Rodgers Lee Grant (January 18, 1936 – April 12, 2012) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and lyricist. After working with saxophonist Hugo Dickens in the 1950s, he became pianist for

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga an ...

in the 1960s. In 1963, Grant wrote the hit " Yeh! Yeh!"''Songs That Reached Number One in the UK'' http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_songs.php?show=2 Retrieved 07/04/08 with Pat Patrick.

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

wrote lyrics for the song and recorded it with Lambert and Bavan at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

of 1963.

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...

and the Blue Flames had a hit with the song in 1965. Trombonist Scott Whitfield recorded two of Grant's compositions on ''Scott Whitfield Jazz Orchestra East – Live at Birdland'' (2004). Grant served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. Grant moved to

Paulding, Ohio Paulding is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in and the county seat of Paulding County, Ohio, United States. It is located predominantly in Paulding Township, Paulding County, Ohio, Paulding Township about southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ...

in 2006 and died on April 12, 2012, at the age of 76 in

Defiance, Ohio Defiance is a city in Defiance County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,066 at the 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers about southwest of Toledo and northeast of For ...

after suffered several types of cancer.

Discography

Grant performed sidework as a pianist for Mongo Santamaria,

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist, piccoloist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 50 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop ...

Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Washington; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. ...

and

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is a Puerto Rican and American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón was a pioneer of Salsa music and a be ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Rodgers 1935 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American pianists American jazz pianists American jazz songwriters American male jazz pianists American male songwriters American male jazz composers People from Paulding, Ohio United States Army soldiers Jazz musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American jazz composers