Volume One
Side One
1. Hard Luck Blues
2. Good Rockin' Man
3. Ain't It A Shame
4. Love Don't Love Nobody
5. I've Got The Last Laugh
Now
6. Trouble At Midnight
Side Two
1. Boogie At Midnight
2. Travelin' Man
3. Ain't Got No Blues
Today
4. Wrong Woman Blues
5. Queen Of Diamonds
6. Worried Life Blues
Volume Two
Side One
1. Ain't No Rockin' No
More
2. Letter From Home
3. Beautician Blues
4. Long About Sundown
5. Bar Room Blues
Side Two
1. Train Time Blues
2. Sweet Peach
3. Double Crossin' Woman
4. Lonesome Lover
5. Big Town
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It's time to post another
of those Gusto double LP sets which I used to pick up cheaply in a Glasgow
department store way back around 1978 or 9. And it’s also time to pay tribute
to one of the major figures of vintage R&B, Roy Brown. He was the original good
rockin’ man, being the composer of “Good Rockin’ Tonight” which he pitched unsuccessfully
to Wynonie Harris in 1947. Roy was signed by DeLuxe Records of New Jersey and
recorded the song himself, achieving a substantial R&B hit in 1948. However
a cover version by Harris outsold the original and to add insult to injury Harris
had another R&B hit with a cover of the B side of Roy’s disc, “Lolly Pop
Mama.”
Roy’s singing style was
very different from that of Harris and the other blues shouters of the time.
His vocals were much more overtly influenced by gospel, indeed Roy’s earliest
musical performances had been with a gospel group, and he was more of a blues “crier”
than a shouter. His passionate, torridly emotional delivery was a big influence
on B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Clyde McPhatter and any number of singers whose
style is retrospectively considered to be an early manifestation of soul
singing.
He was also a big influence on Elvis Presley who recorded a version of
“Good Rockin’ Tonight” for Sun Records. I’ve always found it interesting to
compare “Hard Luck Blues” with “Heartbreak Hotel.” The songs are similarly
structured and surely Elvis’ emotional delivery of a tale of woe is largely
inspired by Roy’s overwrought performance on the even more desolate “Hard
Luck Blues.”
Roy had a string of big
R&B hits between 1948 and 1951 and it should be remembered that not only
did he sing on the mix of poignant blues and wild rockers which constituted his
chart topping oeuvre, he wrote them too. He was backed by some of the best jump
bands around, including his own Mighty Mighty Men and the Tiny Bradshaw and
Griffin Brothers outfits. But from 1952 onwards there were no more hits on the
DeLuxe label which had been bought out by King Records in 1948.
It has been
said that Roy’s successful lawsuit which he took out against King over royalty
payments had something to do with the situation, but despite the dispute King
continued to record and release very strong material by Roy. It may be that
like many of his contemporaries, Roy was a victim of changing fashions within
the R&B world, with a younger generation preferring vocal groups to aging
blues singers.
His last hits were for
Imperial Records in 1957 with covers of Buddy Knox’s “Party Doll” and Fats
Domino’s “Let The Four Winds Blow.” There was a brief and fruitless return to
King and Roy’s singing career gradually faded. He continued to record and
perform intermittently throughout the 60’s and 70’s and unlike so many other performers
of post war rhythm and blues he was able to take advantage of the revival of
interest in vintage R&B which started to take hold in the late 1970s /early
1980s. Tragically he died at the young age of 55 in 1981. Had he lived longer
he would assuredly have spent many years touring the blues and rock’n’roll festivals
where he would have received the acclaim of new generations of fans.
The tracks, recording dates and original release numbers:
1. Hard Luck Blues – Recorded in Cincinnati, April 19th, 1950. DeLuxe 3304 (no. 1 R&B 1950)
2. Good Rockin' Man –
Recorded in Cincinnati, January 16th, 1951. DeLuxe 3319
3. Ain't It A Shame –
Recorded in New Orleans, May 27th, 1954. King 4731
4. Love Don't Love Nobody
– Recorded in Cincinnatti, June 15th, 1950. DeLuxe 3306 (no. 2
R&B 1950)
5. I've Got The Last Laugh
Now – Recorded in Cincinnati, January 16th, 1951. DeLuxe 3323
6. Trouble At Midnight –
Recorded in Miami, December 15th, 1953. King 4704
7. Boogie At Midnight -
Recorded in Dallas, September 20th, 1949. DeLuxe 3300 (no. 3 R&B
1949)
8. Travelin' Man –
Recorded in New Orleans, December 18th,
1952. King 4602
9. Ain't Got No Blues
Today – Recorded in Cincinnati, May 7th, 1959. King 5333
10. Wrong Woman Blues –
Recorded in Cincinnati, January 16th, 1951. DeLuxe 3313
11. Queen Of Diamonds –
Recorded in New Orleans, May 27th, 1954. King 4761
12. Worried Life Blues –
Recorded in New Orleans, September 2nd, 1954. King 4743
13. Ain't No Rockin' No
More – Recorded in New Orleans, May 27th, 1954. King 5247
14. Letter From Home –
Recorded in New Orleans, December 19th, 1952. King 4684
15. Beautician Blues –
Recorded in Cincinnati, June 23nd, 1950. DeLuxe 3313
16. Long About Sundown –
Recorded in Cincinnati, June 22nd, 1950. DeLuxe 3308 (no. 8 R&B
1950)
17. Bar Room Blues –
Recorded in Cincinnati, June 22nd, 1950. DeLuxe 3319 (no. 6 R&B
1951)
18. Train Time Blues –
Recorded in Cincinnati, June 22nd, 1950. DeLuxe 3318
19. Sweet Peach - Recorded
in Cincinnati, April 19th, 1950. DeLuxe 3312
20. Double Crossin' Woman
– Recorded in Cincinnati, June 23nd, 1950. DeLuxe 3311
21. Lonesome Lover –
Recorded in Cincinnati, September 27th, 1951. King 4689
22. Big Town – Recorded in
Cincinnati, January 16th, 1951. DeLuxe 3318 (no. 8 R&B 1951)
The musicians:
Roy Brown vocal on all
tracks, accompanied by -
Teddy Riley (tp) Johnny Fontenette
(ts) Edward Santineo (p) Louis Sargent (g) Tommy Shelvin (b) Frank Parker (d)
September 1949
Boogie At Midnight
The Griffin Brothers
Orchestra: Wilbur Harden (tp) Jimmy Griffin (tb) Johnny Fontenette (ts) Harry
Porter (bar) Edward "Buddy" Griffin (p) Willie Gaddy (g) Ike Isaacs
(b) Emmett "Nab" Shields (d) April 1950
Hard Luck Blues
Sweet Peach
Sweet Peach
Wilbur Harden (tp) Johnny Fontenette
(ts) Leroy Rankins (bar) Edward Santineo (p) Edgar Blanchard (g) Ike Isaacs (b)
Emmett "Nab" Shields (d) June 1950
Love Don’t Love Nobody
George Jenkins replaces
Nab Shields (d), rest the same, June 1950
Train Time Blues
Bar Room Blues
‘Long About Sundown
Beautician Blues
Double Crossin’ Woman
The Tiny Bradshaw
Orchestra: Leslie Ayers (tp) Red Prysock (ts) Orrington Hall (ts,bar) James
Robinson (p) Edgar Blanchard (g) Clarence Mack (b) Calvin Shields (d) January
1951
Wrong Woman Blues
Good Rockin’ Man
I’ve Got The Last Laugh
Now
Big Town
Teddy Riley (tp) Johnny Fontenette
(ts) Alexander Nelson (bar) Charlie Nelson (p) Peter "Chuck" Badie
(b) Wilbert Smith (d) September 1951
Lonesome Lover
Teddy Riley (tp) Victor
Thomas, Sammy Parker (ts) Frank Campbell (bar) Jimmy Williams (p) Jimmy Davis
(g) Tommy Shelvin (b) Ray Miller (d) December 1952
Travelin’ Man
Letter From Home
Joe Bridgewater (tp) Sammy
Parker, Victor Thomas (ts) Jimmy C. Harris (p) Jimmy Davis (g) Clarence Jones
(b) Albert "June" Gardner (d) December 1953
Trouble At Midnight
Philip Scott (ts) James H.
Thomas (p) Edgar Blanchard (g) Tommy Shelvin (b) Frank Parker (d) May 1954
Ain’t It A Shame
Ain’t No Rockin’ No More
Queen Of Diamonds
Melvin Lastie (tp) Sammy
Parker, Johnny Fontenette (ts) Salvador Doucette (p) Jimmy Davis (g) Tommy
Shelvin (b) Placide Adams (d) September 1954
Worried Life Blues
Johnny Griffin, Ray Felder
(ts) unknown (bar) Jon Thomas (p) John Faire, Fred Jordan (g) Edwyn Conley (b)
Ron McCurdy (d) May 1959
Ain’t Got No Blues Today
Buying Roy.
His peak years are well covered by 3 Chronological Roy Brown CDs on the Classics label:
His peak years are well covered by 3 Chronological Roy Brown CDs on the Classics label:
Ace has two good CDs of
Roy’s sides. "Good Rockin' Brown" is an in-depth look at his earliest sides and is
mastered from the original acetates:
"Mighty Mighty Man!" covers his later
King material after his hit making days had passed. There’s plenty of good
stuff on it!
Sources: Bruyninckx Discography, sleevenotes to the Route 66 LPs "Good Rocking Tonight", "Laughing But Crying", "I Feel That Young Man's Rhythm." Wikipedia article on Roy Brown.
This file just doesn't seem to want to download. Maybe it's too big, haven't had this problem before.
ReplyDeleteI to am anonymous.
The band I was in backed Roy on his UK debut in 1978. We also recorded a session for the BBC at Maida Vale for Stu Colman's Rock 'n Roll Show. Treasure the recording of doing backing vocals on 'Boogie at Midnight' and bought the man a BBC coffee - still have the polystyrene cup !!
ReplyDeleteI've just tried out both links. I was shocked at how slow the rapidshare download is and I just gave up on it after a few minutes. Normally rapidshare is ok if you're a member but I logged out and didn't like what I saw!
ReplyDeleteThe zippyshare download worked very quickly, only taking less than 3 minutes. Have you tried the zippyshare link?
Thanks very much for the Roy at the Beeb story! It's these kind of memories that make all the effort worth while.
ReplyDeleteWow this is good stuff really enjoyable thanks!
ReplyDeleteWonderful set. I knew some of the musicians when I was music editor for the two Cincinnati newspapers (not at the same time).
ReplyDeleteEd Conley, the bassist, was one of the sweetest people I've ever known. He worked at the post office most of his life.
Ron McCurdy was an Irishman from Belfast, again, a sweet human being and one of the funniest people I ever met. GREAT jazz drummer. Recorded with The Jazz Disciples for Prestige.
Thanks for sharing the memories of these 2 musicians, Larry. An Ulsterman drumming on a Roy Brown session in Cincinnati - that's a surprise to me!
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a wonderful set! Volume 2 by itself stands up as a great selection. 10 tracks and every one a gem.
Further to Larry's post
ReplyDeleteRonald D. McCurdy, 75, jazz drummer
Performed with locals, greats
By Allen Howard
If the drumbeat from Ronald Desmond McCurdy at many jazz places in
Cincinnati in the last 50 years sounded unusual - as if he were using
saucepan lids - that's the way he learned to play drums in Belfast,
Northern Ireland.
From that makeshift beginning as a toddler, Mr. McCurdy went on to
become a mainstay on the Cincinnati scene, playing drums at every jazz
place and with practically every jazz player in Cincinnati.
Mr. McCurdy died July 1 in Fort Worth, Texas of cancer. He was 75.
"His colleagues and friends admired him, not only as a passionate and
talented musician but for his wit, for his distaste for pretension and
all things phony, and for his large heart," said his wife, Amy
Culbertson, of Fort Worth.
Mr. McCurdy immigrated to Detroit in 1951 after his father died in
World War II. He played for dances at St. Andrews Hall, where Northern
Irish and Scottish families gathered in downtown Detroit.
Rock music was not his bag, said his wife. She said he thought it
killed jazz.
In the Army, Mr. McCurdy played in the 95th Army Band and other
military ensembles and orchestras.
He arrived in Cincinnati in 1955, at the height of the bebop era.
He was studying geology at the University of Cincinnati, but left in
1958 to join a band, formed by alto and tenor saxist Curtis Peagler.
That band included pianist Billy Brown, bassist Lee Tucker and William
"Hicky" Kelley, who played euphonium and normaphone.
Mr. McCurdy was the only white member in the band which became
Cincinnati's premier jazz combo. The group became known as the Modern
Jazz Disciples and became the house group at Babe Baker's club on
Reading Road in Avondale
There, Mr. McCurdy, who became known as "Whitefolks," a name given to
him by musician Sonny Stitt, became a backup drummer for such notables
as Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Johnny Griffin, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and
Ben Webster.
The Disciples cut an album for Prestige Records' New Jazz label at
Rudy Van Gelder's studio in New Jersey, a major coup in the 1950s. The
group recorded its self-titled album in 1959, and it received a 41/2-
star review in Downbeat magazine.
Mr. McCurdy backed many musicians as a house drummer at the Playboy
Club in New Orleans and Cincinnati.
He backed many performers and comedians, including George Carlin. Mr.
McCurdy played in the pit band at the Gayety burlesque theater
downtown with small groups, including a trio called Wee Three with the
late guitarist Cal Collins and bassist Michael Moore.
He also played with the Bill Walters Big Band.
"One of the proudest moments of his career was playing a concert with
Duke Ellington's orchestra in Dayton," his wife said.
Mr. McCurdy had a longstanding gig at the Carousel Inn, Sycamore
Township, with Frank Vincent and guitarist Kenny Poole, whom he
considered his musical soul mates.
"Simply put, he (Mr. McCurdy) had a wonderful sense of humor and he
was able to put it into his music. He was a great musician and music
was his first love," said Vincent, of Crescent Springs.
Mr. McCurdy also had gigs at Christie's in Woodlawn with a quintet
headed by Carmon DeLeone.
He loved bossa nova and Brazilian music and in 1995 formed a group
called Brazil with pianist Wayne Yeager, bassist Michael Sharfe and
singer Larry Kinley that played at the opening of the Aronoff Center
for the Arts.
Mr. McCurdy was a lifelong member of the Cincinnati Musicians union.
He was house drummer for Dee Felice Café in Covington from 1989 to
2005.
Mr. McCurdy is also survived by a daughter, Amy Cape, and a
granddaughter, Alexa Cape, both of Ruidoso, N.M.
A memorial service is 5 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Mickey Kaplan Performance
Studio, 1555 Central Parkway, Over-the-Rhine.
Memorials can be sent to: the Civic Garden Center of Greater
Cincinnati. 2715 Reading Rd., Cincinnati, OH, 45206.
JOHN CLIFFORD ( the guy with the BEEB story)
Wonderful! I've never heard of this artist before. But I do love his music.
ReplyDeleteYours is a great blog.
Hi, BW. Somewhat off-topic [RB-wise], but has anyone figured out to download from RapidShare since they debuted their new 'look' a week or two ago? No matter what linx i input, they all re-direct to the same standard RS splash page, with nothing to click on [certainly not the file i went there to get], besides some generic links [ie., "about", "contact", etc.] Thankfully, you supply alt-linx [ZippyShare], but i have some RS-only links i want. Thanx in advance for your time and input.
ReplyDeleteHi Mr Jams
ReplyDeleteI clicked on the rapidshare link and this took me to a page with a blue box on the right hand side containing the words "upload share backup anywhere." Underneath it is a box with "to download" in it. I clicked on that and got taken to a page with the Roy Brown file on it. I clicked on the Hard Luck Blues file and "download selection" appeared. I clicked on that and it downloaded. I did this while not signed in as a rapidshare member, so I think it should work for you. Keep on boogying.
Wishing you all the best for the holidays, Boogiewoody!
ReplyDeleteMarie
Thanks Woody!
ReplyDeleteNot only do I relish this nice serving of 'Blues Cryin' by Roy, I appreciate the thoughtful and insightful write-ups that accompany these fine posts.
That Heartbreak Hotel/Hard Luck Blues comparison is really astute I think.
I always found it laughingly, cheesily bombastic, that climactic remark at the end about his "Mother's grave"...!
Top-Notch all the way! Thanks a ton.
ReplyDeleteWhat's happened? Are you coming back?
ReplyDeleteBoogiewoody,
ReplyDeleteEven if you never post another song, just let us know that the Be Bop Wino is okay?
Marie
A great singer, a great time for music !
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot.
Thank you,Federal vinyl,Great.
ReplyDelete