their radio presence to advertise their concert performances.[2]
Stackhouse tutored both Jimmy Rogers and Sammy Lawhorn on guitar techniques. Between 1948 and 1954, Stackhouse worked during the day at the Chrysler plant in West Helena, Arkansas, and played the blues in his leisure time. He did not move from the South, unlike many of his contemporaries, and continued to perform locally into the 1960s with Frank Frost, Boyd Gilmore and Baby Face Turner. In May 1965, Sonny Boy Williamson II, who was by then back on "King Biscuit Time", utilised Stackhouse when he was recorded in concert by Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records. The recording was issued under Williamson's name, titled King Biscuit Time. Shortly afterwards, Williamson died, but Stackhouse continued briefly on the radio program, back in tandem with Nighthawk.[2]
In 1967, George Mitchell recorded Stackhouse in Dundee, Mississippi. Named the Blues Rhythm Boys, Stackhouse was joined by both Curtis and Nighthawk, although the latter died shortly after the recording was made. Another field researcher, David Evans, recorded Stackhouse in Crystal Springs, but by 1970 following the deaths of both Curtis and Mason, Stackhouse had moved on to Memphis, Tennessee. There he resided with his old friend Joe Willie Wilkins and his wife Carrie. At the height of the blues revival Stackhouse toured with Wilkins, and the Memphis Blues Caravan, and appeared at various music festivals.
Earlier in February 1972, Stackhouse recorded an album titled Cryin' Won't Help You. It was released on CD in 1994.[5] His lone trip overseas saw Stackhouse play in 1976 in Vienna, Austria.[2]
Stackhouse returned to Helena, where he died in September 1980, at the age of 69. A son, Houston Stackhouse Jr., survived him.[2]
The acoustic stage at the annual Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival is named after Stackhouse.
Koko Taylor Geb. 28.9.1928
Koko
Taylor (gebürtig: Cora Walton; * 28. September 1928 bei Memphis,
Tennessee; † 3. Juni 2009 in Chicago, Illinois) war eine
US-amerikanische Blues-Sängerin.
Geboren und aufgewachsen bei
Memphis, Tennessee, zog Koko Taylor 1954 mit ihrem Mann, dem LKW-Fahrer
Robert Pops Taylor, nach Chicago. Sie begann, in den Chicagoer
Blues-Clubs zu singen, wo sie Willie Dixon 1962 entdeckte. Ab 1965 hatte
sie einen Plattenvertrag mit Chess Records. Ihre Single Wang Dang
Doodle, geschrieben von Dixon, wurde ein Hit.Ende der 1960er- und Anfang der 1970er-Jahre trat Taylor überall in den Vereinigten Staaten auf. 1975 unterzeichnete sie einen Vertrag mit Alligator Records, unter dem sie eine beachtliche Anzahl von Alben veröffentlichte. 1980 erhielt sie den W. C. Handy Award als beste weibliche Blueskünstlerin, die Auszeichnung erhielt sie auch im Jahr darauf in derselben Sparte. 1985 erhielt sie einen Grammy für das beste Album des traditionellen Blues.
In den 1990er-Jahren hatte Koko Taylor Auftritte in verschiedenen Filmen, etwa Blues Brothers 2000. Sie eröffnete 1994 einen Blues-Club in Chicago, der allerdings 1999 wieder schloss. Sie starb aufgrund von Komplikationen nach einer Operation.
Koko Taylor beeinflusste viele Blues-Musiker, darunter Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman und Susan Tedeschi.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koko_Taylor
Koko
Taylor, sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor (September 28, 1928 – June 3,
2009),[2] was an American Chicago blues singer, whose style also
encompassed many genres including electric blues, rhythm and blues and
blues and soul blues popularly she was known as the "Queen of the
Blues."[1] She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and
traditional blues stylings.
Life and career
Born Cora Walton in Shelby County, Tennessee, Taylor was the daughter of a sharecropper.[3] She left Memphis for Chicago, Illinois, in 1952 with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor.[2] In the late 1950s she began singing in Chicago blues clubs. She was spotted by Willie Dixon in 1962, and this led to wider performances and her first recording contract. In 1965, Taylor was signed by Chess Records subsidiary Checker Records where she recorded "Wang Dang Doodle", a song written by Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf five years earlier. The record became a hit, reaching number four on the R&B charts and number 58 on the pop charts[4] in 1966, and selling a million copies.[2] Taylor recorded several versions of "Wang Dang Doodle" over the years, including a live version at the 1967 American Folk Blues Festival with harmonica player Little Walter and guitarist Hound Dog Taylor. Taylor subsequently recorded more material, both original and covers, but never repeated that initial chart success.
National touring in the late 1960s and early 1970s improved her fan base, and she became accessible to a wider record-buying public when she signed with Alligator Records in 1975. She recorded nine albums for Alligator, 8 of which were Grammy-nominated, and came to dominate the female blues singer ranks, winning twenty five W. C. Handy Awards (more than any other artist). After her recovery from a near-fatal car crash in 1989, the 1990s found Taylor in films such as Blues Brothers 2000 and Wild at Heart, and she opened a blues club on Division Street in Chicago in 1994, which relocated to Wabash Ave in Chicago's South Loop in 2000. (The club is now closed.)
Taylor influenced musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman, and Susan Tedeschi. In the years prior to her death, she performed over 70 concerts a year and resided just south of Chicago in Country Club Hills, Illinois.
In 2008, the Internal Revenue Service said that Taylor owed $400,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest. Her tax problems concerned 1998, 2000 and 2001; for those years combined, her adjusted gross income was $949,000.[5]
Taylor's final performance was at the Blues Music Awards, on May 7, 2009. She suffered complications from surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding on May 19, 2009, and died on June 3 of that year.[6]
Awards
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album – 1985
Howlin' Wolf Award – 1996
Blues Hall of Fame – Inducted 1997
Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award – 1999
NEA National Heritage Fellowship – 2004
Blues Music Award (formerly the W. C. Handy Award) – 24 times, including the following
categories:
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Entertainer of the Year
Female Artist
Traditional Blues Female Artist
Vocalist of the Year
At age 75 in 2003, she appeared as a special guest with Taj Mahal on an episode of
Arthur.
At age 80 in 2009, she appeared as a special guest with Umphrey's McGee at their New
Year's Eve performance at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago.
Taylor won for Best Blues Album in The 7th Annual Independent Music Awards
Life and career
Born Cora Walton in Shelby County, Tennessee, Taylor was the daughter of a sharecropper.[3] She left Memphis for Chicago, Illinois, in 1952 with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor.[2] In the late 1950s she began singing in Chicago blues clubs. She was spotted by Willie Dixon in 1962, and this led to wider performances and her first recording contract. In 1965, Taylor was signed by Chess Records subsidiary Checker Records where she recorded "Wang Dang Doodle", a song written by Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf five years earlier. The record became a hit, reaching number four on the R&B charts and number 58 on the pop charts[4] in 1966, and selling a million copies.[2] Taylor recorded several versions of "Wang Dang Doodle" over the years, including a live version at the 1967 American Folk Blues Festival with harmonica player Little Walter and guitarist Hound Dog Taylor. Taylor subsequently recorded more material, both original and covers, but never repeated that initial chart success.
National touring in the late 1960s and early 1970s improved her fan base, and she became accessible to a wider record-buying public when she signed with Alligator Records in 1975. She recorded nine albums for Alligator, 8 of which were Grammy-nominated, and came to dominate the female blues singer ranks, winning twenty five W. C. Handy Awards (more than any other artist). After her recovery from a near-fatal car crash in 1989, the 1990s found Taylor in films such as Blues Brothers 2000 and Wild at Heart, and she opened a blues club on Division Street in Chicago in 1994, which relocated to Wabash Ave in Chicago's South Loop in 2000. (The club is now closed.)
Taylor influenced musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman, and Susan Tedeschi. In the years prior to her death, she performed over 70 concerts a year and resided just south of Chicago in Country Club Hills, Illinois.
In 2008, the Internal Revenue Service said that Taylor owed $400,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest. Her tax problems concerned 1998, 2000 and 2001; for those years combined, her adjusted gross income was $949,000.[5]
Taylor's final performance was at the Blues Music Awards, on May 7, 2009. She suffered complications from surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding on May 19, 2009, and died on June 3 of that year.[6]
Awards
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album – 1985
Howlin' Wolf Award – 1996
Blues Hall of Fame – Inducted 1997
Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award – 1999
NEA National Heritage Fellowship – 2004
Blues Music Award (formerly the W. C. Handy Award) – 24 times, including the following
categories:
Contemporary Blues Female Artist
Entertainer of the Year
Female Artist
Traditional Blues Female Artist
Vocalist of the Year
At age 75 in 2003, she appeared as a special guest with Taj Mahal on an episode of
Arthur.
At age 80 in 2009, she appeared as a special guest with Umphrey's McGee at their New
Year's Eve performance at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago.
Taylor won for Best Blues Album in The 7th Annual Independent Music Awards
Koko Taylor - I' m a Woman
Ben E. King *28.09.1938
Ben E. King (* 28. September 1938 als Benjamin Earl Nelson in Henderson/North Carolina) ist ein US-amerikanischer Rhythm & Blues- und Soulsänger, der als Leadtenor der Vokalgruppe Drifters im Jahr 1959 bekannt wurde und danach seine Karriere als Solist fortsetzte.
Werdegang
Ben E. King begann als Sänger bei den Five Crowns Ende des Jahres 1955, als diese Vokalgruppe bereits seit Oktober 1952 Platten herausbrachte. Als King für James Clark zur Gruppe stieß, wurde Ende 1955 I Can’t Pretend aufgenommen. Zu hören ist Ben E. King auch bei der nächsten Single Kiss And Make Up (RnB #6901), die im Februar 1958 erschienen war und die Gruppe lediglich als Crowns aufführt. Das RnB-Label vom Erfolgskomponisten Doc Pomus hatte übrigens lediglich diese eine Single veröffentlicht, bevor es liquidiert wurde[1]. Diese solide Aufnahme aus der Feder von Pomus brachte den Crowns einen Auftritt im Apollo-Theater in New York ein, wo sie ab 30. Mai 1958 im Vorprogramm der Drifters auftreten durften. Deren Manager George Treadwell, unzufrieden über die abnehmende Erfolgskurve seiner Drifters, war derart begeistert vom Auftritt der Crowns, dass er seine Drifters kurzerhand feuerte. Da Treadwell der Name Drifters gehörte, wurden die Crowns in Drifters umbenannt und damit King der Leadsänger der Drifters.
Seine erste Aufnahmesession unter dem neuen Namen fand am 6. März 1959 statt, als There Goes My Baby / Oh My Love und zwei weitere Titel eingespielt wurden. Mit dem von Leiber/Stoller produzierten There Goes My Baby feierten die Drifters ein erfolgreiches Comeback mit einem ersten Rang in den R&B-Charts und einem zweiten Platz in der Pophitparade. Zusammen mit ihm sangen noch Charlie Thomas (Tenor), Doc Green (Bariton) und Elsbeary Hobbs (Bass), allesamt aus den Crowns hervorgegangen. In der zweiten Session vom 9. Juli 1959 entstanden die Titel Dance With Me / True Love, True Love, die mit einem Rang zwei in der R&B-Hitparade ebenfalls gut rezeptiert wurden.
Solokarriere
Nach weniger als einem Jahr verließ Ben E. King die Drifters zugunsten einer Solokarriere. Bereits am 17. Dezember 1959 stand er als Solist vor dem Mikrofon und sang die Otis Blackwell-Komposition Brace Yourself, die jedoch nach Veröffentlichung im Mai 1960 die Charts verfehlte. Kurz danach nahm er am 23. Dezember 1959 noch einmal drei Titel mit den Drifters auf, darunter This Magic Moment, das einen Rang vier in den R&B-Charts erreichte. Am 19. Mai 1960 war er mit den Drifters bei den Aufnahmen zu Save The Last Dance For Me / Nobody But Me am Mikrofon, mit jeweils dem ersten Platz in beiden Hitparaden dem größten Hit der Gruppe. Auch dieser Millionenseller konnte King nicht von seinen Soloplänen abbringen. Sein endgültige Trennung im September 1960 verschärfte die Besetzungsprobleme der ohnehin durch starke personelle Fluktuationen getroffenen Gruppe. Durch die kurze Verweildauer war King lediglich auf 11 der 124 Drifters-Titel als Leadsänger zu hören, das sind knapp 9 % der veröffentlichten Titel der Drifters[2].
Die für den 27. Oktober 1960 anberaumte Aufnahmesession listet Ben E. King nunmehr endgültig als Solisten, begleitet durch das Orchester des Atlantic-Arrangeurs Stan Applebaum. Es entstanden Spanish Harlem / First Taste of Love, der Young Boy Blues und Stand By Me. Zuerst wurde Spanish Harlem veröffentlicht, das in der Pophitparade einen Rang zehn belegte. Größter Hit für King als Solist war das aus der gleichen Session stammende Stand By Me, das in den R&B-Charts für vier Wochen den ersten Rang belegte. Bis zum Ende der 1960er Jahre feierte er etliche weitere Hits. Nach einer Hitpause von rund fünf Jahren gelang ihm 1975 mit Supernatural ein Comeback (USA Platz 5, R&B Platz 1). Bis 1980 folgten weitere kleinere Single-Erfolge in den R&B-Charts, doch Kings große Zeit war vorbei.[3]
Coverversionen
Der Song Stand by Me wurde in dem gleichnamigen Film Stand by Me 1986 benutzt und 25 Jahre nach der Erstveröffentlichung erneut ein Hit.
Von Stand by Me gibt es zahlreiche Coverversionen, darunter von 4 the Cause, dem deutschen Musikprojekt Lemon Ice (Geeno & JayLow), John Lennon, Otis Redding, Willy DeVille, der Punk-Rock-Band NOFX und Pennywise. Auch sein I (Who Have Nothing) wurde oft, u. a. von Tom Jones, John Lennon und Shirley Bassey gecovert.
Benjamin Earl King[1] (September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015), known as Ben E. King, was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He was perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later in 1986 (when it was used as the theme to the film of the same name), a number one hit in the UK in 1987, and no. 25 on the RIAA's list of Songs of the Century—and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group the Drifters.[2]
Early life
King was born Benjamin Earl Nelson on September 28, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina,[2] and moved to Harlem, New York, at the age of nine in 1947.[3] King began singing in church choirs, and in high school formed the Four B’s, a doo-wop group that occasionally performed at the Apollo.[4]
Career
The Drifters
In 1958, King (still using his birth name) joined a doo-wop group called the Five Crowns.[4] Later that year, the Drifters' manager George Treadwell fired the members of the original Drifters, and replaced them with the members of the Five Crowns.[5] King had a string of R&B hits with the group on Atlantic Records. He co-wrote and sang lead on the first Atlantic hit by the new version of the Drifters, "There Goes My Baby" (1959). He also sang lead on a succession of hits by the team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, including "Save the Last Dance for Me", "This Magic Moment", and "I Count the Tears".[2] King only recorded thirteen songs with the Drifters—two backing other lead singers and eleven lead vocal performances—including a non-single called "Temptation" (later redone by Drifters vocalist Johnny Moore). The last of the King-led Drifters singles to be released was "Sometimes I Wonder", which was recorded May 19, 1960, but not issued until June 1962.[6]
Due to contract disputes with Treadwell in which King and his manager, Lover Patterson, demanded greater compensation, King rarely performed with the Drifters on tour or on television. On television, fellow Drifters member Charlie Thomas usually lip-synched the songs that King had recorded with the Drifters.[7]
Solo career
In May 1960, King left the Drifters,[2] assuming the stage name Ben E. King in preparation for a solo career. Remaining with Atlantic Records on its Atco imprint, King scored his first solo hit with the ballad "Spanish Harlem" (1961).[2] His next single, "Stand by Me", written with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, ultimately would be voted as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America. King cited singers Brook Benton, Roy Hamilton and Sam Cooke as influences for his vocals of the song.[8] "Stand by Me", "There Goes My Baby", "Spanish Harlem", and "Save the Last Dance For Me" were all named in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll;[9] and each of those records has earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.[10] King's other well-known songs include "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", "Amor", "Seven Letters", "How Can I Forget", "On the Horizon", "Young Boy Blues", "First Taste of Love", "Here Comes the Night", "Ecstasy", and "That's When It Hurts". In the summer of 1963, King had a Top 30 hit with "I (Who Have Nothing)", which reached the Top 10 on New York's radio station, WMCA.[11]
King's records continued to place well on the Billboard Hot 100 chart until 1965. British pop bands began to dominate the pop music scene, but King still continued to make R&B hits, including "What is Soul?" (1966), "Tears, Tears, Tears" (1967), and "Supernatural Thing" (1975).[4] A 1986 re-issue of "Stand by Me" followed the song's use as the theme song to the movie Stand By Me and re-entered the Billboard Top Ten after a 25-year absence.[4]
In 1990, King and Bo Diddley, along with Doug Lazy, recorded a revamped hip hop version of the Monotones' 1958 hit song "Book of Love" for the soundtrack of the movie Book of Love. He also recorded a children's album, I Have Songs In My Pocket, written and produced by children's music artist Bobby Susser in 1998, which won the Early Childhood News Directors' Choice Award and Dr. Toy's/the Institute for Childhood Resources Award. King performed "Stand by Me" on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2007. Ahmet Ertegun said, "King is one of the greatest singers in the history of rock and roll and rhythm and blues."[12]
As a Drifter and as a solo artist, King had achieved five number one hits: "There Goes My Baby", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "Stand By Me", "Supernatural Thing", and the 1986 re-issue of "Stand By Me". He also earned 12 Top 10 hits and 26 Top 40 hits from 1959 to 1986. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a Drifter;[13] he was also nominated as a solo artist.[14]
King's "I (Who Have Nothing)" was selected for the Sopranos Peppers and Eggs Soundtrack CD (2001).[15]
King was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[16]
On March 27, 2012, the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that "Stand By Me" would receive its 2012 Towering Song Award and that King would be honored with the 2012 Towering Performance Award for his recording of the song.[17]
Later life
King was active in his charitable foundation, the Stand By Me Foundation, which helps to provide education to deserving youths.[8][18] He was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, from the late 1960s.[19]
King performed "Stand By Me" during a televised tribute to late comedian George Carlin, as he was one of Carlin's favorite artists.[20]
On November 11, 2010, he performed "Stand By Me" on the Latin Grammys with Prince Royce.[21]
King toured the United Kingdom in 2013 and played concerts in the United States as late as 2014, despite reported health problems.[22]
Death
It was announced on May 1, 2015, that King had died at the Hackensack University Medical Center on April 30, 2015, at the age of 76.[22][23] His agent said he had suffered from "coronary problems" at the time of his death.[3] King was survived by his wife of 51 years, Betty, three children and six grandchildren.[21]
Legacy
King has been covered by acts from several genres. "So Much Loved" was recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1969.[24] "I (Who Have Nothing)" was performed by Shirley Bassey in 1963 and also by Tom Jones in 1970, as well as a 1979 recording by Sylvester. "Till I Can't Get It Anymore" was revisited by peer Ray Charles in 1970 and "Spanish Harlem" was sung by Aretha Franklin in 1971. "Stand by Me" was covered by Otis Redding, John Lennon and Mickey Gilley. King also inspired several rock bands: Siouxsie and the Banshees recorded "Supernatural Thing" in 1981 and Led Zeppelin did a cover version of "Groovin'", more known under the title of "We're Gonna Groove".
Stand By Me- Ben E King, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, Chuck Jackson, Brian McKnight
Phillip Jackson (September 28, 1951[1] – October 30, 2009),[2] best known as Norton Buffalo, was an American singer-songwriter, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist who was a versatile exponent of the harmonica, including chromatic[3] and diatonic.[4]
Career
Buffalo, the son of a harmonica player, was born in Oakland, California and raised in Richmond, California. At John F. Kennedy High School he performed in a series of bands. By the early 1970s he gained renown as a San Francisco Bay Area musician, playing with such Bay Area groups as Clover, The Moonlighters led by Bill Kirchen, and Elvin Bishop.
In early 1976 Buffalo joined the "farewell" European tour of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, and was recorded on the band's final live album We've Got A Live One Here!,[5] which included Buffalo's song Eighteen Wheels. After the tour, Buffalo returned to California, briefly played with a number of local bands, and later in 1976 he joined the Steve Miller Band's Fly Like an Eagle national tour. He also played harmonica on the band's hit follow-up album Book of Dreams, released in May 1977. Buffalo appeared on the tracks Winter Time and The Stake.
By the late 1970s Buffalo had formed his own band, The Stampede, and recorded two Capitol Records albums: Lovin' in the Valley of the Moon and Desert Horizon. In 1977 his harmonica work appeared on Bonnie Raitt's Sweet Forgiveness and The Doobie Brothers' Livin' On The Fault Line albums. Not long after the release of his second album in 1979, Buffalo and his band were featured on the PBS music television program Austin City Limits.[6] In 1981 he produced an album for the popular Northwest band Wheatfield. He was a member of the Mickey Hart band High Noon in the late 70s and early 80s with Merl Saunders, Mike Hinton, Jim McPhearson, Vicki Randle, and Bobby Vega, and played with Saunders on the Rainforest Band album It's in the Air in 1993.
Buffalo is legendary among harpists (harmonicists) for his solo on Bonnie Raitt's treatment of Del Shannon's "Runaway", in which he switches quickly between four different harps (F, E♭, D♭, and C) to play across the chord changes in the song (Cm, B♭, A♭, G).
Buffalo also appeared in and worked on several films. He did a cameo appearance in the rock movie, The Rose starring Bette Midler, where he was a member of the band (on harmonica and trombone) and spoke a line or two. He had another cameo in Michael Cimino's 1979 film Heaven's Gate starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Sam Waterston and Jeff Bridges. He also co-wrote the music for the films Stacy's Knights and Eddie Macon's Run with guitarist Mike Hinton.
Norton performed and recorded as a member of The Steve Miller Band for over 32 years. He often performed and recorded music as a session musician, and appeared on 180 albums. A cover of Buffalo's song Ain't No Bread In The Breadbox was in heavy rotation at Jerry Garcia Band concerts from 1991 until Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, and appeared on the live release Shining Star.
On September 2, 2009 Buffalo was diagnosed with stage 4 adenocarcinoma of the lower right lobe of the lung. The next day, he found out that it had spread to his brain. Norton retired to his home in Paradise, California, where he sought treatment at Feather River Hospital.[7] He died on October 30, 2009 in Feather River Hospital.[2]
As a benefit for the Buffalo family, friends of Buffalo threw "A Celebration of Life: Tribute To Norton Buffalo" at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. Headlined by the Steve Miller Band, which Buffalo was a member of for 33 years, the event honored his life and career (over 180 album appearances). Other acts and performers included The Doobie Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Huey Lewis, George Thorogood, Elvin Bishop, and Carlos Reyes.
Career
Buffalo, the son of a harmonica player, was born in Oakland, California and raised in Richmond, California. At John F. Kennedy High School he performed in a series of bands. By the early 1970s he gained renown as a San Francisco Bay Area musician, playing with such Bay Area groups as Clover, The Moonlighters led by Bill Kirchen, and Elvin Bishop.
In early 1976 Buffalo joined the "farewell" European tour of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, and was recorded on the band's final live album We've Got A Live One Here!,[5] which included Buffalo's song Eighteen Wheels. After the tour, Buffalo returned to California, briefly played with a number of local bands, and later in 1976 he joined the Steve Miller Band's Fly Like an Eagle national tour. He also played harmonica on the band's hit follow-up album Book of Dreams, released in May 1977. Buffalo appeared on the tracks Winter Time and The Stake.
By the late 1970s Buffalo had formed his own band, The Stampede, and recorded two Capitol Records albums: Lovin' in the Valley of the Moon and Desert Horizon. In 1977 his harmonica work appeared on Bonnie Raitt's Sweet Forgiveness and The Doobie Brothers' Livin' On The Fault Line albums. Not long after the release of his second album in 1979, Buffalo and his band were featured on the PBS music television program Austin City Limits.[6] In 1981 he produced an album for the popular Northwest band Wheatfield. He was a member of the Mickey Hart band High Noon in the late 70s and early 80s with Merl Saunders, Mike Hinton, Jim McPhearson, Vicki Randle, and Bobby Vega, and played with Saunders on the Rainforest Band album It's in the Air in 1993.
Buffalo is legendary among harpists (harmonicists) for his solo on Bonnie Raitt's treatment of Del Shannon's "Runaway", in which he switches quickly between four different harps (F, E♭, D♭, and C) to play across the chord changes in the song (Cm, B♭, A♭, G).
Buffalo also appeared in and worked on several films. He did a cameo appearance in the rock movie, The Rose starring Bette Midler, where he was a member of the band (on harmonica and trombone) and spoke a line or two. He had another cameo in Michael Cimino's 1979 film Heaven's Gate starring Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Sam Waterston and Jeff Bridges. He also co-wrote the music for the films Stacy's Knights and Eddie Macon's Run with guitarist Mike Hinton.
Norton performed and recorded as a member of The Steve Miller Band for over 32 years. He often performed and recorded music as a session musician, and appeared on 180 albums. A cover of Buffalo's song Ain't No Bread In The Breadbox was in heavy rotation at Jerry Garcia Band concerts from 1991 until Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, and appeared on the live release Shining Star.
On September 2, 2009 Buffalo was diagnosed with stage 4 adenocarcinoma of the lower right lobe of the lung. The next day, he found out that it had spread to his brain. Norton retired to his home in Paradise, California, where he sought treatment at Feather River Hospital.[7] He died on October 30, 2009 in Feather River Hospital.[2]
As a benefit for the Buffalo family, friends of Buffalo threw "A Celebration of Life: Tribute To Norton Buffalo" at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. Headlined by the Steve Miller Band, which Buffalo was a member of for 33 years, the event honored his life and career (over 180 album appearances). Other acts and performers included The Doobie Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Huey Lewis, George Thorogood, Elvin Bishop, and Carlos Reyes.
Norton Buffalo & Roy Rogers 'Long Hard Road'
Harry Garner *28.09.
I grew up in Philadelphia Pa. during the 1960’s. It was here that I was first introduced to the harmonica and influenced by the music of the times. After a tour in the Marines, I drifted throughout the United States finally settling in Chicago some 25 years ago. Here I discovered the essence of true Chicago Blues: McKinley Morganfield, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Otis Spann, Shakey Horton, Charlie Musselwhite and other blues greats. All became part of my musical education, as well as, the Maxwell Street Market. My blues are born from hard times, juke joints, fast livin’, pain and redemption . I have a passion for live, the blues and everything in between. My rousing vocals and harmonica will have you out of your seat and stompin’ your feet.
Take the rock and psychedelia of 1960s Philadelphia, mix in the working-class country music influences of Cleveland, top it off with good old-fashioned Chicago blues and you'll get Harry Garner. Oh, and don't forget to sprinkle in some hard times throughout.
"I want to mix psychedelic, country and blues, a little bit of rock and put it all together and make it just something newer," Garner, who lives in La Grange, said in a recent interview. "You have to make each song your own."
The leader of The Harry Garner Band, one of the three headliners at the first annual La Grange Park Jazz and Blues Festival on July 24 at Memorial Park in La Grange Park, brings his classic Seydel harmonica and powerful vocals to the table, but it's never been all about him.
In fact, getting the musician to talk about himself can be difficult, because as Garner says, "I don't want to hog the spotlight."
He loves highlighting the abilities of his band mates: Mark Wydra and his son J.R. Wydra on guitar, John Brumbach on tenor sax, Mike Scharf on bass and Jon Hiller on drums.
"I've got some of the best musicians in Chicago playing with me. So I try to keep the focus on the band and not me," Garner said in a recent interview. "The band's named after me because I do all the work. But I try to keep the emphasis on the quality of musicians."
Of course, it can't be all that easy talking about his life.
Growing up during the firebomb-laden race riots in Philly meant his family kept a fire extinguisher handy in the middle of the living room. Bricks were thrown through his family's windows; a building across from their street was burned down one night; chalk outlines, visible on Garner's way to school, betrayed murderous happenings from the night before.
But, his father would play old campfire songs on his guitar and harmonica after dinner, and eventually it was young Garner's turn to step up.
"He put me in guitar lessons, and gave me a harmonica. Didn't show me a damn thing on it, but he gave me a harmonica," Garner said, then laughed.
Garner found the guitar awkward; it did nothing for him, he said.
"But the harmonica was so mysterious. It was interesting. You can't see what you're doing on it. You just got this thing in your mouth," he said. "It's like a blind man trying to find his way down the street."
Garner's father later took his own life, succumbing to depression. For Garner, music was a way to deal with such feelings without letting them become destructive.
"I think that's part of what the blues is really about. The blues is about surviving depression," Garner said. "Country, blues–people associate that with crying-in-your-beer songs... but that's only a part of it. The other part of it is perseverance, helping to survive those hard times, looking for a way to express yourself and let out these feelings in a positive way."
Of course, hard times wouldn't be complete without heartbreak.
He laughed hard when asked what brought him to Chicago in the first place—a telltale sign that it must have been for a lady.
He laughed. "It was! That's where the blues comes in."
Garner, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran who helped organize the Vietnam Vets Motorcycle Club in Cleveland, met the woman when he visited Chicago to attend the funeral of the president of the Chicago chapter. And, the two began a long-distance relationship between the two Midwest cities.
"We spent that summer bouncing back and forth between here and Cleveland. Well, she just hated Cleveland. Hated Cleveland. So I came up here," Garner said. "In the course of that relationship I settled down, sold the motorcycle and bought a wedding ring, a house, raised two kids. And then tragically went through the divorce, lost the house. You know—really discovered what the blues was about."
The divorce put Garner in dire financial straights. He was kicked out of his little urban apartment, and didn't know where to turn.
He soon found himself in La Grange—"paradise," as he calls it.
"I was broke. I had no money. And I saw an ad in the newspaper and it was for these people down here in La Grange, renting out the upstairs of their place," Garner said. "On my word, they rented me the place and I've lived there 15 years, never had a lease, never had a raise in rent, pay no utilities. And these people are like surrogate relatives to me. They watched my boy grow up from 6 years old, to he's now 22."
It's not just the kindness of strangers that won Garner over regarding La Grange.
In addition headlining La Grange Park's Jazz and Blues Festival this month, The Harry Garner Band frequents local haunts such as Tavern on La Grange and the Harlem Avenue Lounge in nearby Berwyn, which Garner calls "one of the best blues bars in all of Chicagoland."
There's a "real nice music scene" developing in La Grange, he said.
"People are friendly here, and it's a real comfortable, safe atmosphere to be in. It's the nicest place I've ever lived, coming from the inner cities and seeing the real rough side of life," he said.
But even in La Grange, Garner hadn't seen the end of tough times. Always having worked at mills throughout his life, the industrial downturn hit him hard. After lay-offs at several different mills, he had to switch vocations, taking a job as a truck driver for a small plumbing company. Six years later, he developed cancer and was laid off in the middle of chemotherapy.
"I lost my health coverage, lost my chemo," Garner said. "At that point I was forced to seek help from the Veterans Administration at Hines Veterans Hospital. I had two surgeries there. I'm on the mend. I'm doing great; I'm a cancer survivor."
And Garner hasn't lagged in his commitment to veterans' issues. He temporarily moved to Washington D.C. to volunteer to guard the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall as it was being built. He helps raise money for veterans injured in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through the Wounded Warrior Project and The Harry Garner Band will be playing all three days of the Salute the Armed Forces Festival at the Hawthorne Racecourse in Stickney, IL, during the second weekend in August.
All the rough moments in his life culminated in The Harry Garner Band's studio album, Hard Times. The album is an achievement Garner is fiercely proud of, but he never forgets all the people who helped him get this far.
"I think Chicago blues people—both retro and today—are always kind to people that they think have talent and are up-and-coming. I was invited up to play with so many greats as I was learning how to play, and welcomed with open arms. That gave me confidence and made me feel accepted. And as time goes on and I make my own way, I don't forget the people that helped me," Garner said. "You don't see that so much in other genres as you do in the blues."
It's a tradition Garner tries to carry on.
"I do the same thing. We'll bring guests up to play with us," he said. "As long as we see that they have some talent, we bring 'em up. It's like giving back once again."
"I want to mix psychedelic, country and blues, a little bit of rock and put it all together and make it just something newer," Garner, who lives in La Grange, said in a recent interview. "You have to make each song your own."
The leader of The Harry Garner Band, one of the three headliners at the first annual La Grange Park Jazz and Blues Festival on July 24 at Memorial Park in La Grange Park, brings his classic Seydel harmonica and powerful vocals to the table, but it's never been all about him.
In fact, getting the musician to talk about himself can be difficult, because as Garner says, "I don't want to hog the spotlight."
He loves highlighting the abilities of his band mates: Mark Wydra and his son J.R. Wydra on guitar, John Brumbach on tenor sax, Mike Scharf on bass and Jon Hiller on drums.
"I've got some of the best musicians in Chicago playing with me. So I try to keep the focus on the band and not me," Garner said in a recent interview. "The band's named after me because I do all the work. But I try to keep the emphasis on the quality of musicians."
Of course, it can't be all that easy talking about his life.
Growing up during the firebomb-laden race riots in Philly meant his family kept a fire extinguisher handy in the middle of the living room. Bricks were thrown through his family's windows; a building across from their street was burned down one night; chalk outlines, visible on Garner's way to school, betrayed murderous happenings from the night before.
But, his father would play old campfire songs on his guitar and harmonica after dinner, and eventually it was young Garner's turn to step up.
"He put me in guitar lessons, and gave me a harmonica. Didn't show me a damn thing on it, but he gave me a harmonica," Garner said, then laughed.
Garner found the guitar awkward; it did nothing for him, he said.
"But the harmonica was so mysterious. It was interesting. You can't see what you're doing on it. You just got this thing in your mouth," he said. "It's like a blind man trying to find his way down the street."
Garner's father later took his own life, succumbing to depression. For Garner, music was a way to deal with such feelings without letting them become destructive.
"I think that's part of what the blues is really about. The blues is about surviving depression," Garner said. "Country, blues–people associate that with crying-in-your-beer songs... but that's only a part of it. The other part of it is perseverance, helping to survive those hard times, looking for a way to express yourself and let out these feelings in a positive way."
Of course, hard times wouldn't be complete without heartbreak.
He laughed hard when asked what brought him to Chicago in the first place—a telltale sign that it must have been for a lady.
He laughed. "It was! That's where the blues comes in."
Garner, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran who helped organize the Vietnam Vets Motorcycle Club in Cleveland, met the woman when he visited Chicago to attend the funeral of the president of the Chicago chapter. And, the two began a long-distance relationship between the two Midwest cities.
"We spent that summer bouncing back and forth between here and Cleveland. Well, she just hated Cleveland. Hated Cleveland. So I came up here," Garner said. "In the course of that relationship I settled down, sold the motorcycle and bought a wedding ring, a house, raised two kids. And then tragically went through the divorce, lost the house. You know—really discovered what the blues was about."
The divorce put Garner in dire financial straights. He was kicked out of his little urban apartment, and didn't know where to turn.
He soon found himself in La Grange—"paradise," as he calls it.
"I was broke. I had no money. And I saw an ad in the newspaper and it was for these people down here in La Grange, renting out the upstairs of their place," Garner said. "On my word, they rented me the place and I've lived there 15 years, never had a lease, never had a raise in rent, pay no utilities. And these people are like surrogate relatives to me. They watched my boy grow up from 6 years old, to he's now 22."
It's not just the kindness of strangers that won Garner over regarding La Grange.
In addition headlining La Grange Park's Jazz and Blues Festival this month, The Harry Garner Band frequents local haunts such as Tavern on La Grange and the Harlem Avenue Lounge in nearby Berwyn, which Garner calls "one of the best blues bars in all of Chicagoland."
There's a "real nice music scene" developing in La Grange, he said.
"People are friendly here, and it's a real comfortable, safe atmosphere to be in. It's the nicest place I've ever lived, coming from the inner cities and seeing the real rough side of life," he said.
But even in La Grange, Garner hadn't seen the end of tough times. Always having worked at mills throughout his life, the industrial downturn hit him hard. After lay-offs at several different mills, he had to switch vocations, taking a job as a truck driver for a small plumbing company. Six years later, he developed cancer and was laid off in the middle of chemotherapy.
"I lost my health coverage, lost my chemo," Garner said. "At that point I was forced to seek help from the Veterans Administration at Hines Veterans Hospital. I had two surgeries there. I'm on the mend. I'm doing great; I'm a cancer survivor."
And Garner hasn't lagged in his commitment to veterans' issues. He temporarily moved to Washington D.C. to volunteer to guard the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall as it was being built. He helps raise money for veterans injured in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through the Wounded Warrior Project and The Harry Garner Band will be playing all three days of the Salute the Armed Forces Festival at the Hawthorne Racecourse in Stickney, IL, during the second weekend in August.
All the rough moments in his life culminated in The Harry Garner Band's studio album, Hard Times. The album is an achievement Garner is fiercely proud of, but he never forgets all the people who helped him get this far.
"I think Chicago blues people—both retro and today—are always kind to people that they think have talent and are up-and-coming. I was invited up to play with so many greats as I was learning how to play, and welcomed with open arms. That gave me confidence and made me feel accepted. And as time goes on and I make my own way, I don't forget the people that helped me," Garner said. "You don't see that so much in other genres as you do in the blues."
It's a tradition Garner tries to carry on.
"I do the same thing. We'll bring guests up to play with us," he said. "As long as we see that they have some talent, we bring 'em up. It's like giving back once again."
The Harry Garner Band - Blues Makers Soundstage - VORTV Studios
Harry Garner - harmonica / vocal, JR Wydra - guitar / vocal, Mark Wydra - bass, Willie Hayes - drums
Filmed on 7/27/14 at VORTV Studios, Romeoville, IL. USA
Filmed on 7/27/14 at VORTV Studios, Romeoville, IL. USA
C. J. (Clayton Joseph) Chenier *28.09.1957
C. J. (Clayton Joseph) Chenier (* 28. September 1957 in Port Arthur, Texas) ist ein US-amerikanischer Zydeco-Musiker. Er wurde als „Kronprinz des Zydeco“ bezeichnet, die Krone gehörte seinem Vater, der verstorbenen Zydecolegende Clifton Chenier. Nach dessen Tod übernahm er seine Band, die „Red Hot Louisiana Band“, und setzte mit ihr die Tradition seines Vaters fort, ging aber auch über die Tradition hinaus.[1]
Leben
Seine Jugend verbrachte er in Port Arthur, weit weg von seinem Vater, und so dauerte es lange, bis er mit der Zydecomusik in Kontakt kam. Chenier begann mit dem Klavierspielen, wechselte aber zum Saxophon. Er erhielt ein Stipendium und studierte Musik an der Texas Southern University. Sein Hauptinteresse galt aber dem Rhythm and Blues und dem Modern Jazz.[1]
1978 lud ihn sein Vater ein, in der Red Hot Louisiana Band Saxophon zu spielen. Als sein Vater 1985 erkrankte, stieg er auf das Akkordeon um und übernahm eine größere Rolle in der Band. Nach dem Tod seines Vaters übernahm er dessen Band. Daneben engagierte er sich aber auch in anderen musikalischen Projekten. So spielte er auf dem Album The Rhythm of the Saints und auf der folgenden „Born At The Right Time“-Tournee.
1992 trat Chenier beim vom Sender PBS verbreiteten Programm Austin City Limits auf und 1996 beim New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. 1995 wurde das Album Too Much Fun vom Magazin Living Blues als bestes Zydecoalbum des Jahres nominiert, und in den großen Zeitungen standen Artikel über C. J. Chenier, so zum Beispiel in der Los Angeles Times, der Chicago Tribune, Billboard und der Blues Revue.[2] Chenier gewann 1997 den Living Blues Award und einen AFIM Indie Award für The Big Squeeze als bestes Zydecoalbum. Zu Auftritten bei verschiedenen Festivals kam es ebenso, wie zum Beispiel beim Chicago Blues Festival vor 60.000 Zuhörern.[2] 2004 war er Gastmusiker auf James Cottons Baby, Don't You Tear My Clothes, und 2006 erschien das bisher letzte Album The Desperate Kingdom of Love.
C. J. Chenier (born Clayton Joseph Thompson, September 28, 1957, Port Arthur, Texas) is the Creole son of the Grammy Award-winning "King of Zydeco", Louisiana musician, Clifton Chenier. In 1987, Chenier followed in his father's footsteps, and led his father's band as an accordion performer and singer of zydeco, a blend of cajun and creole music. With five previous albums to his credit, by 1994, Chenier began to record for Chicago-based Alligator Records.
Career
Chenier grew up in the 1960s, in the housing projects of his native Port Arthur, Texas.[1] There, Chenier was aware of, but not exposed to his father's music as a young child, and had not heard the word Zydeco until later in his youth. Instead, Chenier developed tastes in the 1970s soul, funk and jazz music of James Brown, Funkadelic, John Coltrane and Miles Davis.
Upon first listening to his father's music, Chenier thought all the songs sounded the same. But he eventually began to appreciate and master the zydeco style, as he later joined and then took over his father's band and career. The first instrument Chenier learned to play was the saxophone. As a teenager in the early 1970s he played in black Top 40 bands in Port Arthur. By the mid 1970s Chenier went to college to study music.
In 1978 his father invited Chenier to play his saxophone with the Red Hot Louisiana Band, whose members also included his Uncle, Cleveland Chenier, on washboard.[2] By 1985, as his father was growing ill from diabetes, he invited Chenier to start playing the accordion in a larger role with the band, and to open the shows.
In 1987, the year his father died, Chenier continued his own musical career where his father left off. He has since played such venues as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, San Diego's Street Scene and Milwaukee's Summerfest.
Paul Simon first heard Chenier in 1990, and featured him on the The Rhythm of the Saints album, and that year's 'Born At The Right Time' tour. In 1992 Chenier played accordion on "Cajun Song", a track on the Gin Blossoms' album, New Miserable Experience.
1992 saw Chenier featured with the Red Hot Louisiana Band on the PBS music television program Austin City Limits.[3]
By October 1994 Chenier was signed by Alligator. His debut release there was Too Much Fun, named the next year as best zydeco album of 1995 by Living Blues magazine. In 1995, Chenier gained his widest audience to date with television appearances on the Jon Stewart Show and CNN. His 1996 appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was featured in a segment by the VH1 cable music television network, as well as by Entertainment Weekly.
Chenier and the band also appeared that year at the Austin, Texas, 1996 SxSW Music Conference, a special event for Alligator Records' 25th anniversary.
Chenier won the 1997 Living Blues' Critics' Poll Award and also an AFIM Indie Award for best zydeco album, for his next release, The Big Squeeze. In 2001, Chenier played in front of 60,000 fans at the Chicago Blues Festival.
2004 saw his latest release, Step It Up!, recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana.
Career
Chenier grew up in the 1960s, in the housing projects of his native Port Arthur, Texas.[1] There, Chenier was aware of, but not exposed to his father's music as a young child, and had not heard the word Zydeco until later in his youth. Instead, Chenier developed tastes in the 1970s soul, funk and jazz music of James Brown, Funkadelic, John Coltrane and Miles Davis.
Upon first listening to his father's music, Chenier thought all the songs sounded the same. But he eventually began to appreciate and master the zydeco style, as he later joined and then took over his father's band and career. The first instrument Chenier learned to play was the saxophone. As a teenager in the early 1970s he played in black Top 40 bands in Port Arthur. By the mid 1970s Chenier went to college to study music.
In 1978 his father invited Chenier to play his saxophone with the Red Hot Louisiana Band, whose members also included his Uncle, Cleveland Chenier, on washboard.[2] By 1985, as his father was growing ill from diabetes, he invited Chenier to start playing the accordion in a larger role with the band, and to open the shows.
In 1987, the year his father died, Chenier continued his own musical career where his father left off. He has since played such venues as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, San Diego's Street Scene and Milwaukee's Summerfest.
Paul Simon first heard Chenier in 1990, and featured him on the The Rhythm of the Saints album, and that year's 'Born At The Right Time' tour. In 1992 Chenier played accordion on "Cajun Song", a track on the Gin Blossoms' album, New Miserable Experience.
1992 saw Chenier featured with the Red Hot Louisiana Band on the PBS music television program Austin City Limits.[3]
By October 1994 Chenier was signed by Alligator. His debut release there was Too Much Fun, named the next year as best zydeco album of 1995 by Living Blues magazine. In 1995, Chenier gained his widest audience to date with television appearances on the Jon Stewart Show and CNN. His 1996 appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was featured in a segment by the VH1 cable music television network, as well as by Entertainment Weekly.
Chenier and the band also appeared that year at the Austin, Texas, 1996 SxSW Music Conference, a special event for Alligator Records' 25th anniversary.
Chenier won the 1997 Living Blues' Critics' Poll Award and also an AFIM Indie Award for best zydeco album, for his next release, The Big Squeeze. In 2001, Chenier played in front of 60,000 fans at the Chicago Blues Festival.
2004 saw his latest release, Step It Up!, recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana.
Rhythm&Roots_2010_C.J. Chenier
R.I.P.
Lucky Millinder +28.9.1966
Lucky Millinder (* 8. August 1900 in Anniston, Alabama; † 28. September 1966 in New York City), eigentlich Lucius Venable Millinder, war ein US-amerikanischer R&B- und Swing-Bandleader und Sänger. Geboren in Alabama, aufgewachsen in Chicago, arbeitete Millinder in den späten 1920er Jahren als Tänzer, Sänger und Bandleader. Er konnte weder Noten lesen noch spielte er ein Instrument, dennoch war er mit seiner Musik erfolgreich.
Im Juni 1930 tourte er mit einer Band in Europa, zu der auch der Sänger Freddy Taylor gehörte, mit Auftritten in Monte Carlo und Paris, im Oktober 1933 kam er erst nach New York zurück. Nach seiner Rückkehr wurde er Ende 1933 Leiter der Mills Blue Rhythm Band, wo er bis 1938 blieb. Am 4. Dezember 1933 machte Millinder erste Aufnahmen mit der Mills Blue Rhythm Band, und zwar Drop Me Off In Harlem und Love Is The Thing. Im Januar 1936 brachte die Mills Blue Rhythm Band die Single Broken Dreams of You / Yes! Yes! unter seiner Leitung heraus, es folgte im Juli 1937 The Image of You / Lucky Swing. Bereits ab Dezember 1934 komponierte Millinder auch Stücke für die Mills Blue Rhythm Band, so etwa den Hit Ride Red Ride oder St. Louis Wiggle Rhythm (Mai 1936).
Ab 1938 übernahm er die Band von Bill Doggett, weil dieser temporär zahlungsunfähig war und seine Bandmitglieder nicht mehr bezahlen konnte. Später allerdings erholte sich Doggett finanziell wieder und lieferte große Hits ab.
Im September 1940 stellte er seine eigene Band zusammen; darunter waren Buster Bailey (Klarinette), Bill Doggett (Piano), der Schlagzeuger „Panama“ Francis; später spielten auch Sir Charles Thompson und Eddie „Lockjaw“ Davis (beide Saxophon) mit. Als Sänger wurden Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Wynonie Harris oder „Big“ John Greer eingesetzt. Einen ersten Hit konnte er mit Big Fat Mama (mit Trevor Bacon als Sänger) landen; sein früher Hitparadenerfolg When The Lights Go On Again / That’s All wurde gleich zur Nummer 1 der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade. Auch Apollo Jump und Sweet Slumber gelangten bis zur Spitzenposition. Ab 1944 rekrutierte er als Sänger Wynonie Harris, der zu Millinders größtem Hit Who Threw The Wiskey in the Well? den Gesang beisteuerte. Nun war Millinders Band mit vier aufeinander folgenden Top-Platzierungen in der Hitparade einer der erfolgreichsten Interpreten des Decca-Labels.
Bei King Records war er bereits als Komponist zusammen mit Henry Glover bei Love Me Tonight für Bull Moose Jackson, aufgenommen am 5. Januar 1949, und weiteren Aufnahmen aufgetaucht. Der offizielle Wechsel zu King Records wurde im Juli 1950 vollzogen. Hier half er auch bei anderen Bands aus, so etwa bei Bull Moose Jacksons Big Fat Mamas Are Back In Style Again (King 4412), das am 4. Mai 1951 entstand. King Records brachten jedoch sieben Singles heraus, bis endlich mit Bongo Boogie / I’m Waiting Just for You Millinder mit einem zweiten Platz wieder die R&B-Hitparade erreichen konnte. Bei BMI sind für Millinder insgesamt 49 Kompositionen registriert,[1] wovon drei einen BMI-Award erhielten.
Im Jahre 1952 löste er seine Band auf. In späteren Jahren schlug er sich als Verkäufer und Diskjockey durch. Millinder rekrutierte für sein Orchester talentiertes Personal, von dem später viele Einzelinterpreten Karriere machen konnten. Er war ein exzellenter Organisator, entwickelte ein Gehör für komplizierte Sounds und verstand die Tiefen des Musikgeschäfts.[2]
Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8,
1910[1] – September 28, 1966[2]) was an American rhythm and blues
and swing bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did
not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical
taste made his bands successful. His group was said to have been the
greatest big band to play rhythm and blues,[3] and gave a break to a
number of influential musicians at the dawn of the rock and roll era.
He is a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
Early career
Millinder was born in Anniston, Alabama, United States,[2] and was raised in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1920s he worked in clubs, ballrooms, and theatres in Chicago as a master of ceremonies and dancer. He first fronted a band in 1931 for an RKO theater tour, and in 1932 took over leadership of Doc Crawford's orchestra in Harlem, New York City, as well as freelancing elsewhere.
In 1933, he took a band to Europe, playing residencies in Monte Carlo and Paris. He returned to New York to take over leadership of the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, which included Henry "Red" Allen, Charlie Shavers, Harry "Sweets" Edison and J. C. Higginbotham, and which had a regular slot at The Cotton Club. Around this time he also discovered singer and guitarist Rosetta Tharpe, with whom he performed for many years and first recorded with on "Trouble In Mind" in 1941.
With his own orchestra
In 1938 he teamed up with pianist Bill Doggett's group, and by 1940 had formed a completely new orchestra, which included Doggett and drummer "Panama" Francis. He established a residency at New York's Savoy Ballroom, and won a contract with Decca Records. Dizzy Gillespie was the band's trumpeter for a while, and featured on Millinder's first charted hit, "When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World)", which reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 14 on the pop chart in 1942. The follow-up records "Apollo Jump" and "Sweet Slumber" were also big hits, with vocals by Trevor Bacon.
By the mid-1940s the band was drifting towards what would be known as rhythm and blues. Other band members around this time included saxophonists Bull Moose Jackson, Tab Smith and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and pianist "Sir" Charles Thompson. In 1944 Millinder recruited singer Wynonie Harris, and their recording together of "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" became the group's biggest hit in 1945, staying at No. 1 on the R&B chart for eight weeks and also crossing over to reach No. 7 on the US pop chart. After Harris left for a solo career, Millinder followed up with another hit, "Shorty's Got to Go", on which he took lead vocals. Soon afterwards, Ruth Brown became the band's singer for a short period before her own solo career took off.
In the late 1940s the band continued to remain popular and toured around all the large R&B auditoriums, although it had few chart hits for several years. In 1949 the band left Decca Records and joined first RCA Victor and then King Records, recording with singers Big John Greer and Annisteen Allen. The band's last big hit was "I'm Waiting Just for You" with Allen in 1951, which reached No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 19 pop.
Later years
By 1952 Millinder was working as a radio DJ as well as continuing to tour with his band, but his style was beginning to fall out of favor and the band went through many personnel changes. In 1954 he took over the leadership of the house band at the Apollo Theater for a while. He effectively retired from performing around 1955, although his final recordings were in 1960.
He became active in music publishing, and in public relations for a whiskey distillery, before dying from a liver ailment in New York City in September 1966.
Early career
Millinder was born in Anniston, Alabama, United States,[2] and was raised in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1920s he worked in clubs, ballrooms, and theatres in Chicago as a master of ceremonies and dancer. He first fronted a band in 1931 for an RKO theater tour, and in 1932 took over leadership of Doc Crawford's orchestra in Harlem, New York City, as well as freelancing elsewhere.
In 1933, he took a band to Europe, playing residencies in Monte Carlo and Paris. He returned to New York to take over leadership of the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, which included Henry "Red" Allen, Charlie Shavers, Harry "Sweets" Edison and J. C. Higginbotham, and which had a regular slot at The Cotton Club. Around this time he also discovered singer and guitarist Rosetta Tharpe, with whom he performed for many years and first recorded with on "Trouble In Mind" in 1941.
With his own orchestra
In 1938 he teamed up with pianist Bill Doggett's group, and by 1940 had formed a completely new orchestra, which included Doggett and drummer "Panama" Francis. He established a residency at New York's Savoy Ballroom, and won a contract with Decca Records. Dizzy Gillespie was the band's trumpeter for a while, and featured on Millinder's first charted hit, "When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World)", which reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 14 on the pop chart in 1942. The follow-up records "Apollo Jump" and "Sweet Slumber" were also big hits, with vocals by Trevor Bacon.
By the mid-1940s the band was drifting towards what would be known as rhythm and blues. Other band members around this time included saxophonists Bull Moose Jackson, Tab Smith and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and pianist "Sir" Charles Thompson. In 1944 Millinder recruited singer Wynonie Harris, and their recording together of "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" became the group's biggest hit in 1945, staying at No. 1 on the R&B chart for eight weeks and also crossing over to reach No. 7 on the US pop chart. After Harris left for a solo career, Millinder followed up with another hit, "Shorty's Got to Go", on which he took lead vocals. Soon afterwards, Ruth Brown became the band's singer for a short period before her own solo career took off.
In the late 1940s the band continued to remain popular and toured around all the large R&B auditoriums, although it had few chart hits for several years. In 1949 the band left Decca Records and joined first RCA Victor and then King Records, recording with singers Big John Greer and Annisteen Allen. The band's last big hit was "I'm Waiting Just for You" with Allen in 1951, which reached No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 19 pop.
Later years
By 1952 Millinder was working as a radio DJ as well as continuing to tour with his band, but his style was beginning to fall out of favor and the band went through many personnel changes. In 1954 he took over the leadership of the house band at the Apollo Theater for a while. He effectively retired from performing around 1955, although his final recordings were in 1960.
He became active in music publishing, and in public relations for a whiskey distillery, before dying from a liver ailment in New York City in September 1966.
Bongo Boogie [10 inch] - Lucky Millinder and His Orchestra (feat. Annisteen Allen)
Laughing Charley Lincoln +28.09.1963
Laughing Charley Lincoln (eigentlich Charley Hicks; * 11. März 1900 in Lithonia, Georgia; † 28. September 1963) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist und Sänger. Mit seinem jüngeren Bruder Barbecue Bob (Robert Hicks) war er einer der Hauptvertreter des Atlanta Blues.
Die beiden Brüder Charley (manchmal auch "Charlie" geschrieben) und Robert Hicks lernten wahrscheinlich zusammen mit Curley Weaver von dessen Mutter Savannah "Dip" Shepard das Gitarrespielen. Sie traten zusammen in ihrer Heimatgegend auf.
1923 ging Charley nach Atlanta und begann dort, auf einer 12-saitigen Gitarre zu spielen. Im Jahr darauf folgte ihm sein Bruder Robert, um 1925 kam auch Weaver.
1927 wurden ein Talentscout auf Robert Hicks aufmerksam und machte Aufnahmen mit ihm, die sich unter dem Künstlernamen "Barbecue Bob" recht erfolgreich verkauften. Auf Barbecue Bobs Empfehlung hin konnte auch sein Bruder als "Laughing Charley Lincoln" Aufnahmen machen.
Charleys erste Aufnahme It Won't Be Long Now war noch mit Barbecue Bob zusammen, die nächste Nummer Hard Luck Blues wurde auch ohne die Unterstützung seines Bruders ein Hit. Allerdings konnte Laughing Charley nie an den Erfolg seines Bruders heranreichen.
1931 starb Barbecue Bob, und Laughing Charley verfiel dem Alkohol. Er sollte keine weiteren Aufnahmen machen. Er kam mit dem Gesetz in Konflikt und wurde für einen Mord im Jahr 1955 zu 20 Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt. Laughing Charley Lincoln starb im September 1963 im Gefängnis.
Charley Lincoln (also known as Charley Hicks or Laughing Charley) (March 11, 1900 – September 28, 1963),[1] was an early American country blues musician.[2] He often recorded with his brother Robert Hicks (who was billed as Barbecue Bob).
He was born Charley Hicks in Lithonia, Georgia, United States.[3] In his teens he was taught guitar by Savannah Weaver, the mother of Curley Weaver, and performed in the Lithonia area until 1920.[4] He moved to Atlanta, Georgia and worked outside the field of music, while also performing occasionally with his brother.[3] He recorded with his brother for the Columbia label 1927–30.[4] An example is the two part duet with crosstalk, "It Won't Be Long Now" that the brothers recorded in Atlanta on November 5, 1927.
After Robert's early death in 1931, Charley Lincoln continued to perform into the 1950s. From 1955–63 he was imprisoned for murder in Cairo, Georgia, where he became a prisoner trustee. He died there of a cerebral hemorrhage on September 28, 1963.
Guitar Slim Green +28.09.1975
Norman
G. Green was born in Bryant, Texas on July 25, 1920. His family moved
to Oklahoma when he was in youth where he learned guitar and started
playing at local functions. In 1947 he moved to Los Angeles. He made his
first records in 1948 backing J.D. Nicholson. He made his debut
recordings as R. Green & Turner for a label owned by J.R. Fulbright.
Fulbright claimed to have found Green in Christian, Oklahoma "him and a
crossed-eyed woman who played harp, came here together. I discovered
him playing at an old country supper." Green recalled meeting Fullbright
at his Los Angeles club, the Jungle Room. "Alla Blues" was a retread of
"Tin Pan Alley" first recorded by Curtis Jones in 1941. Green said that
he and Turner wrote it and that Robert Geddins stole it from him. Green
& Turner's version would become some kind of West Coast national
anthem:
I said fifth street alley, it's a dangerous place
They'll catch you down there, throw dirt all in your face
Fith street alley, blues just won't let me be
The song was soon revived under the original title by West Coast artists Jimmy Wilson and Rage Agee and by Johnny Fuller and James Reed as "Roughest Place In Town." The same year he waxed the excellent "Baby I Love You b/w Tricky Woman Blues" for Murray with the latter sung by drummer Junior Hampton. After his late 1940's recordings Green didn't record again for a nearly a decade waxing 45's for small labels such as Dig, Canton and in the 60's for Geenote, Solid Soul & Universal up until 1968. In the 50's he also backed Louis Jackson & Junior Hampton and Sidney Maiden. In 1970 he teamed up with Johnny Otis & his son son Shuggie to record a only full length album for Kent titled Stone Down Blues. The Kent recordings would be his last under his name. He died in Los Angeles on September 28, 1975.
I said fifth street alley, it's a dangerous place
They'll catch you down there, throw dirt all in your face
Fith street alley, blues just won't let me be
The song was soon revived under the original title by West Coast artists Jimmy Wilson and Rage Agee and by Johnny Fuller and James Reed as "Roughest Place In Town." The same year he waxed the excellent "Baby I Love You b/w Tricky Woman Blues" for Murray with the latter sung by drummer Junior Hampton. After his late 1940's recordings Green didn't record again for a nearly a decade waxing 45's for small labels such as Dig, Canton and in the 60's for Geenote, Solid Soul & Universal up until 1968. In the 50's he also backed Louis Jackson & Junior Hampton and Sidney Maiden. In 1970 he teamed up with Johnny Otis & his son son Shuggie to record a only full length album for Kent titled Stone Down Blues. The Kent recordings would be his last under his name. He died in Los Angeles on September 28, 1975.
Guitar Slim Green 5th Street Alley Blues (1970)
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