He was born the Bronx as Henry David Epstein on June 3, 1921, and grew up in Manhattan. After his father died, he was placed in an orphanage, where he took up the trumpet and later formed a jazz band. During World War II, he served in the U. S. Army Band. After the war, he changed his name and began producing records for Jewel, a Los Angeles jazz and blues label.
He moved to Miami and in 1949 started Stone Distributing, marketing rhythm and blues from independent labels to juke box operators. Shortly thereafter, he and songwriter Andy Razaf started Rockin' Records. In 1951, Stone recorded four sides by Ray Charles, two of which were released on Rockin', while the others were sold to the Sittin' in With label. Other artists who recorded for Rockin' included John Lee Hooker [as John Lee Booker], Joe Hill Louis [as Leslie Louis], Little Sammy Davis, Wilbert Harrison, and most importantly, the Charms.
Stone is said to have found Otis Williams singing on a street corner in Cincinnati when he was 16. He is no relation to the Otis Williams who was a member of the Temptations. The other members of the Charms were Rolland Bradley, Richard Parker, Donald Peak and Joe Penn. Stone signed them with Rockin' and their first record, "Heaven Only Knows" b/w "Loving Baby" was released in January 1953. When Stone asked Syd Nathan of King Records for help with distribution, Nathan offered him a partnership in his then-dormant DeLuxe affiliate. "Heaven Only Knows" was re-released as DeLuxe 6000 in October, and Stone produced about 90 records for DeLuxe until he and Nathan fell out in late 1955. Most of them featured vocal groups such as the Crystals, the Five Jets, the Quails, and the Thunderbirds.
When Stone split, Otis Williams stayed with DeLuxe and a new Charms group was assembled. The other groups members remained with Stone while he started a new label, Chart Records. As a rule of thumb, Stone's productions for Rockin', DeLuxe and Chart are labeled "the Charms," while the post-Stone records are credited to "Otis Williams and His New Group," "Otis Williams and His Charms" or just Otis Williams. The Charms, one of the greatest '50s vocal groups, made the R&B charts seven times, and Otis Williams and his group continued to record for King until 1962. Their biggest hit, "Hearts of Stone" was #1 on the R&B charts for nine weeks in late 1954. It is one of the few R&B cover records that is better than the original by the Jewels.
As a personal note, "Hearts of Stone" is one of the first three records I ever bought. The others were "Earth Angel" by the Penguins and "Sincerely" by the Moonglows. The sides Otis Williams and the Charms recorded for Stone can be found on the Ace CD The Original Rockin' and Chart Masters, an essential CD for vocal group fans. Stone continued to record groups such as the Champions and the Evergreens, and Miami's Rockin' Doowop From the Chart Label, also on Ace, is highly recommended. Roy Gaines, Lightnin' Hopkins and Jimmy Wilson also recorded for Chart.
Henry Stone continued making records and compulsively starting new labels. A favorite of blues collectors is "A Fool No More" by Eddie Hope and the Mannish Boys on the Marlin label from 1956.
In 1960, Stone had an opportunity to pull Syd Nathan's chain. He recorded "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes," an instrumental by the James Brown band. Brown was under contract to King Records, so it was credited to Nat Kendrick and the Swans. Kendrick was Brown's drummer. It reached #8 on the R&B charts.
Disco!!! Henry Stone had his greatest success in the '70s with TK Records and its affiliate labels, Alston, Glades and Cat, which he ran with former pop singer Steve Alaimo. They called it "the Miami Sound" and it featured artists such as KC and the Sunshine Band, who charted 15 times and went to #1 three times, George McCrae, Gwen McCrae (his wife), Latimore, Timmy Thomas, and Betty Wright. The Miami sound guaranteed Henry Stone a comfortable retirement. The link below is for completeness. Click it at your own risk.
Henry Stone also recorded "Another One Rides the Bus" by Weird Al Yankovic. A documentary about Stone's life, Rock Your Baby, is said to be in production.
I'm grateful to the British magazine Blues and Rhythm for keeping me up to date on the deaths of musicians not considered important enough for my local newspaper.
Adolph (Al) Jacobs, guitarist with the Coasters on many of their greatest hits, died of cancer on July 23 at the age of 75. The Coasters at that time were Carl Gardner, Billy Guy, Leon Hughes and Bobby Nunn. Jacobs was included in many of their group photos, but was not on screen during their television appearances. With the exception of Lowman Pauling of the Five Royales, the accompanists of R&B vocal groups were not great guitarists. Evidence of Jacobs' solid support can be found on "Young Blood."
After leaving the Coasters, Jacobs worked as a session musician. In the '70s, the Adolph Jacobs Trio performed regularly at the Sportsman's Nightclub in Los Angeles. He also accompanied various Coasters revival groups.
Conrad (Cliff) Dunn, described as the "baritone lead" of the Philadelphia group the Dreamlovers, died on June 22. The lead singer of their biggest hit, "When We Get Married" (1961), was Morris Gardner. The other group members were Ray Dunn (Cliff's brother), Cleve Hammock and Tommy Ricks. I'm unable to identify any Dreamlovers sides on which Dunn sang lead. They all sound like Gardner to me.
The Dreamlovers also served as uncredited backup singers for Chubby Checker, Dee Dee Sharp, the Dovells and others on the Cameo and Parkway labels.
You may also be interested in:
Video of the Week #72 (Ray Charles)
Two More Lead Singers Have Died
CD Review: The Dominoes Collection, 1951-59
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