Duffy Power (born Raymond Leslie Howard; 9 September 1941 – 19 February 2014) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, who achieved some success in the 1960s and continued to perform and record intermittently later.

Career

Ray Howard was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was discovered in 1959 by

impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...

Larry Parnes, singing at a talent show with his group Duffy and the Dreamers. He was renamed Duffy Power in the style of Parnes' other discoveries, such as Billy Fury,

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s hit singles including " Endless Sl ...

, Vince Eager and

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

. He recorded a series of

cover versions In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of such

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

s as "

Dream Lover "Dream Lover" is a song written by Bobby Darin. Darin recorded his composition on March 5, 1959 and released it as a single the following month. It was produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd. Song background In a ...

" and " Ain't She Sweet" as

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

for the

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

over the next two years, but unlike some of his stablemates failed to achieve commercial success. He left Parnes in 1961, suffering from depression. However, he was introduced by a friend to the growing London blues club scene, and in 1963 teamed up with

Graham Bond Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 – 8 May 1974) was an English rock/blues musician and vocalist, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s. Bond was an innovator, described as "an important, un ...

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pi ...

and John McLaughlin to record " I Saw Her Standing There", one of the first

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of a

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

song. He continued to record for

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1 ...

through the 1960s, both as a

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

artist, often backed by top

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s such as

Binky McKenzie Michael Keith Winston "Binky" McKenzie is a former musician. During the 1960s he played and recorded with several musicians such as Alexis Korner, John McLaughlin, Pete Brown, Denny Laine, Vincent Crane and Duffy Power. In 1972 he was convict ...

, and with

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

’s

Blues Incorporated Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, or simply Blues Incorporated, were an English blues band formed in London in 1961, led by Alexis Korner and including at various times Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Terry Cox, Davy Graham, Ginger Baker, Art ...

, but the critical acclaim for his performances failed to be matched by sales. He sometimes performed and recorded, with other musicians, under the name Duffy's Nucleus. Power also worked as a session musician, and played on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

of the 1969

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

The Italian Job ''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, r ...

''. An album of tracks recorded in 1969 and produced by Peter Eden was issued on the Spark label whilst in 1971 tracks recorded between 1965 and 1967 were released on Transatlantic as ''Innovations''.Colin Harper, article within sleevenotes to ''Vampers & Champers'' retrospective, ''RPM'' (2006) In 1972, he finally released a solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''Duffy Power'', on the GSF label (GSF 502), produced in conjunction with Andrew Loog Oldham and featuring Korner. Dana Gillespie and others. Although by this time he was widely recognised as an impressive singer, his albums still failed to sell. His personal life was aggravated by depression and drug use and he succumbed to mental illness, curtailing regular performances. Most of his Parlophone material including unreleased recordings from the 1960s were issued on CD in 2002 as ''Leapers and Sleepers''. In 2006 a further retrospective ''Vampers and Champers'' that included the re release of his Translantic LP ''Innovations'' was released. Power died on 19 February 2014 at the age of 72.

References

Bibliography

* Bane, M., (1982) ''White boy singin' the blues'', London: Penguin, 1982, . *

Bob Brunning Robert Brunning (29 June 1943 – 18 October 2011) was a British musician who was, as a small part of a long musical career, the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. Career Fleetwood Mac When Peter Green left t ...

, ''Blues: The British Connection'', Helter Skelter Publishing, London 2002, - First edition 1986 - Second edition 1995 ''Blues in Britain'' *

, ''The

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

Story: Rumours and Lies'', Omnibus Press London, 1990 and 1998, * Martin Celmins, '' Peter Green'' - ''Founder of

'', Sanctuary London, 1995, foreword by B.B.King, * Fancourt, L., (1989) ''British blues on record (1957–1970)'', Retrack Books. * Dick Heckstall-Smith, ''The safest place in the world: A personal history of British rhythm and blues'', 1989 Quartet Books Limited, - Second Edition : ''Blowing The Blues - Fifty Years Playing The British Blues'', 2004, Clear Books, * Christopher Hjort, ''Strange brew:

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

and the British blues boom, 1965-1970'', foreword by

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

, Jawbone 2007, * Paul Myers, ''

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

and the Birth of the British Blues'',

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

2007, GreyStone Books, * Harry Shapiro ''

: The Biography'', Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster, * Schwartz, R. F., (2007) ''How Britain got the blues : The transmission and reception of American blues style in the United Kingdom'' Ashgate, . * Mike Vernon, ''The Blue Horizon Story 1965-1970 Vol.1'', notes of the booklet of the box set (60 pages)

External links

Duffy Power biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Duffy 1941 births 2014 deaths English blues musicians English male singers English pop singers English rock singers People from Fulham British rhythm and blues boom musicians British rock and roll musicians Musicians from London Fontana Records artists Parlophone artists Jamie Records artists Transatlantic Records artists Blues Incorporated members