Some thoughts after
watching Bo Diddley: The Bo Diddley beat is basically a
five-note syncopated rhythm (to which Bo added some grace notes)
known as the clavé rhythm. Most sources trace it to the music of
sub-Saharan Africa. It is often used in Latin music. For example,
the bossa nova is sometimes called the Brazilian clavé. This beat
appeared in several rhythm and blues songs prior to the recording of
“Bo Diddley” in 1955. The most likely place for Bo to have heard
it was “Hambone” by the Red Saunders Orchestra featuring the
Hambone Kids, which received some airplay in 1952, although it did
not make the charts. You can hear the similarities.
“Hambone”
refers to a style of street dancing while slapping your thighs (and
other body parts) that frequently included the clavé rhythm. One of
the three Hambone Kids was 11-year-old Delecta Clark, who had several
R&B hits under the name Dee Clark; for example, “Hey, Little
Girl” (1959), which also used the Bo Diddley beat, and “Raindrops”
(1961).
Probably the biggest hit after "Bo Diddley" to use the Bo Diddley beat was "Willie and the Hand Jive" by Johnny Otis (1958). Bo spoke bitterly of this song as if it were plagiarism, but listening to "Hambone"puts that charge in a different light.
Rockabilly fans
will remember “Not Fade Away” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets,
which was a hit for the Rolling Stones in the U. K.
Here's Bo Diddley singing and playing "Hey, Bo Diddley" and "Bo Diddley" on American TV. The man who posted it identifies the date (1965) but not the program. The good news is that it's not a lip sync.
Blues singer and guitarist “T-Model”
Ford passed away at his home in Greenville, Mississippi on July 16.
He died of respiratory failure induced by a stroke that he suffered
in 2012. His age is uncertain; estimates vary between 89 and 93. He
was a representative of the North Mississippi hill country style of blues—juke joint music that is characterized by a steady, driving
rhythm (sometimes called a drone style), infrequent chord changes,
and irregular song structures. The style was originated by
Mississippi Fred McDowell and more recently popularized by R. L.
Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.
James Lewis Carter Ford was born on
June 24 sometime in the early '20s in Forest, Mississippi. As a
child, he was severely beaten by his father and lost a testicle.
This handicap did not slow him down, however, as he reportedly had
six wives and 26 children. His obituaries are filled with colorful tales about his violent, sexual and alcoholic exploits. These should
be treated with some skepticism, since blues men have been known to
exaggerate when reporters are about. However, it is generally
acknowledged that he spent two years of a ten-year sentence on a
chain gang for killing a man, he says in self-defense. His nickname
came from his occupation as a truck driver at a logging camp.
Mr. Ford first picked up a guitar at
age 58 and was largely self-taught. He began playing in Mississippi
juke joints in the '80s, along with his drummer Tommy Lee Miles, aka,
Spam. His first CD, Pee Wee Get My Gun, was released in 1997
on Fat Possum, a label that specialized in hill country blues.
Here's a representative cut, “I'm Insane,” on one of his favorite topics, “kicking ass.” (Stella is his sixth wife.)
He released eight CDs in all—four
more on Fat Possum, one on Mudpuppy, and two on Alive Naturalsound,
the last coming in 2011. He usually toured as part of a package
along with other Fat Possum artists. He was fitted with a pacemaker
in 2008, and had a minor stroke in 2010, but continued to perform.
His second stroke, in 2012, was debilitating.
Here is an interview, complete with background noise, that T-Model Ford did
for the British newspaper, The Guardian, about five years ago.
The underrated Savannah Churchill is one of my favorite female vocalists. Here she is in a scene from the 1948 film Miracle in Harlem singing her #1 R&B hit, "I Want to Be Loved," accompanied by the Lynn Proctor Trio.
Ms. Churchill released about 20-25 records between 1942 and 1956, hitting the charts four times. She was usually backed by vocal groups, such as the Four Tunes. She also appeared in three "race movies"--low budget films with all-black casts. She sang in two of them, but the third was a dramatic role. She was the leading lady in 1949's Souls of Sin.
In 1956, she was the victim of a freak accident which effectively ended her career. While she was singing in a New York night club, a drunk fell out of the balcony and landed on her, breaking her pelvis. She spent most of the rest of her life in a wheelchair. She made an unsuccessful comeback attempt in 1961. She died of complications from pneumonia in 1974 at the age of 54.
Clarence Burke, Jr., lead
vocalist for Chicago's '60s soul group the Five Stairsteps died on May 26. He turned 64 the day before his death. The Stairsteps were
a family group consisting of four (later five) brothers and a sister.
They had 17 songs on the R&B charts, but only one of them,
“O-o-h Child” cracked the top 10. Here's my favorite of their
hits.
The first tenor of the Bronx group, the
Regents, Sal Cuomo, died on
June 10. (Guy Villari was the lead singer.) Cuomo had been a recluse and in poor health for many years. The Regents had a top 10
hit in 1961 with “Barbara Ann,” followed by a lesser hit,
“Runaround.” “Barbara Ann” was covered by the Beach Boys in
1965. A parody of this song, “Bomb Iran,” was recorded during
the Iranian hostage crisis in 1980 by Vince Vance and the Valiants.
The song returned to prominence when John McCain sang it during the
2008 presidential campaign, when it was situationally inappropriate, helping Barack Obama to win the election.
Cornelius “Nini” Harp,
lead singer of the Marcels, died in Homestead, PA on June 5. The
Marcels were a bi-racial Pittsburgh group who had a #1
R&B hit, “Blue Moon,” in 1961. It, and a followup,
“Heartaches,” are best remembered for the power bass part by
Fred Johnson. Harp's lead singing
can be better appreciated on this ballad, “Goodbye to Love.”
The Marcels are members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. In spite of the group's popularity in Pittsburgh, no obituary of Harp appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Here are the original members reunited for one of T. J. Lubinsky's PBS specials.
The
bass singer of the Youngstown, Ohio group, the Edsels, Marshall
Sewell, died of esophageal cancer on June 5 at the age of 75. The group originally recorded
“Rama Lama Ding Dong” in 1958, but it went nowhere. Due to a
printing error, the label read “Lama Rama Ding Dong,” making this
disc a collector's item. It was reissued in 1961 and became a best
seller, but their only hit. Sewell was a Cleveland policeman for
many years.
Jimmy Steward,
the last member of the late '40s-early '50s supergroup, the Ravens, died
May 18 in Jacksonville, FL at age 86. He was a substitute member
during the Ravens' declining years, replacing Leonard Puzey as second
tenor from 1951-1953 while Puzey was in the service. He rejoined
them in 1954 and stayed until they broke up in 1956. Although he was
usually in the background, on this song, “Green Eyes,” he sings
second lead to bass man Jimmy Ricks.
Finally,
Moses “King Moe” Uzzell,
of the Corsairs died on May 11 in Newark, NJ. He was 80. The
Corsairs, from LaGrange, NC, consisted of three brothers, Jay “Bird”
Uzzell, the lead singer, James and Moses, and their cousin, George
Wooten. Their 1962 hit, “Smoky Places,” had a similar sound to
the early '60s Drifters. Its lyrics were slightly more adult than
the typical pop song of that era. Their followup, “I'll Take You Home,” was
covered by the Drifters.
I'm
grateful to the editors of Blues
and Rhythm, a great magazine from England, for keeping me up to date on R&B
deaths that typically don't make the newspapers in this country.
R&B singer and boogie-woogie
pianist Little Willie Littlefield, best known for having recorded the
original version of “Kansas City,” died of cancer on June 23 at
the age of 81 at his home in Voorthuizen, the Netherlands.
Willie Littlefield was born in El
Campo, Texas on September 16, 1931, and grew up in Houston. He began
to play the guitar at age 6 and the piano shortly afterwards. As a
teenager, he and tenor saxophonist Don Wilkerson formed a band that burned up Houston's Dowling Street. Willie became a teenaged sensation. The band came to the attention of dic jockey Eddie Henry, and Littlefield cut his
first record, “Little Willie's Boogie” for Eddie's Records at the
age of 16.
After a visit to Houston by Jules Bihari, he
moved up to Modern Records in Los Angeles in 1949. His first
Modern release, “It's Midnight,” went to #3 on the R&B
charts. It was an early example of the use of piano triplets, a
technique used extensively by Fats Domino. Littlefield's use
of triplets preceded Domino's, although it's doubtful that either of them originated the style.
Littlefield had about a dozen releases
on Modern, often accompanied by Maxwell Davis on tenor sax. Two
others, “Farewell” and “I've Been Lost” (with Little Lora
Wiggins) also made the charts. These recordings, along with
many alternate takes and unreleased sides, can be found on two Ace
CDs, Kat on the Keys and
Boogie, Blues and Bounce.
In 1952, he moved
to Federal Records, where he released seven singles. The first of
these was originally called “K. C. Loving.” Littlefield claimed to have
written the song and sold it to Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. If
so, it was a huge mistake. The song was rerecorded by Wilbert
Harrison in 1959 under the title “Kansas City,” and it went to #1
on the R&B charts. Harrison's version is less interesting than
Littlefield's and features toned-down lyrics.
Harrison: “They've got some crazy little women there, and I'm gonna get me one.”
Littlefield:
“They've got a crazy way of lovin', and I'm gonna get me
some.”
While at Federal, Littlefield also recorded
duets with Little Esther and Lil Greenwood. In spite of the high
quality of these sides, none of them made the charts. They are
collected on the Ace CD Going Back to Kay Cee.
In 1957-58, he
recorded ten sides for Bullseye Records in San Francisco. One of
these, “Ruby, Ruby,” backed by Alice Jean and the Mondellos, is a
favorite among R&B vocal group fans.
Littlefield's
career went into a decline in the '60s, but in the early '70s he made
a triumphant return at the San Francisco Blues Festival. This led to
his first successful European tour in 1978. Around 1980, he married
a Dutch woman and, following the example of many other blues and jazz
musicians, settled permanently in the Netherlands. During the '80s
and '90s, he recorded at least ten albums for European labels, most
of which are not available in this country.
Little Willie
Littlefield performed widely throughout Europe for the last 30 years
and retained his ability to play the piano up to the end. A great
showman, part of his stage routine included removing his right shoe
and pounding the keys with it. Here he is doing an extended version in "Sweet Home Chicago" in the U. K. in 2009. (You might also want to check out this performance of "Every Day I Have the Blues.")
Texas Johnny Brown (1928-2013)
Texas Johnny Brown had very few
recordings under his own name and was not very well known outside his
home state, but he was a favorite of blues and R&B musicians. He died of lung and liver cancer in Houston on July 1, about a week after the death of Bobby
“Blue” Bland, with whom he played for many years. He was 85.
Despite his nickname, John Reilly Brown
was actually born in Ackerman, Mississippi on February 22, 1928. As
a child, he played acoustic guitar with his father, who was a blind
street singer. However, he also listened to jazz guitarist Charlie
Christian, whose influence can be heard on his fluid electric guitar
lines.
He moved to Houston in the '40s and in
1946 became an original member of Amos Milburn's Aladdin
Chickenshackers, one of the most popular R&B bands of the day.
Although most discographies do not identify Milburn's guitarist,
chances are good that he played on most of Milburn's hits. In 1949,
he got his first opportunity to record under his own name, backed by
Milburn and the band. He recorded six sides for Atlantic, two of
which were released as Atlantic 876, “There Goes the Blues”/”The
Blues Rock.” He also recorded four songs for Decca in 1950. Here he is performing "There Go the Blues" in Houston earlier this year.
After a stint in the military, Johnny
Brown returned to Houston and became a regular member of Joe Scott's
band, which backed up most Duke and Peacock recordings. He
also toured regularly with Bobby “Blue” Bland and Little Junior
Parker. He was the composer of “Two Steps From the Blues,” not a hit single, but the title song of one of Bland's best selling albums.
Brown quit the music business in 1963
and worked primarily as a truck driver until he retired in 1991. At
this point, he formed his aptly named Quality Blues Band and performed steadily
for the next two decades. In 1995, he recorded his first CD, Nothin'
But the Truth, on the Choctaw
Creek label. It was nominated for a Handy Award and was followed by
Blues Defender in
2001. This version of "Just Can't Do It" from 2011 is typical of his more recent songs. You might also want to check out this excellent five-song set from an outdoor concert, Blues on the Hill, which can be found here and here.
You may also be interested in reading: The Soul of a Man: Bobby "Blue" Bland (1930-2013)
In March, while writing my lukewarm review of Wayne Shorter's CD, Without a Net,
it occurred to me that it might win both the Downbeat
Critics' and Readers' Polls as Album of the Year, and I might feel
like an ass. The first part of that prediction has come true; we
will have to wait until December to hear from the readers. But Wayne Shorter was the big winner with the critics in this his 80th
year. In addition to his CD victory, he was named Jazz Artist of the Year, his quartet won in the jazz group category, and he was the
winner on soprano sax.
The Downbeat
Critics Poll is a vote among 165 international jazz critics. It
should be noted that Downbeat's
“year” does not coincide with the calendar year, but refers to
the second half of 2012 and the first half of 2013.
Each
year, the critics add one member to the Downbeat
Hall of Fame. This year they have chosen veteran bassist Charlie
Haden, who began his career as a member of Ornette Coleman's quartet,
was the leader of the Liberation Music Orchestra and Charlie Haden's
Quartet West, and has participated in an impressive variety of
projects both as leader and sideman. Haden, who is 75, is struggling
with health problems due to post-polio syndrome, but was able to participate in the Healdsburg (Cal.) Jazz Festival in June. I'm linking to this clip of the Liberation Music Orchestra from 1992 because it features an extended bass solo. Unfortunately, the ending is cut.
A
subset of the critics, the Veterans Committee, can elect pre-1950
artists to the Hall of Fame if the artist receives votes from at
least 66% of them. This year, they selected Mississippi bluesman
Robert Johnson.
Here
are their top ten choices for Album of the Year:
(tie) Neneh
Cherry/The Thing, The Cherry Thing; Kenny Garrett, Seeds
From the Underground
The Historical
Album of the Year is the Miles Davis Quintet, Live in Europe,
1969: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 2.
In addition to
Artist of the Year, the critics choose a performer of the year and a
rising star for each instrument, as well as a Rising Star of the
Year. Here are some of the winners. A complete list can be found here.
Artist
of the Year: Wayne Shorter
Jazz
Group: Wayne Shorter Quartet
Big
Band (tie): Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Maria Schneider
Orchestra
Trumpet:
Dave Douglas
Trombone:
Wycliffe Gordon
Soprano
Saxophone: Wayne Shorter
Alto
Saxophone: Rusresh Mahanthappa
Tenor
Saxophone: Joe Lovano
Clarinet:
Anat Cohen
Piano:
Jason Moran
Organ:
Joey DeFrancesco
Guitar:
Bill Frisell
Bass:
Christian McBride
Drums:
Jack DeJohnette
Male
Vocalist: Kurt Elling
Female
Vocalist: Cassandra Wilson
Rising
Star of the Year: Gregory Porter
The boundaries of when someone is
considered a “rising star” are unclear. Karrin Allyson was the rising star among female vocalists even though she has been recording for 20
years, and Gregory Porter finished second to Kurt Elling among the
presumably established male vocalists.
The jazz critics also flirt briefly
with the Blues and Beyond genres. “Beyond” refers to popular
music that is enjoyed by jazz critics. Dr. John was named Blues
Artist of the Year and his CD, Locked Down,
was Blues Album of the Year. The Beyond Artists were the
Robert Glasper Experiment, and Jose James' No Beginning, No
End was the Beyond Album of the
Year. Both are artists who blend jazz with R&B.
