Video of the Week #19

Sonny Terry on harmonica and Brownie McGhee on guitar perform the instrumental "Hootin' Blues." This was done for European TV in the early '60s while the were part of the American Folk Blues Festival tour.

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Video of the Week #17 (Sonny Boy Williamson #2)

The Soundies #6 (Big Bill Broonzy)

The Soul of a Man: Bobby "Blue" Bland (1930-2013)

The blues and R&B genres have lost a giant. Bobby “Blue” Bland died Sunday, June 23, at his home in Germantown, TN, a Memphis suburb. He was 83. A key participant in the Memphis synthesis of the early 1950s, he was one of the last survivors of the immediate postwar generation of R&B artists who defined rock and roll music for decades. The only R&B artists of equivalent stature who are still with us are Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, and of course, his friend and colleague B. B. King.

But Bobby Bland is not as well known as the other four. His career illustrates the deep divide between black and white music that has always existed in this country. He placed 57 records on the R&B charts between 1957 and 1982. Three of them (“Farther Up the Road,” “I Pity the Fool,” and “That's the Way Love Is”) went to #1. Yet only four of his singles crossed over to the pop charts. R&B historian Galen Gart suggested that he and his Duke Records labelmate Little Junior Parker were “too 'uptown' for white blues fans and too laid-back for white soul fans of the era,” so they were “relegated to a never-ending tour of the chitlin' circuit.”

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Bobby Bland didn't play an instrument. He was a pure singer, combining elements of blues, gospel, jazz and pop into a style that alternates between delicate phrasing and soulful pleading. Only Aretha Franklin uses as much melisma—the breaking up of a single syllable of text into several musical notes—as Bobby Bland. Early in his career, he often sang in falsetto. However, he abandoned this in the late '50s in favor of his characteristic hoarse cry or growl. This technique begins with a vowel of a given note, reaches up to a higher note, then returns to the starting point. He was also known for his vibrato, and his use of a stutter leading up to a word or phrase that he wanted to emphasize. He cited his major influences as Ira Tucker of the Dixie Hummingbirds, Roy Brown, Lowell Fulson, and B. B. King. He claims to have learned his growl from the recordings of the Rev. C. L. Franklin—Aretha's father.

Robert Calvin Bland was born on January 27, 1930 in Millington, TN, near Memphis. He dropped out of school in the third grade to work in the cotton fields. (Early in his career, he was unable to read song lyrics due to illiteracy.) He moved to Memphis in 1947 and sang with a gospel group, the Miniatures. In 1949, he became part of the legendary Memphis blues band, the Beale Streeters. Although the personnel changed often, it is usually listed as Bobby Bland, vocals; Johnny Ace, piano; B. B. King, guitar; Adolph “Billy” Duncan, tenor sax, and Earl Forest, drums. Singer and pianist Rosco Gordon was also an occasional member.

His first recording was in December, 1951, as Robert Bland, backed by the Rosco Gordon band. It was produced by Sam Phillips in the Sun Studio, who leased it to Chess Records (Chess 1489—“Crying”/”A Letter From a Trench in Korea”). Around this same time, Ike Turner, who was producing for the rival Bihari Brothers, led two Bland sessions with himself on piano, which resulted in two releases on the Modern label. None of these sides are particularly good. He was then signed by Memphis DJ Joe Mattis for his new Duke label. He recorded four sides backed by the Beale Streeters, including Johnny Ace and B. B. King. He then left for a 2½ year stint in the Army. Here's his first Duke release, “I. O. U. Blues.”

When he returned in 1955, Duke had been sold to Houston entrepreneur Don Robey, known for his physical violence and exploitive management of his artists. (The ever-present “Deadric Malone,” a co-author of many Duke releases, was Robey taking his cut of the publishing rights.) Robey paired him with Bill Harvey's Band, including trumpeter-arranger Joe Scott, resulting in the classic Bobby “Blue” Bland sound—a lively, full-band sound typical of Texas R&B. He recorded with tenor sax men such as Harvey and Bobby Forte, and great guitarists like Roy Gaines, Clarence Holloman and Wayne Bennett. Scott's horn arrangements anticipated the Stax Records sound of the Memphis Horns. Despite the excellence of these recordings, his first hit did not come until 1957, “Farther Up the Road.”

But from that point on, the hits came with great regularity until he left Duke in 1972. All these Duke recordings are collected in order on three double CDs released by MCA in the '90s. They are available and highly recommended. Here are a couple of my favorites. 

I recommend that you check out Chapter 5 of Charles Keil's (1966) Urban Blues, “Big Bobby Blue Bland on Stage,” for a detailed and vivid description of his touring stage show, which included an 11-piece band led by Joe Scott, a regular warm-up singer, Al “TNT” Braggs, and a girl group, the Bland Dolls. Their carefully planned program of hits and new releases seemed directed primarily at middle-aged African-American women, and usually reached a climax with his emotional rendition of “Stormy Monday.”

In 1973, Robey sold out to ABC Records, who attempted to turn Bobby Bland into a pop singer. The results left much to be desired. However, this period produced two successful live collaborations with ABC labelmate B. B. King. Here they are on television in 1975.

In 1985, he signed with Malaco Records, the Southern soul label in Jackson, MS, a move that reunited him with much of his remaining fan base. Their mutually beneficial arrangement that resulted in 10 well-crafted albums, the last being Blues at Midnight in 2003. Here's a clip from the 1998 Malaco CD, Live on Beale Street.

Bobby Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and received a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 1997. He continued to perform at blues festivals as late as 2012, when he appeared at the Pittsburgh Blues Festival. He probably should have retired sooner than he did.

At Bobby Bland's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, B. B. King introduced him by saying, “There's no better singer in any genre.”

Video of the Week #18

Here are Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in a rare 1952 television appearance playing Tadd Dameron's "Hot House."  The remainder of the group:  Dick Hyman, piano; Sandy Block, bass; and Charlie Smith, drums.

Johnny Smith (1922-2013)

Johnny Smith, one of the top jazz guitarists of the '50s, died June 11 at the age of 90 at his home in Colorado Springs. The cause was complications from a fall. He was known for his complex improvisations and his flawless technique. Vincent Pelote of Rutgers University's Institute of Jazz Studies commented that, “He took very logical solos, like someone had written them all out ahead of time, but that was not the case. That's how organized a mind he had, and he had the technical ability to pull it all off.”

John Henry Smith II was born June 25, 1922 in Birmingham, AL. His family moved to Portland, ME during the Depression. Although he was too poor to afford a guitar, he worked out an arrangement with local pawnshops in which he kept their guitars in tune in exchange for the opportunity to play them. He was largely self-taught and began playing professionally in a country band at age 13. During World War II, he played cornet in the Army Air Corps band. After the war, he came to New York to play in the NBC Symphony Orchestra. He became interested in jazz after hearing Django Reinhardt on the radio. He formed his first quartet in 1951 with Stan Getz, a fellow NBC studio musician.

Their breakthrough came in 1952, when their recording of “Moonlight in Vermont” became a surprise hit. He played the melody as a series of chords, rather than single notes. His Washington Post obituary quotes him as saying, “The hardest thing to do on the guitar is to play a melodic chord progression in smooth, even fashion without leaving space between chords. Then one day I noticed how an organist managed to keep a tone going between chords by holding down one of the notes of the chordwhile he pivoted to the next chord. I picked up on that and applied it to chord progressions on the guitar.”

Smith's jazz quartets featuring Getz or Zoot Sims became a fixture on the New York jazz scene in the '50s, playing regularly at Birdland. He was a frequent Downbeat poll winner as favorite jazz guitarist. The now out-of-print Mosaic box set, The Complete Johnny Smith Roost Sessions, collects many of his best-known recordings. In 1954, he composed and recorded “Walk, Don't Run,” which became a hit single for the rock guitar group, the Ventures, in 1959, and was a welcome source of royalties. (Unfortunately, this song has been taken down, so I've made a substitution.)

In 1958, after his wife died in childbirth, he left New York and moved to Colorado Springs to raise his family. He said he never regretted it. He taught guitar (one of his students was Bill Frisell), bought a music store, designed guitars, played occasionally at Colorado clubs, and recorded progressively less over the years, as his understated style fell out of fashion. Many of his best-known recordings were only 3 minutes long. Here he is in 1981, stretching out on Frank Foster's "Shiny Stockings."

Video of the Week #17

I've enjoyed my soundies for the last 16 weeks, and I'm sure I'll select many more. However, the soundies were a '40s phenomenon. By expanding the time frame, I can include some scenes from movies, documentaries, and the early days of TV. I'll stick with artists from the '60s or earlier who are seldom seen on video.

There are several clips available from the American Folk Blues Festival that were recorded for European TV in the early '60s. Here's Sonny Boy Williamson #2 doing “Nine Below Zero,” along with Otis Spann, piano; Matt Murphy, guitar; Willie Dixon, bass, and Bill Stepney, drums. The introduction is by Memphis Slim.

I should explain about Sonny Boy Williamson #1 and #2. John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson (1914-1948) was a Chicago bluesman who recorded for Bluebird beginning in 1938. He was the first blues star whose primary instrument was the harmonica. He was murdered in 1948. Shortly thereafter, Aleck “Rice” Miller (1899-1965), who also sang and played harmonica, began doing live radio in Memphis and recording under the name “Sonny Boy Williamson.” He moved to Chicago and had an even longer career, primarily with Chess Records. To add to the confusion, he claimed to be “the real” Sonny Boy—which he was not. Both were great bluesmen. There is no video of SBW #1. This is SBW #2.

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The Soundies #6 (Big Bill Broonzy)

Two Recent Deaths

Lillian Leach (1936-2013)

Lillian Leach Boyd, the primary lead singer of the Mellows, died of lung cancer in a Bronx hospital on April 26, at the age of 76. She was one of the first and best female leads of R&B vocal groups. Although the Mellows had only local hits in New York City, her wistful ballads are very popular with vocal group fans.

Lillian Leach was born in Harlem on December 20, 1936. Her family moved to the Bronx when she was three. As a child, she sang in church and at talent shows. In late 1953, she met and sang with three men at a party who asked her to join their group: Johnny Wilson, first tenor; Harold Johnson, second tenor, and Norman “Polecat” Brown, bass. The name Mellows was chosen due to their preference for ballads.

Harold Johnson was a former member of the Crickets, so he introduced the group to their record producer, Joe Davis. They first recorded in July, 1954, when Ms. Leach was 17. Davis released four singles by the Mellows on his Jay Dee label. The second, “Smoke From Your Cigarette,” received heavy airplay from Alan Freed and was a regional hit in New York. The fourth, “Yesterday's Memories,” provided the title for a '70s collectors' magazine. They never sang at live shows because Ms. Leach suffered from stage fright.

Following some personnel changes, they released two singles on the Celeste label, and one, the minor key “Moon of Silver” on Candlelight (with Ms. Leach's name misprinted as Lillian Lee). By early 1957, Ms. Leach had retired to start a family. Several unreleased Celeste takes, some of them a cappella, were released on a '70s Relic LP, and are considered to be their best recordings. An out-of-print Relic CD, Yesterday's Memories, contains all their '50s recordings.

Fan interest led to a revival of the group in 1984, and they continued to perform at oldies shows in the Northeast until 2008. Here they are singing their biggest hit in 1995. Ms. Leach was the last surviving original member of the group.

Artie “Blues Boy” White (1937-2013)

Chicago soul-blues singer Artie “Blues Boy” White died on April 20 at age 76. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for several years. He was an outlier on the Chicago blues scene, since he sang in the deep soul style associated with folks like Bobby “Blue” Bland and Little Milton.

He was born on April 16, 1937 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and sang with gospel groups as a child. He moved to Chicago in 1956, and first sang with bluesman Mighty Joe Young and his band. He scuffled for many years, recording sporadically for independent labels. His first hit was “The Leaning Tree” for Altee in 1977.

His debut album, Blues Boy, was released on Ronn in 1985. There followed a string of six successful CDs on Ichiban, and three more for the high profile Malaco subsidiary, Waldoxy. Here's his best-known Malaco recording, “Your Man is Home Tonight.”

His last four CDs were released by his own Achilltown label, the final one being Package Deal in 2005. After that, his health began to deteriorate. 

Mulgrew Miller (1955-2013)

Jazz pianist and educator Mulgrew Miller died suddenly of a stroke on May 29 in Allentown, PA. He was 57. His career is heavily documented. Although his piano style was often said to resemble McCoy Tyner, he could play in a variety of genres, and he appeared on over 400 recordings, mostly as a sideman.

He was born in Greenwood, Mississippi on August 13, 1955. He began playing piano at age 6, and played with soul groups as a teenager. He was inspired to shift his focus to jazz after hearing Oscar Peterson. He studied music at Memphis State University. He said he was influenced by Eastern religions and the civil rights movement.

His first major gig was with the Mercer Ellington big band in the late '70s. He played with Woody Shaw (1981-83), Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1983-86), and Tony Williams (1986-1994), and on records, with Joe Lovano and Kenny Garrett, among many others. His most recent appearances were with John Scofield's R&B-oriented quartet and Ron Carter's Golden Striker Trio. As a leader, he is best known for a string of recordings on the Landmark and RCA Novus labels beginning in 1985.  Here he is playing "Grew's Tune," from Hand in Hand (1992), with Joe Henderson, tenor sax; Kenny Garrett, alto sax; Eddie Henderson, trumpet; Steve Nelson, vibes; Christian McBride, bass; and Lewis Nash, drums.

He did four live albums with his trio from 2004-07 on Maxjazz.  From Live at the Kennedy Center, Volume 1, here's "Skylark," with Derrick Hodge, bass and Rodney Green, drums.

He was a member of the faculty at William Paterson University, where he served as Director of Jazz Studies since 2005, and was Artist in Residence at Lafayette College. Here's a video of him with Ron Carter on bass and Bobby Broom on guitar playing "The Golden Striker" in 2011.

The Soundies #16

Better known as a gospel singer, Sister Rosetta Tharpe also sang blues and pop songs with the Lucky Millinder Orchestra.  Here she sings "Lonesome Road," from 1941. Millinder can be seen leading the band. The pianist is Bill Doggett, who switched to the organ in the '50s and had a big hit with "Honky Tonk." I'm about 90% certain that the tenor saxophone solo is by Stafford "Pazuza" Simon. Simon usually wore glasses, but I think he took them off for his big closeup.

As a bonus, here's the same cast of characters doing "Four or Five Times."

Other R&B vocalists with the Millinder band included Annisteen Allen, Wynonie Harris and Benjamin "Bull Moose" Jackson.

Marvin Junior (1936-2013)

I don't know whether or not we came to our singing natural, or what it was, but maybe because we were so together, we never really had to do hard drawn-out practice on songs. It just always seemed to fall into place for us. We never had to plan that much for a recording session. What we would do was learn the melody to get the right background, then we would go into the studio and that was the magic.

                                                                                 Marvin Junior

Marvin Junior, the strong baritone lead of the Dells, died at his home in Harvey, Illinois, Wednesday of heart and kidney failure. He was 77. The Dells were one of R&B's most durable vocal groups, having performed together with only one major personnel change for 57 years. They placed 34 songs on the R&B charts between 1956 and 1991. Two of them—the second versions of “Stay in My Corner” (1968) and “Oh, What a Night” (1969)—reached #1. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.

Marvin Junior was born in Harold, Arkansas, on January 31, 1936. His family moved to the Chicago area when he was a boy. The group was formed at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, a Chicago suburb, in 1952. It consisted of Johnny Funches, lead tenor; Marvin Junior, lead baritone; Verne Allison, tenor; Mickey McGill, baritone; and Chuck Barksdale, bass. Funches sang lead on the ballads and Junior on the up tempo songs. Their first record was “Darling, I Know” b/w "Christine" as the El-Rays for Chess Records (on the Checker label) in 1954. 

The group credits the Moonglows with teaching them how to harmonize. In 1955, they moved to Vee Jay Records and changed their name to the Dells. Their first Vee Jay release, “Tell the World,” was a local hit. The second, “Dreams of Contentment,” established their classic '50s sound with Funches in the lead. 

Then everything changed.

So the next day we were at a rehearsal and started talking about the party. We said, “What a party, what a night!” So Johnny sing-songs, “Oh, what a night.” I said, “Wait, do that again!” He did and I came back with “to love you dear,” and we sat down and wrote the song.

                                                                                Marvin Junior

The 1956 version of “Oh, What a Night” went to #4 on the R&B charts and established their reputation. They continued to record for Vee Jay through the '50s, releasing classic ballads such as “Why Do You Have to Go?,” “Pain in My Heart” and “Dry Your Eyes.”  In 1958, they were involved in a serious automobile accident and stopped performing. They reformed in 1960, but Johnny Funches was not interested in continuing. He was replaced by Johnny Carter, an original member of the Flamingos.

It was around this time that they worked out their soul era style. Marvin Junior's gruff baritone took over the lead vocals, while Johnny Carter's falsetto tenor served either as a second lead or a swooping presence (in the Flamingos' style) in the background. Their initial efforts for Argo (a Chess affiliate) and Vee Jay were not successful, but in 1966 they moved back to Chess's Cadet affiliate and began a long string of hits that lasted until 1974.

They reached the top of their form in 1968 with the album There Is, produced by Bobby Miller and arranged by Charles Stepney, which contained six hit singles, including “Stay in My Corner,” in which Marvin Junior sings the longest note in R&B history. 

This was followed by two other great Miller/Stepney collaborations, Love is Blue (1969) and Like It Is, Like It Was (1969). Their best recordings, almost all ballads, combined '50s vocal group harmonies with Junior's soulful lead.

In the '70s and '80s, they recorded for Mercury, ABC and several other labels, occasionally making the charts. They served as consultants to Robert Townsend for his 1991 film The Five Heartbeats, which is based largely on incidents from their career. Their last hit, “A Heart is a House for Love” was on the soundtrack. 

They continued to perform until Johnny Carter's death in 2009. Here they are doing their signature tune at one of T. J. Lubinsky's PBS specials recorded in Pittsburgh around 2000. Junior is on the right, and Carter is second from right. The spoken bass is by Barksdale. Jerry Butler makes the introduction.

Marion Brooks filmed a 25-minute documentary about the history of the Dells which I recommend. It's posted in three parts on You Tube. Here's the first part. You can follow the links to the other two.

Marvin Junior is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Ruby, three sons, three daughters, and ten grandchildren. If you think Marvin Junior is an unusual name, consider the plight of his eldest son, Marvin, Jr.

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R&B Vocal Group Deaths

Bobby Rodgers (1940-2013)

Two Great Vocal Group Singers

The Soundies #15

This 1942 soundie features the Mills Brothers—Donald (the lead), Harry, Herbert and their father, John, Sr. “Paper Doll” reached #2 on the race msuic charts. The “doll” is actress Dorothy Dandridge at age 20.