Wilbert Huntington Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994)
was an American
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player.
Biography
Harrison was born 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 ...
. He had a
Billboard #1 record in 1959 with the song "
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
".
The song was written in 1952 and was one of the first credited collaborations by the team of
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...
. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
.
Harrison recorded "Kansas City" for the
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
-based entrepreneur
Bobby Robinson, who released it on his
Fury record label.
At the height of the song's success, Robinson was sued by
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music.
In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music.
...
who informed them that the release of the record in March 1959 violated a contract Harrison had with that label that was to expire in August 1959. The litigation, which lasted until September 1959, abruptly prevented Robinson from issuing follow-ups to "Kansas City" while Harrison was a star.
Meanwhile, Harrison continued to perform and record but it would be another ten years before he again cracked the Billboard Top 40 when he released the self-penned "
Let's Work Together (Part 1)" that went to #32 in early 1970 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. The 1970 hit version was released as a single on Sue Records (Sue 11) and was backed with "Let's Work Together (Part 2)". The song also was released in a 5 minute 19 second version on the Sue Records album SSLP-8801 ''Let's Work Together''. The song was originally released by Harrison in 1962 with different lyrics as "
Let's Stick Together
''Let's Stick Together'' is a 1976 album by Bryan Ferry. His third solo release, it was his first following the disbanding of Roxy Music earlier in the year. Unlike Ferry's two previous solo releases, ''Let’s Stick Together'' was not a dedica ...
" on Fury 1059 and Fury 1063.
"Let's Work Together" was later a hit for
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is an American blues rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and ...
, and, again as "Let's Stick Together", for
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...
.
It was also recorded by
country rock
Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...
band
the Kentucky Headhunters
The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock and Southern rock band from Edmonton, Kentucky. The band's members are Doug Phelps (bass guitar, vocals), Greg Martin (lead guitar, vocals), and brothers Richard Young (rhythm guitar, vocals) ...
for the soundtrack to the movie ''
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
''Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' is a 1991 American neo-Western biker film starring Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson, with a supporting cast including Chelsea Field, Tom Sizemore, Daniel Baldwin, Giancarlo Esposito, and Vanessa Williams ...
''.
In 1970, Harrison had some success with "My Heart Is Yours",
and he toured for many years with a band known as 'Wilbert Harrison and the Roamers', and as a solo act. A follow-up album was released that year, ''Anything You Want''. Reviewing it in ''
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981),
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
wrote:
"''Let's Work Together'' was an anachronistic, even primitive r&b album based on the fluke hit of the same name, which makes this the follow-up. Side one consists entirely of roll and rock songs you'd swear you've heard before—'Your Three Letters,' eh, and what's this 'Let's Stick Together,' and why not bring out 'Kansas City' again? Very unprepossessing, very charming. In fact, if the second side weren't all standards and uncharming filler—only 'Sentimental Journey' is even funny—I wouldn't be recommending this to r&b diehards only."
Harrison died of a stroke in 1994,
in a
Spencer, North Carolina
Spencer is a town in Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan County, North Carolina, United States, incorporated in 1905. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the town population was 3,267.
History
The town was named for Samuel Spence ...
, nursing home at the age of 65.
In 2001, his recording of "Kansas City" was given a
Grammy Hall of Fame Award
The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
, and has also been named as one of the
. Harrison was inducted into the
North Carolina Music Hall of Fame
The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization and museum in Kannapolis, North Carolina that was created to honor musicians, composers and artists with ties to North Carolina that have made significant impact in the music indu ...
in 2009.
References
External links
*
All Music page*
*
*
Review Of Kansas City
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Wilbert
1929 births
1994 deaths
American rhythm and blues singers
American rhythm and blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Bell Records artists
Savoy Records artists
Fury Records artists
Sue Records artists
Musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American pianists
American male pianists
20th-century male pianists
African-American pianists
African-American guitarists
20th-century African-American male singers
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers