Nathaniel Mayer (February 10, 1944 – November 1, 2008) was an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

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 started his career in the early 1960s at

Fortune Records Fortune Records was an American family operated, independent record label located in Detroit, Michigan from 1946 to 1995. The label owners were Jack and Devora Brown, their son Sheldon Brown recorded for the label. Original releases tapered off ...

in his birthplace of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan. "Nay Dog" or "Nate," as he was also known, had a raw, highly energetic vocal style and wild stage show. After a 35-year absence from music, in 2002 Mayer began recording and touring again, releasing albums with

Fat Possum In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple e ...

Alive Records Alive Naturalsound Records (also known as Alive Records) is an independent record label formed in 1993 in Los Angeles, California by Patrick Boissel, specializing in garage rock, punk rock, punk, psychedelic rock, psychedelic, and blues rock. It ...

and

Norton Records Norton Records, is an independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock and early rhythm and blues.

Career

Mayer started his career at

, a Detroit

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

owned by Jack and Devora Brown. There he became label-mates with fellow Fortune stars

Nolan Strong Nolan Strong and the Diablos, also billed as The Diablos Featuring Nolan Strong, were an American, Detroit-based, R&B and doo-wop vocal group, best known for their songs " The Wind" and "Mind Over Matter". They had one record that spent a week o ...

and Andre Williams. Mayer would stay with the label for six years, recording a handful of records. When Mayer was 18 years old he scored a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

record in 1962 with "Village of Love," credited to Nathaniel Mayer and The Fabulous Twilights. It was originally released on

, who then leased the record to

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

for wider distribution. Follow-ups such as "Leave Me Alone" (1962) and "I Had A Dream" (1963) failed to duplicate the success of "Village of Love" (although both records, especially "Leave Me Alone," sold well regionally). In 1966, Mayer released "I Want Love and Affection (Not The House Of Correction)," a funky offering in the James Brown vein. He then split with Fortune Records due to differences.

Post Fortune Records

After Mayer's Fortune Records days, his whereabouts were practically unknown and only ever confirmed by rumors for several decades. Though he did surface in 1980 to record the "Raise the Curtain High" single. It would be the only release from Mayer between 1966 and 2002. Disappearing into the ghettos of East Detroit for the next two decades, rumors abounded. However, after Norton Records released "I Don't Want No Bald-Headed Woman Telling Me What to Do" in 2002 (a never before released recording from 1968), Mayer was inspired to record and perform again. Mayer staged a full-fledged musical comeback in 2002. His once-sweet soul scream had deepened to a rasping growl, giving his latter albums a whole new feel. He played

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

s and festivals, gaining a new generation of

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

with his exciting live shows. In 2004, Mayer returned to the studio to record ''I Just Want to Be Held'' for

Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...

, a

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

label known mostly for releasing records by obscure bluesmen. In 2005, he toured with fellow Fat Possum artist

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

. In 2006, the Dutch-based

Stardumb Records Stardumb Records is a small independent record label based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands that was launched in 2000. It is regarded as the best known European label specializing in 1990s-style pop-punk. History Stardumb Records started its operat ...

released a 7" single featuring three songs taken from the Fat Possum album. Mayer's last sessions were released across two albums, 2007's ''Why Don't You Give It To Me?'' and 2009's ''Why Won't You Let Me Black?'', both on

and featuring

Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

, Matthew Smith of Outrageous Cherry,

Troy Gregory Troy Gregory (born November 13, 1966) is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, film composer, solo artist, and member of The Dirtbombs. Since 2018 for his solo Albums he has composed, produced, and performed all instruments by hi ...

The Dirtbombs The Dirtbombs are an American garage rock band based in Detroit, Michigan, notable for blending diverse influences such as punk rock and soul, while featuring a dual bass guitar, dual drum and guitar lineup. The Dirtbombs were formed by Mick C ...

, and Dave Shettler of SSM and

The Sights The Sights are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1998. The band has toured in the United States, Canada, and the UK. Members ;Current *Eddie Baranek: Vocals, Guitar *Jarrod Champion: Keyboard, Vocals *Skip Denomme: Drums *Ro ...

. ''Why Don't You Give It To Me?'' was Julian Cope's Album of the Month on his Head Heritage site in May 2008.

The Detroit Cobras The Detroit Cobras were an American garage rock band from Detroit, Michigan, which was formed around 1994 by vocalist Rachel Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez, with a constantly changing assortment of (mostly male) sidemen. Nagy died on January 14 ...

remade "Village of Love" in 1996. While "Leave Me Alone" was covered by The Hard Feelings in 2001. Eve Monsees, The Exiles and the

Gibson Brothers The Gibson Brothers are a French musical group, originally from Martinique, who had their greatest success during the disco boom of the late 1970s. Their best known hit singles included "Cuba" and " Que Sera Mi Vida". Career The three brother ...

have all recorded "I Had A Dream." In 2014, Nathaniel Mayer was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

Death

Within a year after completing his first European tour, Mayer suffered multiple strokes. After months of hospitalization, Nathaniel Mayer died on November 1, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan.

Discography

Albums

* ''Going Back To...The Village of Love'' (1963, Fortune Records; CD is a 1996

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

with 11 bonus tracks, Gold Dust Records,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

bootleg import) * ''I Want Love and Affection (Not the House of Correction)'' (1966, Fortune; re-released on Vampi Soul in 2011) * ''I Just Want to Be Held'' (2004, Fat Possum Records) * ''Anthology: I Want Love and Affection'' xLP / CD digipack(2006, Vampi Soul) * ''Why Don't You Give It To Me?'' (2007, Alive-Naturalsound Records) * ''Why Won't You Let Me Be Black?'' (2009, Alive-Naturalsound Records)

Singles

* "My Last Dance With You" / "My Little Darling" (1961) Fortune 542 * "Village of Love" / "I Want a Woman" (1962) Fortune 545; United Artists 449 * "Hurting Love" / "Leave Me Alone" (1962) Fortune 547; United Artists 487 * "Mr. Santa Claus (Bring Me My Baby)" / "Well, I've Got News (For You)" (1962) Fortune 550 * "Well, I've Got News (For You)" / "Work It Out" (1963) Fortune 550 * "I Had a Dream" / "I'm Not Gonna Cry" (1963) Fortune 554 * "Going Back To The Village of Love" / "My Last Dance With You" e-make(1964) Fortune 557 * "A Place I Know" / "Don't Come Back" (1964) Fortune 562 * "I Want Love and Affection (Not the House of Correction)" / "From Now On" (1966) Fortune 567 * "Raise the Curtain High" / "Super Boogie" (1980) Love Dog 101 * "I Don't Want No Bald Headed Woman Telling Me What To Do" / "I Don't Want No Bald Headed Woman Telling Me What To Do" (instrumental) (2002; recorded 1968) Norton 107 * "Ride In My 225" / "Mister Santa Claus" ive(2005) Norton 126 * "I Found Out" (2006) Stardumb Records

References

External links

Official Nathaniel Mayer MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Nathaniel 1944 births 2008 deaths Songwriters from Michigan American soul musicians Fat Possum Records artists Alive Naturalsound Records artists 20th-century American singers Singers from Detroit 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters