Richard Lewis Spencer (May 3, 1942 – December 27, 2020) was an American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer, musician, and teacher. He played tenor

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

's band, behind

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

and

the Impressions The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, R&B, doo-wop, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthu ...

with

the Winstons The Winstons were an American funk and soul music group based in Washington, D.C. They are known for their 1969 recording featuring a song entitled " Color Him Father" on the A-side, and "Amen, Brother" on the B-side. Halfway into "Amen, Brother" ...

. He was awarded the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

(R&B Songwriter of the Year 1969) for his composition "

Color Him Father "Color Him Father" is a song written by Richard Lewis Spencer and recorded by American rhythm and blues group the Winstons. It was released in 1969 as their debut single for Metromedia and was a No. 7 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that year ...

". Spencer wrote "Color Him Father" and Richard was the singer of the mega-hit with the Winstons on Metromedia Records.

Early life

Spencer was a

Wadesboro, North Carolina Wadesboro is a town in and the county seat of Anson County, North Carolina, Anson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,008 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town was originally found in 1783 as New Town but ...

native who, at the ages of 11 and 12, studied classical piano at the famed Beckwith Piano School in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. At the age of 13, he became the organist and pianist for the late Bishop J.H. Sherman of The Church of God in Christ.

Music career

In 1962, Spencer moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he worked with various bar bands including recording with Leroy Taylor and the 4k's as one of the first acts to sign with historic Shrine Records. In 1969, Spencer was bandleader for the Winstons, an R&B group from Washington, D.C., whose song "

" became a hit. The recording reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. For the B-side, the Winstons recorded " Amen, Brother", an instrumental interpretation of the gospel standard "

Amen Amen (, ; , ; , ; , ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic practices as a concluding word, or as a respons ...

". The

drum break In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion instrument, percussion section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main section (music), parts of the song or piece. A break is usually interp ...

in the song has become widely known as the

Amen break The Amen break is a drum break that has been widely Sampling (music), sampled in popular music. It comes from the 1969 track "Amen, Brother" by the American soul group the Winstons, released as the B-side of the 1969 single "Color Him Father". T ...

, and has been called "the most sampled song of all time". Spencer never received

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

for use of the "Amen break" and condemned its sampling as

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

. However, in 2015, he said: "It's not the worst thing that can happen to you. I'm a black man in America and the fact that someone wants to use something I created - that's flattering." In 2015, a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...

campaign set up by British DJ Steve Theobald raised £24,000 (US$37,000) to compensate Spencer for the lack of royalties. Spencer left the music business in 1970. He returned to college to study at the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C., United States. The only public university in the city, it traces its origins to 1851 and opened in its current form in 1 ...

where he received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and a

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in labor management relations. He studied for a M.Ed. at the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...

and the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, and completed the course work for a Ph.D. at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. Spencer retired from the

Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...

system in 2000, and became a licensed Baptist Minister and high school teacher in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

. In March 2015, Spencer was selected and received the prestigious "North Carolina Music Hall of Fame" and "DC Legendary Musicians Award".

Writing

Spencer published his first novel, ''The Molasses Tree: A Southern Love Story'', in 2003 (Lulu).

Personal life

Spencer was separated from Angela Boatright, who co-authored ''The Heir'' (Xlibris). He had one son, Richard L. Spencer III.

Death

Spencer died on December 27, 2020, at the age of 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Richard Lewis 1942 births 2020 deaths People from Wadesboro, North Carolina American male saxophonists African-American saxophonists Howard University alumni University of the District of Columbia alumni Grammy Award winners University of Phoenix alumni 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American saxophonists