George McCurn (born January 21, 1920 – April 1985) was an American bass singer who started off singing gospel and switched to pop in the 1960s. He had a hit in 1963 with "
I'm Just a Country Boy".
Career
Group
In 1948, he joined the vocal quartet Kings of Harmony, replacing their bass singer Isaac "Dickie" Freeman. In the early days he was also a member for a brief period of West Coast-based group the Gospel Harps. In 1950, he joined Fairfield Four and replaced Isaac Freeman who had previously replaced in Kings of Harmony. In October 1950, he recorded with the group and this marks the period of his first time recording. In 1954, he joined the Pilgrim Travellers, replacing their original bass singer, Rafael Taylor.
At one stage when he was in the Pilgrim Travellers, the other members at the time were Jesse Whittaker, Ernest Booker,
Louis Rawls, and J.W. Alexander.
Solo
;1960s
In early 1963, he had his ''I'm Just a Country Boy'' single released on A&M Records. It was listed in the February 23 issue of ''
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 ...
'' as a regional breakout single which though at that time, not on the
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...
, but selling strongly. By April 6, the single had climbed from 64 in the Hot 100 to 56.
His album ''
Country Boy Goes to Town'' was a special merit pick in the June 1 edition of ''Billboard''.
[''Billboard'' June 1, 196]
Page 30 ''Album Reviews Continued'', Special Merit Picks
/ref> It was reported in the June 29 edition of ''Billboard'', following Festival Records exec director Frederick C. Marks signing a 5-year deal with A&M, the album was going to be rush released in Australia.
In March 1964, the single " Guess Who" which was written by JoAnn Belvin was released. It was backed with "One More Time For The Poor Man", which was written by Sonny Knight and Thora Johnson. "Guess Who" also appeared on the Vault Records label with the cat no V.R. 002. The other side "At The Of A Rainbow" had the cat no V.R. 001., which indicates that it was probably the B side.
In 1966, the single "Too Many Tears" bw ": You Say You Don't Want Me" was released on Reprise.[45ca]
George McCurn - Discography
/ref>
;1970s
In later years McCurn did some recording session work as a backing vocalist.[Wilde Lif]
Wilde World: George McCurn
/ref> Along with Delia Gartnell, Gwenn Roberts, and Herman Hitson, he was one of the backing vocalist on the ''Truth'' album by King Hannibal, released in 1973. He was also one of the backing vocalists on Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...
's '' Paradise and Lunch'' album which was released on Reprise Records in 1974.[Discog]
Ry Cooder – Paradise And Lunch
/ref>
In 1976, "Satchmo" bw "Old LA" was released on the Star-Brite label.
Personal life
McCurn died in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in 1985, aged 65.
Discography
References
External links
45cat: George McCurn - Discography
Wilde World: George McCurn
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCurn, George
1920 births
1985 deaths
Singers from Chicago
American gospel singers
American soul singers
A&M Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers