John Leon Gross (September 14, 1912
[ Mike Leadbitter & John Broven, ''Ballin' with Archie'', Blues Unlimited no.76, October 1970, pp 9-10, reprinted at www.charliegillett.com]
. Retrieved 19 February 2013 or 1916
''Rockabilly.nl''. Retrieved 19 February 2013 – January 8, 1973), who performed and recorded as Archibald, 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 within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
pianist and singer who had a hit in 1950 with "Stack-A-Lee", a version of "
Stagger Lee".
Biography
Leon Gross was born in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, and learned piano as a child. Influenced in particular by local piano player Burnell Santiago, he began playing at parties, and later in
brothels, and acquired the nickname "Archie Boy" which eventually became "Archibald". He served in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in the
US Army during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, before returning to New Orleans to play in bars and clubs.
[Biography by Bruce Eder]
''AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
''. Retrieved 19 February 2013[ Biography at The Blues Trail]
''Thebluestrail.com'', Retrieved 19 February 2013
He signed to Imperial Records, where he recorded thirteen songs between 1950 and 1952.St Louis, Missouri
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
in 1895 - and had already been recorded by many artists including Ma Rainey, Mississippi John Hurt, and Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
, but Archibald's version was the first to achieve widespread national success. It reached no. 10 on the '' Billboard'' R&B chart in the summer of 1950.[
He had to cancel a tour that year due to illness, and later recordings failed to match the commercial success of "Stack-A-Lee". However, such records as "Ballin' With Archie" and "Shake Shake Baby" remain highly regarded, and his style influenced other musicians including Fats Domino, Huey "Piano" Smith and Dr. John. They "featured Bartholomew's brash trumpet playing, Joe Harris, and Clarence Hall, respectively, on alto- and tenor-sax, and as solid a rock & roll beat as anything on Imperial...".][
Although Archibald never achieved mainstream commercial success, was hampered by illness, and did not record after 1952, he remained a popular entertainer in New Orleans clubs, including a long residency at the Poodle Patio Club.][ He died of a heart attack in New Orleans in 1973, reportedly after years of ]alcoholism
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
.[
]
Discography
* ''The Complete New Orleans Sessions 1950-1952'' (Krazy Kat, 1983)
Filmography
*'' Harlem Hotshots'' (1945)
References
External links
Illustrated Discography
by Stefan Wirz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archibald (musician)
1910s births
1973 deaths
American blues pianists
American male pianists
Boogie-woogie pianists
Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans
African-American pianists
American rhythm and blues musicians
Imperial Records artists
20th-century American pianists
20th-century American male musicians
United States Army personnel of World War II
20th-century African-American musicians