Lasting Fame

Unfortunately for me, the music I like best—black music from the 1930s through the 1960s—isn't very popular in this country. It's more in demand in Europe. American record companies typically release only their biggest hits on CD, so most of that which is available comes from fragile companies headquartered outside the United States.

Much of the '60s soul music that I have comes through the efforts of Kent Records in London, a division of Ace Records, which specializes in '40s and '50s rhythm and blues. In 2008, Kent released a 3-CD (75 song) set, Take Me to the River: A Southern Soul Story, 1961-1977. If you want a definitive survey of southern soul, this is the one to seek out. It's more than just a greatest hits collection. It includes obscure B-sides, album cuts and originally unreleased material, all of high quality. There is a 72-page booklet with an overview of the genre plus notes on each song.

(Southern soul music is identified as a genre not only by the location of the studios that produced it. Southern studios incorporated more blues and gospel influences into their songs than northern companies such as Motown, which mimicked the pop music of the period. You might want to think about the difference between Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross.)

Late last year, Tony Rounce and Dean Rudland, joined by new team member Alec Palao, released another 3-CD set, The Fame Studios Story, 1961-1973. It was the result of two years of research in the tape-recorded vaults of the legendary studio that will always be known as the second-best southern soul production facility. (The reputation for being the best belongs to Stax Studios in Memphis.)

Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, was started by Rick Hall and some associates in 1959. Their first success was “You Better Move On” by Arthur Alexander in 1961, followed by a bigger hit, “Steal Away” by Jimmy Hughes in 1964. For the next decade, they became a prime destination for soul artists wanting to start new careers or maintain their popularity. As with Stax, a major ingredient in Fame's success was the house band that went through three generations and included musician-songwriters such as Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. The 84-page booklet includes a complete history of the studio.

In addition to Alexander and Hughes, the set emphasizes artists whose careers were most strongly associated with Fame, such as Clarence Carter, George Jackson and Candi Staton. But over the years, almost all the soul greats recorded in Muscle Shoals: Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Arthur Conley, Irma Thomas, Joe Tex, Don Covay, Otis Clay, Spencer Wiggins and many more. Greats from the past such as Clyde McPhatter, Little Richard and Lou Rawls attempted to revive their careers at Fame and are also included.

Fame was not exclusively a soul studio, but also produced rockabilly and pop music. Since the set attempts to give a complete history of Fame, it (unfortunately) includes songs by Tommy Roe, Bobbie Gentry, and even the Osmonds, as well as some more obscure pop groups.

As with the earlier set, they have unearthed some unreleased recordings such as a previously unknown Arthur Alexander song, “I Hope They Get Their Eyes Full,” a demo of “You Left the Water Running” by the great Otis Redding, and a demo of “Another Man's Woman, Another Woman's Man” by the ever-popular “unknown female.” (Record producers are not always good record keepers. Maybe she'll hear the CD and identify herself.)

You can order Kent Records directly from England via the internet. In this country, many of their CDs can be found through Roots 'n' Rhythm (where I got my copy), Collector's Choice Music, or (if you're desperate) Amazon.com.

Blues For Red and Red

The worlds of blues, jazz and R&B lost two highly regarded veteran performers over the weekend, both with the nickname “Red.” Iverson Minter, aka, Louisiana Red, blues singer, slide guitarist and harmonica player, died Saturday at a hospital near his home in Germany, in a coma induced by a thyroid imbalance. He was 79. Here's an obituary. Also on Saturday, jazz and R&B tenor and alto saxophone player (and occasional singer) James “Red” Holloway died at the age of 84 of kidney failure and multiple strokes at a nursing home in Morro Bay, CA. I have an obituary and a biography from his website.

Louisiana Red (1932-2012)

It's not clear how Iverson Minter got his nickname. He was born in Vicksburg, MS on March 23, 1932, and never lived in Louisiana, although he said he liked hot sauce on his food. He was an orphan at age five. His mother died a week after he was born, and his father is said to have been lynched by the Ku Klux Klan. As a teenager, he moved to Pittsburgh to live with an aunt, which accounts for this biography at the Pittsburgh Music History website.

In 1949, he joined the blues circle in Detroit that included John Lee Hooker and Eddie Burns, where he made his first recordings. He developed an electric blues style combining elements of Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins and Muddy Waters. He briefly recorded for Chess Records in Chicago under the name Rocky Fuller. One of those tracks, “Funeral Hearse at My Door,” accompanied by Little Walter on harmonica, is in the Chess Blues Box.

He first came to the attention of most blues fans in 1962, when Roulette Records released The Lowdown Back Porch Blues, produced by long-time King Records A&R man Henry Glover. It was one of the first blues LPs that was not a compilation of previously issued single records. A cut from the album, “Red's Dream” was released as a single and was a minor hit. It was a reworking of Big Bill Broonzy's “Just a Dream,” with lyrics reflecting the anti-communism of its day, attacking Nikita Kruschev and Fidel Castro. A followup, “I'm Too Poor to Die,” also dented the bottom of the R&B charts.

Red began touring Europe regularly in the 1970s. He was briefly married to folk singer Odetta in 1977. (Now there's an odd couple.) He moved to Germany in 1982, presumably because he could find steadier work there and because African-Americans are treated with greater respect. He toured this country only intermittently. I was him once, at the Pocono Blues Festival in 1998.

Red recorded about two dozen albums, most of them in Europe. Over the years, his politics took a left turn; his repetoire included songs such as “Anti-Nuclear Blues” and “Reagan is For the Rich Man.” His two most recent CDs were Back to the Black Bayou (2009) and Memphis Mojo (2011), both released by German-based Ruf Records.

Red called himself “the last Mohican of the blues.” He was a great slide guitarist. He sang and played in a primitive style, sometimes slightly disorganized but highly energetic. Here are two excellent examples: “Cottin' Pickin' Blues,” with Lazy Lester on harmonica, from 2007, and “Let Me Be Your Electrician,” from 2009.

Red Holloway (1927-2012)

James “Red” Holloway was born in Helena, AR on May 21, 1927. His family moved to Chicago when he was five. He first played with bassist Gene Wright's big band (1943-46), then did his time in the Army playing in the band. 

During the late '40s and '50s, he became a fixture on the Chicago R&B and jazz scene. In addition to leading his own quartet, he served in the house bands of several Chicago R&B labels, including Chance, Parrot, United and Vee Jay. He was the go-to man for tenor sax solos for a decade, backing vocal groups such as the Moonglows, the Flamingos, the El Dorados and the Danderliers, plus many single artists who didn't have their own accompaniment. Most of these appearances are uncredited and as far as I know have never been fully documented. Hint: If the label says the band is led by Al Smith (a bassist) or Lefty Bates (a guitarist), chances are good that Red is playing the sax. Here are two of my favorites:

In the 60's, Red began the transition to full-time jazzman by joining an organ-sax-guitar combo led by organist Brother Jack McDuff and briefly featuring George Benson on guitar. In addition to recording with McDuff, Red served as the leader on four highly regarded Prestige LPs in the mid-60's. He moved to California in 1967.

From the 1970s on, Red has been known as a solid bebop artist, with a strong grounding in the blues. He has released dozens of albums, including seven just since 2008. (Check out Go, Red, Go on Delmark in 2009.) Much of his work has been as sideman, recording with artists such as Clark Terry and Sonny Stitt. He did the saxophone solos on Etta James Grammy-winning CD,Mystery Lady, in 1994.

Red does not have many videos on the web and much of what's available comes from a single 1995 performance. Here he is playing both tenor and alto on Charlie Parker's “Now's the Time.”

P. S.

Did you know that that last tune was a hit three times in the late '40s under three different titles? It was originally recorded as “D Natural Blues” by Fletcher Henderson in 1928. Lucky Millinder re-recorded it under that title. (I used his version as the theme song for my Harlem Hit Parade radio program.) Charlie Parker recorded it as “Now's the Time,” featuring 19-year-old Miles Davis on trumpet. Finally, the most successful version was “The Hucklebuck” by baritone saxophonist Paul Williams. It was #1 on the R&B charts for 14 weeks and spawned over 25 cover versions, many of them with the familiar lyrics referring “the hucklebuck” as a dance step.

P. P. S.

I can't resist the opportunity to share one of the best known recordings ever to have Red Holloway's name on the label, even though he probably had little to do with the recording, “Golden Teardrops” by the Flamingos featuring their original lead, Sollie McElroy. Red was the leader of the house band at Chance Records at the time, but he is barely audible in the background. (He has a nice solo on the flip side, “Carried Away.”) He probably didn't do the arrangement either, since the Flamingos arranged their own ballads. All five of the original Flamingos were related. They were black Jews and sang in the same choir in Chicago, which is where their ballad style originated. It's a great record and I'm sure Red was happy to be associated with it.  Turn up the volume.