L J Hamilton RIP

Thanks to Dave Carroll for letting me know that one of New Orleans' lesser known singers, L J (Larry) Hamilton has died. We saw him perform at Irma Thomas's Lions Den Club a couple of times during Jazzfest 1992 (see photo) and I remember him as having a very good soul voice. The first time we went, the place was virtually empty as Irma wasn't playing that night, but the second occasion, with the Soul Queen of New Orleans in attendance, was a real night to remember. Earlier that evening we had seen Charles Brown perform and I wrote at the time: 'A superb, unforgettable evening - two of the greats, Charles and Irma.'
Dave recalls: 'I had bought a 12" record (back in the UK in the late '80s) with the title Trust Equals Love under the name of LJ Hamilton and we chatted with him. Steve Davis had been one of the people behind the record (not sure of the details), and in his next set Larry dedicated a song to Steve Davis 'World Billiards Champion and his friends from England' (if memory serves me correct).'
According to the SoulExpress website http://www.soulexpress.net/larryhamilton.htm, Larry was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1951 and joined the New Orleans band Harold Batiste and the Gladiators in 1965. (Coincidentally Harold put on a funky performance at the Ponderosa Stomp last year.) Later he joined another local band The Invaders and wrote songs for Johnny Adams and King Floyd, as well as recording with Wardell Quezerque and, in the 90s, Allen Toussaint. The Trust Equals Love 12 inch, including I Trust Your Love, referred to above, was recorded in the late 80s with the help of snooker star and soul fan Steve Davis. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB5MyoNvOgg