R Dean Taylor passes on

I've just found out that R Dean Taylor, a significant singer, songwriter and record producer at Motown during the sixties and seventies has died at the age of 82. Taylor was a white Canadian who made a a couple of records in Toronto before relocating to Detroit and being hired as a songwriter and recording artist at Motown in 1964. His first record on the VIP subsidiary 'Let's Go Somewhere' was a regional hit but during the following few years he had major success in the US but especially the UK with three very catchy records - 'Indiana Wants Me', the self-produced 'Gotta See Jane' and 'There'a A Ghost In My House'. After Holland Dozier and Holland left Motown Taylor became part of Motown's key songwriting team with Diana Ross and the Supremes' 'Love Child','I'll Turn to Stone' by the Four Tops, 'Just Look What You've Done' by Brenda Holloway and 'All I Need' by the Temptations among others. He was signed to Rare Earth, Motown's subsidiary for white artists, and 'Indiana Wants Me' was the first Motown number one by a white artist in the US. He continued recording for Rare Earth and had some success in his native Canada and formed his own record company Jane. His death followed a bout of Covid last year. RIP Richard Dean Taylor.

Sandy Nelson RIP

It's been a truly dreadful few weeks for the world of drumming. Within a couple of weeks we have lost renowned Memphis drummer Howard Grimes, Philip Paul, who kept the beat behind a string of great R and and blues artists at King, Sam Lay, a top Chicago blues drummer, and Clifton 'Fou Fou' Eddie, who drummed with soul acts such as the Dells and Patti LaBelle. Now we have news that perhaps the most successful drummer of them all - Sandy Nelson - has passed away at the age of 83. Sandy's career began with a band called the Renegades who recorded 'Geronimo', produced by Kim Fowley. He was a well known session man, having played the drums on the Teddy Bears' 'To Know Him Is To Love Him' in 1958 and, later, on 'Alley Oop' by the Hollywood Aygylls and 'A Thousand Stars' by Kathy Young. But he came to fame with the 1959 instrumental hit 'Teen Beat', recorded for Original Sound, which sold a million copies and was a big hit in the UK as well as the US. He moved to Imperial and although his records were formulaic, with heavy drumming and pounding guitar (provided by Richard Polodar) he had another top ten hit in the UK and the US in 1962 with 'Let There Be Drums' and another significant hit with 'Drums Are My Beat'. Other 45s in the early sixties included 'Drum Party', 'I'm Walkin'', 'Drumming Up A Storm' and 'And Then There Were Drums'. Sandy lost part of his right leg in a motor cycle accident in 1963 but continued to record several albums a year throughout the sixties, often featuring instrumental versions of pop hits. In 2008 he joined up with Eddie Angel of Los Straitjackets and others to record an album of original compositions called 'Nelsonized'.

Howard Grimes RIP

So sad to hear of the death of the great Memphis drummer Howard Grimes at the age of 80. Howard was a key member of Willie Mitchell's Hi Rhythm Section and was the stick man behind Al Green, the recently departed Syl Johnson and many others. It's only a few months since I read 'Timekeeper: My Life In Rhythm', Howard's excellent autobiography co-written with Preston Lauterbach, which I reviewed on The Vinyl Word back in March. Here's what I wrote: 'Howard Grimes is one of the greatest drummers of all time and his metronomic backing behind Memphis artists such as Al Green, Syl Johnson and O V Wright is instantly recognisable. He was nicknamed the Bulldog by Willie Mitchell, who said 'When a bulldog get mad, you hear him knockin’ over shit, he don’t want to be bothered. I can hear you comin’, Howard, I know when you’re comin’, you put that foot down and clamp on that beat.' His autobiography 'Timekeeper: My Life In Rhythm', written with Preston Lauterbach (whose earlier book 'The Chitlin Circuit' is essential reading for lovers of soul and R and B) is due out in July. Howard's drumming career goes back to the earliest days of Stax and he played on such classic tracks as 'Gee Whiz' by Carla Thomas and 'You Don't Miss Your Water' by William Bell, but it's his work with Willie Mitchell at Hi that really made its mark. He played on Willie's 'Soul Serenade' and on tracks such as 'A Nickel and Nail' and 'Ace of Spades' by OV Wright - a man who he describes as the 'the finest vocalist I ever worked with'. He was the man keeping the beat on Ann Peebles' 'I Can't Stand The Rain', Denise Lasalle's 'Trapped By A Thing Called Love', 'Get Your Lie Straight' by Bill Coday and 'We Did It' by Syl Johnson. But it was his work behind Al Green, for whom he shared the drum kit with his friend Al Jackson, that he is perhaps best known. 'Tired Of Being Alone', 'Take Me To The River' and 'Love and Happiness' all featured Howard's drum work. Howard presents a gritty account of his life in Memphis, with violence, drugs and women problems never far away. He is less than complimentary at times about Al Green and Hi Records guitarist Teenie Hodges and even Willie Mitchell. He recalls how Johnny Baylor, who managed Luther Ingram and who screwed Isaac Hayes over after he had brought him into Stax, took a shine to him when he visited Hi and gave him his card, saying 'I Kill For A Living'. Memphis was a violent town. Howard's brother was murdered as was Al Jackson. And then Willie sold Hi Records and Howard was out of a job. His marriage had broken down and he became homeless. Howard says that despite problems between them Al Green did what he could to help and he says OV Wright never turned against him. He played with OV in Japan, but OV's drug and alcohol problems worsened and he died two years later. By the end Willie had to carry him into the studio to do his sessions, he recalls. Racism was another problem and he recalls a tour he made with Paul Revere and the Raiders when singer Mark Lindsay refused to perform because of racism towards Howard. Howard eventually found happiness with a new wife and his belief in God. The Hi Rhythm Section got back together in a tribute to O V Wright in 2009 with Otis Clay and the Masqueraders singing his songs. They played at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans and he was invited by keyboard player Archie Turner, known as Hubbie, to play at Wild Bill's juke joint in Memphis. Hubbie introduced him to Scott Bomar who had formed the Bo-Keys with former Stax and Hi musicians. Howard says: 'I’m not angry with Stax. I’m not angry with Hi. But Scott Bomar at Electraphonic is the only person who’s ever paid me right.' His final words: 'When Elvis lifted Memphis music, we already had so much to work with. Nightclubs were full of talent. The schools developed talent. The fans wanted to come out and hear the best. That already existed before the big business side of things happened. Elvis’s hit records inspired studios to open up. Those studios found their own sounds, and made their own artists. The money and success that followed ended up being bad for the music. Greed, corruption, and violence killed us. It killed Al Jackson Jr. It killed Stax. It killed Hi Records. If we could have stayed on peace and togetherness, we’d still be on top.' The photo above shows Howard in one of the interview sessions at 2015's Ponderosa Stomp.

Another recent death, at the age of 77, is that of funk singer Betty Davis, who recorded in the late sixties and seventies and who was married briefly to Miles Davis. Originally a model, she first recorded 'Get Ready For Betty' under her original name of Betty Mabry in 1964 and wrote 'Uptown (For Harlem)' for the Chambers Brothers. She recorded three albums in the seventies ('Betty Davis', 'They Say I'm Different' and 'Nasty Gal') before withdrawing from the music scene later in the decade.

Now it's the turn of Syl Johnson: RIP

Yet another of the great soul singers has passed away, this time Syl Johnson, at the age of 85, who has died only a few days after the death of his brother, bluesman Jimmy Johnson. Syl moved from Holly Springs, Mississippi, to Chicago in 1950 and first recorded as a solo artist with 'Teardrops' for Federal, backed by Freddie King. He moved to the Chicago based Twinight label where he recorded some memorable tracks, many of them self-penned, including 'Come On Sock It To Me', 'Different Strokes', 'Dresses Too Short,'Is It Because I'm Black' and 'One Way Ticket To Nowhere'. He moved to Hi where he recorded more wonderful records with Willie Mitchell, including 'We Did It', 'Back For A Taste Of Your Love', 'Diamond In the Rough', 'Take Me To The River' (his biggest success) and 'I Only Have Love'. After that he recorded for his own Sharma label and had success with 'Ms Fine Brown Frame'. He retired but when, later, tracks such as 'Different Strokes' and 'Is It Because I'm Black' were sampled by rappers he returned to recording with 'Back In the Game' for Delmark Records, which featured his daughter Syleena Johnson. While at Hi he was over shadowed to some extent by Al Green, but the quality of his material, his fantastic voice and great stage act put him in the very highest rank of soul artists. I saw him quite a few times from the nineties onwards, including Jazzfest and Blues estafette in 1997, the Ponderosa Stomp in 2008, where he was backed by the Hi Rhythm Section, and the Porretta Soul Festival in 2012. Of his performance at Porretta I wrote at the time: 'Next on was Syl Johnson, another of my favourite soul men, who started brightly with 'That's Why' and 'Straight Love, No Chaser', but then began moaning about unpaid royalties on sampled records and beginning a lengthy call and response session with the audience. Eventually he got his considerable act together accompanying himself on guitar with excellent versions of 'Any Way The Wind Blows', 'Sock It To Me', 'Is It Because I'm Black' (with some 'Reconsider Baby' thrown in) and 'Take Me To The River'.' The photo above shows Syl at Porretta and those below shows him with me at Porretta and at the Ponderosa Stomp. RIP to Syl and Jimmy - what a cruel double loss.

There have been a couple of other notable deaths in recent days. One of these is record producer Morty Craft, at the age of 101, who recorded hits for MGM by Connie Francis, Tommy Edwards and Conway Twitty, and for Warwick by Johnny and the Hurricanes. He was interviewed by John Broven in his seminal work 'Record Makers and Breakers'. Also drummer Philip Paul, who was the studio drummer at King Records and played on the hits of Hank Ballard, Little Willie John, Charles Brown, Wynonie Harris and Freddie King. He was 96. And 83 year old Kansas City blues guitarist Millage Gilbert, who played at a couple of Gerard Homan's Shakedown blues shows and at the Blues Estafette. The Vinyl Word raises a glass to them all.

Blues in Chicago and New York

One of the last of the original Chicago bluesman, Jimmy Johnson, has died at the age of 93. Jimmy was quite a late developer, having moved to Chicago from Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1950 but only playing professionally in 1959. The brother of Syl Johnson, he played guitar with Freddie King, Albert King, Magic Sam and Otis Rush and later with soul singers including Otis Clay and Denise LaSalle. He recorded his first solo album aged 50 in the late seventies for the MCM label and many thereafter for Delmark and Alligator among others. He was a regular performer in Chicago blues clubs until recently and I was lucky enough to catch him in 2017, at the age of 88, at Buddy Guy's Legends club where he dedicated his excellent show to Lonnie Brooks.

Another bluesman who has died, at the age of 86, is Sam Lay, a drummer who played with all the Chicago greats, including Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Willie Dixon, and, later, with the Paul Butterfield Band. He also recorded with Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 and was inducted into the Blues, Jazz and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame. He recorded a couple of albums with his own band and a solo album 'Sam Lay in Bluesland' in 1969.

On the subject of the blues, while I was in Jamaica I took the opportunity to read 'New York City Blues', which is edited by John Broven and includes contributions by Larry Simon. New York is often overlooked in terms of the blues, but there was plenty of good stuff happening there over the decades. The book features illuminating interviews with some of the key characters in the New York scene, including record label and shop owner Bobby Robinson, Bob Gaddy, 'Wild' Jimmy Spruill, Noble 'Thin Man' Watts, Rosco Gordon. Larry Dale, John Hammond Jr, Victoria Spivey, Tarheel Slim, Billy Bland and Doc Pomus. I remember seeing many of these artists on the Bobby Robinson R and B revue at the Blues Estafette in 1993, including Bob Gaddy, Jimmy Spruill, Noble Watts, Larry Dale and Dr Horse. The photo below shows Rosco Gordon at the Jazz Cafe in 2000.

There are a couple of other deaths to catch up on. One is keyboard player Hargus 'Pig' Robbins, aged 84, who was a session man who played on dozens of records by Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Joan Boez and many others. His solo 45 'Save It', released on London in 1959 under the name of Mel Robbins, is now very collectable. Another death at the age of 82 is that of one of the UK's leading folk musicians Norma Waterson, who was a member of the Watersons and who was married to folk singer Martin Carthy.