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Abie Baker
Abie "Available" Baker Leslie Robert Baker; September 28, 1913 – February 14, 1993) was an American session musician, arranger, and bandleader who played double bass on jazz, R&B, and pop recordings in New York City, from 1934 through the early 1960s. His credits have been chronicled under the names Abe Baker (rarely), Abie Baker (mostly), and Abie "Available" Baker. Career He was born in South Bend, Indiana, United States. As a New York-based session bassist in jazz from 1934 to 1960, he recorded with Blanche Calloway, Snub Mosley, Herman Chittison, Joey Thomas, Titus Turner and the Howard Biggs Orchestra, Dosie Terry, John Greer, George James and the Howard Biggs Orchestra, Johnny Hartman and the Howard Biggs Orchestra, Jimmy "Baby Face" Lewis, Hadda Brooks, Melvin Smith (vocalist), The Du-Droppers, Annie Laurie, Larry Darnell, Ethel Ennis, Jimmy Tyler, Bobbie and Ronald (vocalists), Varetta Dillard, Cootie Williams, Bill Doggett, Little Willie John, Ruth Brow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Session Musician
A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a tour. Session musicians are usually not permanent or official members of a musical ensemble or band. Many session musicians specialize in playing common rhythm section instruments such as guitar, piano, bass, or drums. Others are specialists, and play brass, woodwinds, and strings. Many session musicians play multiple instruments, which lets them play in a wider range of musical situations, genres, and styles. Examples of "doubling" include double bass and electric bass, acoustic guitar and mandolin, piano and accordion, and saxophone and other woodwind instruments. Session musicians are used when musical skills are needed on a short-term basis. Typically, session musicians are used by recording studios to provide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Du-Droppers
The Du Droppers were an American doo-wop group formed in Harlem, New York, in 1952. Members of the band were experienced gospel singers in ensembles dated to the 1940s, and were one of the oldest groups to record during the era. Among the Du Droppers' most enduring songs are "I Wanna Know" and "I Found Out (What You Do When You Go Round There)", which both reached number three on the ''Billboard'' R&B charts in 1953. History The original members of the Du Droppers included Caleb "J.C." Ginyard (lead vocals), Willie Ray (tenor, baritone), Harvey Ray (tenor, baritone), and Eddie Hashaw (bass). Group members were on average 40 years old, and much more experienced than many of their contemporaries, as all boasted varying levels of past activity in other vocal groups. Ginyard had the most commercial success and longevity in the music industry, having already scored a Top 10 national hit in 1942 with the song " Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" as a member of the Jubalaires. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claude Hopkins
Claude Driskett Hopkins (August 24, 1903 – February 19, 1984) was an American jazz stride pianist and bandleader. Biography Claude Hopkins was born in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Historians differ in respect of the actual date of his birth. His parents were on the faculty of Howard University. A talented stride piano player and arranger, he left home at the age of 21 to become a sideman with the Wilbur Sweatman Orchestra, but stayed less than a year. In 1925, he left for Europe as the musical director of The Revue Negre which starred Josephine Baker with Sidney Bechet in the band. He returned to the US in 1927 where, based in Washington, D.C., he toured the Theatre Owners Booking Association circuit with The Ginger Snaps Revue, before heading once again for New York City where he took over the band of Charlie Skeets. At this time (1932–36), he led a Harlem band employing jazz musicians such as Edmond Hall, Fred Norman (musician), Fred Norman, Jabbo Smith and Vic Dic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Jimmy Scott
James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After success in the 1940s and 1950s, Scott's career faltered in the early 1960s. He slid into obscurity before a comeback in the 1990s. His unusual singing voice was due to Kallmann syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that limited his height to until the age of 37, when he grew by . The syndrome prevented him from reaching classic puberty and left him with a high voice and unusual timbre. Early life James Victor Scott was born on July 17, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The son of Arthur Claude Scott (born Chester Stewart) and Justine Hazel Stanard Scott, he was the third child in a family of 10. As a child, he got his first singing experience by his mother's side at the family piano and later in church choir. He was orphaned at the age ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Joe Turner
Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fame was due to his rock and roll recordings in the 1950s, particularly "Shake, Rattle and Roll", but his career as a performer endured from the 1920s into the 1980s. Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, with the Hall lauding him as "the brawny voiced 'Boss of the Blues. AllMusic called Turner "the premier blues shouter of the postwar era". Life and career Early days Turner was born May 18, 1911, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. His father was killed in a train accident when Turner was four years old. He sang in his church, and on street corners for money. He left school at age fourteen to work in Kansas City's nightclubs, first as a cook and later as a singing bartender. He became known as "The Singing B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LaVern Baker
Delores LaVern Baker (born Delores Evans; November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American rhythm and blues singer who had several hit records on the pop charts in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were " Tweedle Dee" (1955), " Jim Dandy" (1956), and " I Cried a Tear" (1958). Baker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. The Hall remarked that her "fiery fusion of blues, jazz and R&B showcased her alluring vocals and set the stage for the rock and roll surge of the Fifties". From 1955 to 1965, 20 of her songs made the R&B charts. Over the years, Elvis Presley recorded eight Baker songs. Early life Born in Chicago as Delores Evans, she was raised in nearby Calumet City. Under her mother's new surname, McMurley, Delores – on December 23, 1948, at age , in Cook County, Illinois – married Eugene Williams. Career Baker began singing in Chicago clubs such as the Club DeLisa in 1946, often billed as Little Miss Sharecropper, and f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Curtis
Curtis Montgomery (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer. A master of the instrument, he played tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone. He played riffs and solos on hit singles such as "Respect" by Aretha Franklin (1967), and "Yakety Yak" by The Coasters (1958) and his own " Soul Twist" (1962), "Soul Serenade" (1964), and " Memphis Soul Stew" (1967). Early life Curtis Montgomery was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the son of Ethel Montgomery, and was adopted, with his sister Josephine Allen (died 2019), by Josie and William Ousley. Curtis attended I.M. Terrell High School, and studied and performed music with schoolmate Ornette Coleman (1930–2015). Career Curtis started playing saxophone at the age of twelve in the Fort Worth area. He took interest in many musical ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth Brown
Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a popular music, pop music style to rhythm and blues, R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long (Russ Morgan Song), So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean". For these contributions, Atlantic became known as "the house that Ruth built" (alluding to the popular nickname for the old Yankee Stadium). Brown was a 1993 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Following a resurgence that began in the mid-1970s and peaked in the 1980s, Brown used her influence to press for musicians' rights regarding royalties and contracts; these efforts led to the founding of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Her performances in the Broadway musical ''Black and Blue (musical), Black and Blue'' earned Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Willie John
William Edward "Little Willie" John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as " All Around the World" (1955), " Need Your Love So Bad" (1956), " Talk to Me, Talk to Me" (1958), " Leave My Kitten Alone" (1960), "Sleep" (1960), and his number-one R&B hit "Fever" (1956). An important figure in R&B music of the 1950s, he faded into obscurity in the 1960s and died while serving a prison sentence for manslaughter. John was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2022, John was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography John was born in Cullendale, Arkansas, on November 15, 1937. He was one of ten children born to Lillie (née Robinson) and Mertis John. Many sources erroneously give his middle name as Edgar. His family moved to Detroit, Michigan, when he was four, so that his father could find factory work. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Doggett
William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American pianist and organist. He began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. Best known for his instrumental compositions "Honky Tonk" and "Hippy Dippy", Doggett was a pioneer of rock and roll. He worked with the Ink Spots, Johnny Otis, Wynonie Harris, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Jordan. Biography Doggett was born in Philadelphia. During the 1930s and early 1940s he worked for Lucky Millinder, Frank Fairfax and arranger Jimmy Mundy. In 1942 he was hired as the Ink Spots' pianist and arranger. In 1951, Doggett organized his own trio and began recording for King Records. His best known recording is "Honky Tonk", a rhythm and blues hit of 1956, which sold four million copies (reaching No. 1 R&B and No. 2 Pop), and which he co-wrote with Billy Butler. The track topped the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart for over two months. He also arranged for many bandleaders and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cootie Williams
Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams (July 10, 1911 – September 15, 1985) was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama, Williams began his professional career at the age of 14 with the Young Family band, which included saxophonist Lester Young. According to Williams he acquired his nickname as a boy when his father took him to a band concert. When it was over his father asked him what he'd heard and he replied, "Cootie, cootie, cootie." In 1928, he made his first recordings with pianist James P. Johnson in New York, where he also worked briefly in the bands of Chick Webb and Fletcher Henderson. Williams rose to prominence as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra when the band was playing at the Cotton Club, with which he first performed from 1929 to 1940. He also recorded his own sessions during this time, both freelance and with other Ellington sidemen. Williams was renowned for his "jungle"-style trumpet playing (in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varetta Dillard
Varetta Mamie Dillard (February 3, 1933 – October 4, 1993) was an American rhythm and blues singer in the 1950s whose biggest hit was "Mercy, Mr. Percy". Life and career She was born in Harlem, New York, and spent much of her childhood in hospital due to a congenital bone condition. By her mid-teens, her condition had stabilised, though she remained unable to walk without crutches or other assistance. She met Carl Feaster of doo-wop group The Chords, who encouraged her to enter talent contests as a singer, and in 1951 she won two consecutive competitions at the Apollo Theater. She was signed by Savoy Records, and had her first recording session with the company in September 1951. Although her early singles were commercially unsuccessful, she was invited by Alan Freed to perform at what later became recognised as the first major rock and roll concert: the Moondog Coronation Ball held in Cleveland, Ohio on March 21, 1952. Because of concerns over crowd safety, the concert was sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
