Jimmie Lee Land (November 11, 1936 – December 25, 1994), better known as Buddy Ace, was an American

Texas blues Texas blues is blues music from Texas. As a regional style, its original form was characterized by jazz and swing influences. Later examples are often closer to blues rock and Southern rock. History Texas blues began to appear in the early 1900 ...

singer, billed as the "Silver Fox of the Blues".

Biography

Born in

Jasper, Texas Jasper is a Administrative divisions of Texas, city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Texas, Jasper County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,884 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, down from 7,590 at the 2010 Un ...

, he was raised in Baytown near

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and began his career by singing

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

in a group that included

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

. He joined up with other blues singers,

Bobby "Blue" Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

and

Junior Parker Herman "Junior" Parker (March 27, 1932November 18, 1971), ...

, before signing to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Peacock Records Peacock Records was an American record label, founded in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston, Texas, United States. History Robey established the record label in 1949 after two years of being blues singer Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's manager, and Brow ...

in 1955 and agreeing to be credited as "Buddy Ace", a name previously used by the late

Johnny Ace John Marshall Alexander Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid-1950s. He emerged as a prominent figure in postwar R&B an ...

's brother, St. Clair Alexander. He recorded a string of singles for the Duke label between 1956 and 1969. His hits included "Nothing in the World Can Hurt Me (Except You)", which reached number 25 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

in 1966. His second and last hit in the R&B chart was in the following year, "Hold On (To This Old Fool)", which made number 33. His other well-known tracks included "Love of Mine", "Root Doctor" and "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (all from ''Don't Hurt No More''). In the late 1960s, he moved to California, living in Los Angeles,

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, and

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, and continuing to perform live shows. He also continued to record, for Paula, Evejim, and several smaller labels. He billed himself as the "Silver Fox of the Blues" after his hair turned all white in his forties. Buddy Ace died of a heart attack aged 58, while performing in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

, early on Christmas Day, 1994.

Discography

Singles

* Back Home / What Can I Do (Duke 155, Jul 1956) * I'm In The Mood / It Can't Be True (Duke 176, Jul 1957) * Whooping And Hollering / Darling It's You (Duke 183, Mar 1958) * Beyond The Rainbow / Angel Boy (Duke 199, Oct 1958) * Someone Kind / Oh Why (Specialty 669, Jun 1959) * From These Roots / Something New (Fidelity 3011, Sep 1959) * This Little Love Of Mine / Won't You Reconsider (Duke 325, Aug 1960) * What Can I Do / Screaming Please (Duke 346, Mar 1962) * She Will Love / Good Lover (Duke 361, Apr 1963) * It Makes You Want To Cry / You've Got My Love (Duke 373, Dec 1963) * My Love / True Love, Money Can't Buy (Duke 381, Aug 1964) * Inside Story / Just To Hold My Hand (Duke 391, Apr 1965) * Who Can Tell / Baby Please Don't Go (Duke 401, Mar 1966) * Nothing In The World Can Hurt Me (Except You) / It's Gonna Be Me (Duke 397, Jul 1966) * Hold On (To This Old Fool) / Come On In This House (Duke 414, Jan 1967) * Something For These Blues / I'm Counting On You (Duke 419, May 1967) * Got To Get Myself Together / Darling Depend On Me (Duke 428, Mar 1968) * (Sweet Little) Chocolate Child / Jump Up And Shout (Duke 441, Feb 1969) * She's My Baby / Never Let Me Go (Duke 452, Jun 1969) * Do What You Think Is Best / I Love Your Funki Sole unky Soul(Paula 336, Sep 1970) * Houston Town / Fingerprints (Paula 343, Apr 1971) * Kicked The Habit / The Real Thing (Paula 355, Oct 1971) * Pleasing You / I Wonder (Paula 371, May 1972) * I'm Just A Beggar, Beggin' For Your Love / Beggin' For Your Love (Instrumental) (A & B Records 121, 1972) * Color My Love / Two Steps From The Blues (Mind Tripper 100, 1973) * Better Think Again / I Still Love You (Instrumental) (Sunny 1001, 1983) * I'll Love You (If You Let Me) / It's All For You (Tear Drop 3495, 1985) * Love Of Mine / Don't Hurt No More (Blues-B-Us 2016, 1989; Evejim 89512, 1990) * Root Doctor / I Kicked The Habit (Evejim 2020, 1989) * Fix It Man / Keep It In The Family (Evejim 2039, 1993)

Albums

* ''Don't Hurt Me No More'' (Evejim 2018, 1990) Also released under the title ''Root Doctor'' * ''The Silver Fox'' (Evejim 2040, 1992) * ''From Me To You Bobby Bland'' (Evejim 2048, 1995) * ''The Real Thing'' (Jewel 5054, 1996) * ''Buddy Ace Meets The Explosive "Mr. Showman" Al 'TNT' Braggs'' (

Jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

3167, 2020) Split album

Bibliography

*''Encyclopedia of The Blues''. Edition 2006, Edward Komara. Routledge,

References

1936 births 1994 deaths American blues singers Singers from Texas 20th-century American singers People from Jasper, Texas 20th-century American male singers {{US-singer-stub