Mel London (April 9, 1932 – May 16, 1975) was an American songwriter, record producer, and record label owner. He was active in the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

and R&B scenes in the 1950s and 1960s. London is best known for his compositions for Chicago blues artists

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

, and

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr.; December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

as well as being the record producer and owner of

Chief Records Chief Records, together with its Profile and Age subsidiaries, was an independent record label that operated from 1957 to 1964. Best known for its recordings of Chicago blues artists Elmore James, Junior Wells, Magic Sam, and Earl Hooker, the lab ...

(and its Profile Records and Age Records subsidiaries). In 1954, Mel London wrote the first of several hit songs for the blues and R&B markets. His "Poison Ivy" was recorded by

Willie Mabon Willie James Mabon (October 24, 1925 – April 19, 1985) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer, songwriter, pianist, and harmonica player. He had two number one hits on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' R&B chart, "I Don't Know (Will ...

and reached number seven in the Billboard R&B chart in 1954. In 1955, three hits written by London followed: "Who Will Be Next" by Howlin' Wolf and two by Muddy Waters - "Sugar Sweet" and " Manish Boy.""Manish Boy" cowriters:

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

and Muddy Waters Not content with just songwriting, in 1957 he started his own record label, Chief Records. Chief's first single, the London-penned "Man from the Island," featured London's solo outing as a lead vocalist. Subsequent Chief releases were produced (and sometimes written) by London and featured Chicago blues artists, such as Elmore James, Junior Wells,

Magic Sam Samuel Gene Maghett (February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969), known as Magic Sam, was an American Chicago blues musician. He was born in Grenada County, Mississippi, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and ...

Earl Hooker Earl Zebedee Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and ...

, and A.C. Reed. London's "Little by Little" was a hit for Junior Wells in 1960, reaching number 23 in the Billboard R&B chart. London also wrote several R&B songs that were recorded by Chief artists, including "Cut You A-Loose" by Ricky Allen, which reached number 20 in 1963. Chief/Profile/Age experienced financial difficulties in the early 1960s and went out of business in 1964. Later, Mel London was associated with a number of small record labels, including All-Points, Mel/Mel-Lon, Bright Star, and Starville, but none had the impact of his earlier labels. In 1975, London died at age forty-three. During his career, he wrote or co-wrote 48 songs and produced about eighty singles by approximately thirty-seven artists.

Partial discography

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:London, Mel 1932 births 1975 deaths Songwriters from Mississippi Record producers from Mississippi American music industry executives 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American songwriters