Burt Bacharach "Magic moments: The definitive Burt Bacharach collection" (2008)

Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach is one of the most accomplished popular composers of the 20th Century. In the ’60s and ’70s, he was a dominant figure in pop music, responsible for a remarkable 52 Top 40 songs. In terms of musical sophistication, Bacharach’s songs differed from much of the music of the era. Bacharach compositions typically boasted memorable melodies, unconventional and shifting time signatures, and atypical chord changes. Combining elements of jazz, pop, Brazilian music and rock, Bacharach created a unique new sound that was as contemporary as it was popular. Lyricist Hal David, Bacharach’s primary collaborator, supplied Bacharach’s music with tart lyrics worthy of the best Tin Pan Alley composers. David’s unsentimental, bittersweet lyrics were often in striking contrast to Bacharach’s soaring melodies. While in the late 1970s Bacharach’s name became synonymous with elevator music (due in great part to its sheer familiarity), a closer listening suggests that his meticulously crafted, technically sophisticated compositions are anything but easy listening.

Burt Freeman Bacharach was born in Kansas City, Mo., on May 12, 1928. The son of nationally syndicated columnist Bert Bacharach, Burt moved with his family in 1932 to Kew Gardens in Queens, New York. At his mother’s insistance, he studied cello, drums and then piano beginning at the age of 12. Burt hated taking piano lessons. His dream was to play professional football, but his size–or lack thereof–kept him out of that field.

As a teenager, Bacharach fell in love with jazz and sometimes used a fake ID to sneak into 52nd Street nightclubs to see bebop legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Bebop’s unconventional harmonies and melodies became a major influence on the young composer.

When he was 15, Bacharach started a 10-piece band with high school classmates. With Burt on piano, the group gained exposure playing parties and dances. After graduating from Forest Hills High School, Bacharach enrolled in the music studies program at McGill University in Montreal. It was there that Burt says he wrote his first song, “The Night Plane to Heaven.”

Bacharach went on to study theory and composition at the Mannes School of Music in New York City; at the Berkshire Music Center; and at the New School for Social Research, where he studied under composers Bohuslav Martinu, Henry Cowell and Darius Milhaud (whose influence on Bacharach’s style is apparent). He was also awarded a scholarship to the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, Calif.

From 1950-52 Bacharach served in the Army, playing piano at the officer’s club on Governor Island and in concerts at Fort Dix. His perfomances then consisted primarily of improvisations and pop medleys of the day, although he was billed as a concert pianist.

While serving as a dance-band arranger with the Army in Germany, Bacharach met vocalist Vic Damone. After their discharge, at the age of 24, Bacharach became Damone’s piano accompanist. He also worked nightclubs and restaurants and accompanied performers including the Ames Brothers, Imogene Coca, Polly Bergen, Joel Grey, Georgia Gibbs, Steve Lawrence and a young singer named Paula Stewart. Bacharach and Stewart were married in 1953 (they divorced in 1958). 

In 1957, Bacharach collaborated for the first time with lyricist Hal David (b. May 25, 1921), whom he had met while both worked at the Famous Paramount Music Company in New York’s legendary Brill Building. The pair struck gold almost immediately with hits for Marty Robbins (“The Story of My Life,” which reached No. 15 in 1957) and Perry Como (“Magic Moments,” which reached No. 8 in 1958), but their greatest success together wouldn’t begin until a few years later. Also in 1958, Burt also scored a novelty hit with “(Theme From) The Blob,” which reached No. 33.

From 1958-61 Burt toured Europe and America as musical director for Marlene Dietrich. During this period, three Bacharach-composed songs became big hits: “Please Stay” by the Drifters, “Tower of Strength” by Gene McDaniel (with lyrics by Bob Hilliard) and “Baby It’s You” by the Shirelles (lyrics by Hal’s brother Mack David and Barney Williams). All three were recorded in 1961.

In 1962, Bacharach collaborated with lyricist Bob Hilliard on “Any Day Now,” which reached No. 23 for Chuck Jackson, but his greatest success was achieved in collaboration with Hal David, who co-wrote the No. 4 hit “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” inspired by the John Wayne/James Stewart movie, and the No. 2 hit “Only Love Can Break a Heart.” Both were recorded by Gene Pitney. Bacharach & David also scored a hit that year with Jerry Butler’s “Make It Easy On Yourself,” which reached No. 20. 

Bacharach worked extensively with the Drifters during this period, arranging horns and strings and writing (with Bob Hilliard) the group’s 1961 singles “Mexican Divorce” and “Please Stay.” It was at a Drifters session that Bacharach met Marie Dionne Warwick (born Dec. 12, 1940, in East Orange, N.J.), a member of backup vocal group the Gospelaires and niece of vocalist Cissy Houston. It soon becamse apparent that Warwick possess a remarkable ability to navigate even the most difficult of Bacharach’s melodies and tempos. She began cutting demo records for Bacharach & David, one of which was for “Make It Easy On Yourself.” Warwick mistakenly believed “Make It Easy On Yourself” would be her commercial debut, and when the songwriters revealed that the song had been given to Jerry Butler, she angrily shot back, “Don’t make me over, man!” (slang for don’t lie to me). Warwick’s angry response became the seed of her first Top 40 hit, 1962′s “Don’t Make Me Over,” which reached No. 21. Bacharach & David went on to write and produce 20 Top 40 hits for Warwick over the next 10 years, seven of which went Top Ten: “Anyone Who Had a Heart” (1963), “Walk On By” (1964), “Message to Michael” (1966), “I Say a Little Prayer” (1967), “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” (1968), “This Girl’s in Love with You” (1969) and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” (1969). 

Besides their work writing and producing albums for Warwick, the team of Bacharach & David was also responsible for hits with other performers, including Jackie DeShannon (“What the World Needs Now”), the Fifth Dimension (“One Less Bell to Answer”), Manfred Mann (“My Little Red Book”), Bobby Vinton (“Blue on Blue”), Herb Alpert (“This Guy’s in Love With You”), Tom Jones (“What’s New, Pussycat?” “Promise Her Anything”), Jack Jones (“Wives and Lovers”), Dusty Springfield (“The Look of Love”) and B.J. Thomas (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”). Other performers covered Bacharach composition to chart-topping effect, including the Walker Brothers (whose version of “Make It Easy on Yourself” hit No. 16 in 1965), the Carpenters (whose version of “[They Long to Be] Close to You” hit No. 1 in 1970), and Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 (whose version of “The Look of Love” hit No. 4 in 1968).  

Through his wife, screen star Angie Dickinson (whom he married in 1966 and divorced in 1980), Bacharach moved into film scores. His credits include the tile song to Alfie, a hit for Cilla Black and Dionne Warwick, and film scores for What’s New, Pussycat?, (its title song was a Top 5 hit for Tom Jones in 1965), After The Fox, Casino Royale (which introduced “The Look of Love”) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which spawned the No. 1 hit “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and earned Bacharach a pair of Oscars (Best Score and Best Theme Song) as well as a Grammy for best score. A less-well-known theatrical project of Bacharach & David is the television musical On the Flip Side (1966), which starred Rick Nelson as a pop star whose luster had faded.

In 1968, producer David Marrick recruited Bacharach & David to work with playwright Neil Simon on a musical version of the 1960 Billy Wilder film The Apartment. The result was the Broadway musical Promises, Promises, which ran for three years and 1,281 performances and won two Tonys and a Grammy for best cast recording.

In 1966, the songwriter became a recording artist in his own right. His album Hit Maker! Burt Bacharach Plays the Burt Bacharach Hits, which featured his own mostly instrumental re-recordings of some of his best-known songs, became a hit in the U.K. The album was reissued in America as Burt Bacharach Plays His Hits. Bacharach went on to release several more collections of his own recordings of his hits, including Reach Out (1967), Make It Easy On Yourself (1969), Burt Bacharach (1971), Living Together (1973), Futures (1977) and Woman (1979), an ambitious song cycle recorded live in the studio with the Houston Philharmonic Orchestra. 

In 1973, Bacharach & David collaborated on a high-profile musical version of the 1937 film Lost Horizon. Producer Ross Hunter’s Lost Horizon was a resounding flop with both critics and the public. The soundtrack failed to generate a significant hit (although the 5th Dimension’s cover of “Living Together, Growing Together” reached No. 32) and Bacharach privately complained about the difficulty working with actors who were not trained singers. In the wake of Lost Horizon, Bacharach, David and Warwick went through a bitter professional divorce, with Warwick suing Bacharach and David, David suing Bacharach and Bacharach countersuing David.

In 1975, Bacharach & David wrote and produced Stephanie Mills’ album “For the First Time,” but the new partnership failed to match their previous success with Warwick.

In 1977, Bacharach released his sixth solo album, Futures, and in 1979 he released Woman, an ambitious song cycle recorded in a single four-hour session with the Houston Symphony.

In 1979, Bacharach collaborated with Paul Anka for the soundtrack to the Italian film Together? The soundtrack garnered a minor hit for Burt with Jackie DeShannon’s “I Don’t Need You Anymore,” which reached No. 86 in 1980.

In 1981, Bacharach returned to the top of the charts with Christopher Cross’ “Arthur’s Theme (The Best That You Can Do),” from the film Arthur, which Bacharach also scored. “Arthur’s Theme” earned Bacharach his third Oscar and also united him professionally with lyricist Carol Bayer Sager. The partnership would prove fruitful. Bacharach and Sager, who married in 1982 (Sager gave birth to their only child, Cristopher, in 1986), collaborated on hits for Sager (“Stronger Than Before,” 1981), Roberta Flack (“Making Love,” 1982), Dionne Warwick and Friends (“That’s What Friends Are For,” 1985), Patty Labelle and Michael McDonald (“On My Own,” 1986), and Dionne Warwick and Jeffrey Osborne (“Love Power,” 1987) among others. “Arthur’s Theme,” “That’s What Friends Are For” and “On My Own” each were No. 1 hits. Bacharach also scored a major hit around this time with a collaboration with Neil Diamond (“Heartlight” hit No. 5 in 1982), and British synth pop group Naked Eyes put an old Bacharach song back on the charts with their cover of “(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me,” which reached No. 8 in 1983. 

In 1982, Bacharach composed the music for Ron Howard’s Night Shift, which first introduced “That’s What Friends Are For” (performed on the soundtrack by Rod Stewart), and, in 1988, the music for the sequel to Arthur, Arthur 2: On the Rocks.

In 1985, Bacharach and Sager composed the title theme to the TV series Finder of Lost Loves, which was a minor hit for Dionne Warwick. Bacharach and Sager divorced in 1991.

Bacharach has been involved in thoroughbred racing as an owner and breeder for more than 30 years, and his horses have competed in some of the sport’s most prestigious events. Burt’s Heartlight No. One, a three-year old filly named for his hit collaboration with Neil Diamond, was a thoroughbred champion in 1983, and Soul of the Matter was a Breeder’s Cup starter in 1994 and 1995.

In 1993, Bacharach emerged from a relatively quiet period in his career with a number of new projects, most notably a reunion with Hal David and Dionne Warwick for the song “Sunny Weather Lover” from Warwick’s Friends Can Be Lovers album. He also wrote two songs for James Ingram’s Always You album: “This Is The Night” (Bacharach, Ingram, Bettis) and “Sing for the Children” (Bacharach, Ingram, Bettis). Both were produced by Thom Bell. That same year he wrote “Two Hearts” (White, Bacharach, Bailey) for Earth, Wind and Fire’s album Milennium. He also wrote “Don’t Say Goodbye Girl (Walden, Bacharach, Dakota) for Tevin Campbell’s album I’m Ready in 1993.

During this period, Bacharach also worked with lyricist B.A. Robertson, of Mike + the Mechanics, on a modern musical retelling of Snow White that apparently was shelved.

Bacharach underwent a remarkable resurgence in popularity in the 1990s, with alternative acts such as Pizzicato Five, Oasis, REM, Stereolab, Faith No More, Yo La Tengo, Ben Folds Five, the White Stripes and John Zorn each paying homage to Bacharach in interviews and through recordings. 

While it had slowly been building for a few years, Burt’s “comeback” began in earnest in 1995 when he began a collabortion with Elvis Costello on a song for Allison Anders’ film “Grace of My Heart.” Working from different continents via telephone and fax machine, the pair wrote “God Give Me Strength,” a striking ballad that recalled Bacharach’s classic work with David and Warwick without resorting to nostalgia. The composition served notice that Bacharach’s talents had not diminished over time. The song was nominated for a Grammy and sparked a partnership between Costello and Bacharach that would result in 1998′s Painted From Memory, which comprised 11 new Bacharach-Costello songs in addition to “God Give Me Strength.” The duo embarked on a well-received mini-tour and in February 1999 won a Grammy in the Pop Collaboration with Vocals category for Painted From Memory’s “I Still Have That Other Girl.”

In January 1996, Burt was the subject of a BBC documentary, Burt Bacharach–This Is Now, which was later broadcast in America on “Great Performances.” For an appearance in London at the Royal Festival Hall in June 1996, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher joined Burt onstage to croon “This Guy’s In Love With You.” (A photograph of Bacharach appears on the cover of the band’s 1994 record Definitely Maybe). On Dec. 31, 1996, Burt and Dionne Warwick performed a special concert, “Live from the Rainbow Room,” which was broadcast on the American Move Classics cable television network.

In 1997, Bacharach made a memorable cameo appearance in Mike Myers’ film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, further cementing his reputation among a new generation of fans.

In November 1997, Burt hosted a tribute concert at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The concert, taped by TNT and recorded for the CD and video Burt Bacharach: One Amazing Night, featured Bacharach songs sung by stars including Sheryl Crow, Chrissie Hynde, Mike Myers, Barenaked Ladies, Luther Vandross, David Sanborn and George Duke, All Saints, Wynonna, Elvis Costello, Ben Folds Five, Dionne Warwick and Bacharach himself. “Burt Bacharach: One Amazing Night” aired on TNT in April 1998.

In November 1998, Rhino Records issued The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection, a three-disc anthology of Bacharach’s work spanning his entire career, from “The Story of My Life” (Bacharach’s first Top 40 hit) to 1998′s “God Give Me Strength.”

In 1998, he and Elvis Costello collaborated on a rendition of “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” for the soundtrack to the Austin Powers sequel “The Spy Who Shagged Me,” and the duo makes a cameo appearance in the film as well.

In 2000, Burt composed the score and reunited with Hal David and Dionne Warwick on two songs for Isn’t She Great, a film based on the life of novelist Jacqueline Susann.

A Tribute to Burt Bacharach and Hal David, a July 2000 concert at Royal Albert Hall featuring Bacharach along with Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, Petula Clark and others was released on CD and DVD in 2001. Jazz vocalist Diana Krall recorded “The Look of Love” as the title track to her 2001 CD.

A musical based on Bacharach and David’s music, What the World Needs Now, opened in Sydney, Australia, in August 2002.

In 2002, Bacharach appeared for the third time in an Austin Powers movie, turning up as the credits rolled on “Austin Powers in Goldmember” (which also included a rendition of “Alfie”–recast as “Austin”–sung by Susanna Hoffs). Burt also reportedly began a collaboration with rapper Dr. Dre, composing melodies over drum loops supplied to him by Dre.

In May 2003, The Look of Love, a musical built around the songs of Bacharach & David, opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, bringing the music of Bacharach back to Broadway for the first time in 35 years. The show, which Burt had no personal involvement with, got mostly poor reviews and closed on June 29.

In July 2003, Bacharach went into Capitol’s legendary Studio A and B, the site of classic sessions by Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, to record a CD with vocalist Ron Isley. The result is the DreamWorks Records release Here I Am, which features Isley’s soulful vocals on 11 classic Bacharach compositions along with two new songs. Produced by Bacharach and featuring new arrangments, Here I Am proves that, after 50 years in the business, Bacharach’s talents as a composer, producer, conductor and arranger are undiminished.

In December 2003, a television special, McCormick Present Burt Bacharach: Tribute On Ice, aired on NBC. The special featured world-class skaters including Brian Boitano, Ilia Kulik and Nicole Bobek performing live accompanied by Bacharach and vocalists James Ingram and Michael McDonald.

In November 2005, Bacharach released At This Time, the first solo album to be released under Bacharach’s name in 26 years. The record–which included contributions from Dr. Dre, Chris Botti, Elvis Costello and Rufus Wainwright–was the first of his career to feature lyrics written by Bacharach himself. Those lyrics–and Burt’s public comments on the political and social situation that inspired the lyrics–generated a great deal of controversy and led to At This Time being labeled Burt’s most political record. The controversy apparently didn’t affect members of the Recording Academy, which in February 2006 awarded At This Time the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Bacharach was also nominated in the Best Pop Instrumental Performance category for the track “In Our Time,” a collaboration with Chris Botti.

In April 2007, Bacharach contributed several songs to New Music From An Old Friend, a CD on 180 Music that features new compositions and collaborations between legendary songwriters including Brian Wilson, Kris Kristofferson, Carole King, Paul Williams and Willie Nelson.

Source: Bacharach Online.com.

Albert King "Years gone by" (1969)

Steve Cropper, Pop Staples & Albert King "Jammed together" (1969)

Albert King "Wednesday night in San Francisco" (1968)

Albert King "Thursday night in San Francisco" (1968)

Albert King "Live wire blues power" (1968)

Albert King "Born under a bad sign" (1967)

Albert King "King of the blues guitar" (1966)

Albert King "Hard bargain" (1966-74)

Albert King "The big blues" (1962)

Albert King

Albert King is truly a "King of the Blues," although he doesn't hold that title (B.B. does). Along with B.B. and Freddie King, Albert King is one of the major influences on blues and rock guitar players. Without him, modern guitar music would not sound as it does -- his style has influenced both black and white blues players from Otis Rush and Robert Cray to Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's important to note that while almost all modern blues guitarists seldom play for long without falling into a B.B. King guitar cliché, Albert King never does -- he's had his own style and unique tone from the beginning.
Albert King plays guitar left-handed, without re-stringing the guitar from the right-handed setup; this "upside-down" playing accounts for his difference in tone, since he pulls down on the same strings that most players push up on when bending the blues notes. King's massive tone and totally unique way of squeezing bends out of a guitar string has had a major impact. Many young white guitarists -- especially rock & rollers -- have been influenced by King's playing, and many players who emulate his style may never have heard of Albert King, let alone heard his music. His style is immediately distinguishable from all other blues guitarists, and he's one of the most important blues guitarists to ever pick up the electric guitar.
Born in Indianola, MS, but raised in Forrest City, AR, Albert King (born Albert Nelson) taught himself how to play guitar when he was a child, building his own instrument out of a cigar box. At first, he played with gospel groups -- most notably the Harmony Kings -- but after hearing Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, and several other blues musicians, he solely played the blues. In 1950, he met MC Reeder, who owned the T-99 nightclub in Osceola, AR. King moved to Osceola shortly afterward, joining the T-99's house band, the In the Groove Boys. The band played several local Arkansas gigs besides the T-99, including several shows for a local radio station.
After enjoying success in the Arkansas area, King moved to Gary, IN, in 1953, where he joined a band that also featured Jimmy Reed and John Brim. Both Reed and Brim were guitarists, which forced King to play drums in the group. At this time, he adopted the name Albert King, which he assumed after B.B. King's "Three O'Clock Blues" became a huge hit. Albert met Willie Dixon shortly after moving to Gary, and the bassist/songwriter helped the guitarist set up an audition at Parrot Records. King passed the audition and cut his first session late in 1953. Five songs were recorded during the session and only one single, "Be on Your Merry Way" / "Bad Luck Blues," was released; the other tracks appeared on various compilations over the next four decades. Although it sold respectably, the single didn't gather enough attention to earn him another session with Parrot. In early 1954, King returned to Osceola and re-joined theIn the Groove Boys; he stayed in Arkansas for the next two years.
In 1956, Albert moved to St. Louis, where he initially sat in with local bands. By the fall of 1956, King was headlining several clubs in the area. King continued to play the St. Louis circuit, honing his style. During these years, he began playing his signature Gibson Flying V, which he named Lucy. By 1958, Albert was quite popular in St. Louis, which led to a contract with the fledgling Bobbin Records in the summer of 1959. On his first Bobbin recordings, King recorded with a pianist and a small horn section, which made the music sound closer to jump blues than Delta or Chicago blues. Nevertheless, his guitar was taking a center stage and it was clear that he had developed a unique, forceful sound. King's records for Bobbin sold well in the St. Louis area, enough so that King Records leased the "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong" single from the smaller label. When the single was released nationally late in 1961, it became a hit, reaching number 14 on the R&B charts. King Records continued to lease more material from Bobbin -- including a full album, Big Blues, which was released in 1963 -- but nothing else approached the initial success of "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong." Bobbin also leased material to Chess, which appeared in the late '60s.
Albert King left Bobbin in late 1962 and recorded one session for King Records in the spring of 1963, which were much more pop-oriented than his previous work; the singles issued from the session failed to sell. Within a year, he cut four songs for the local St. Louis independent label Coun-Tree, which was run by a jazz singer named Leo Gooden. Though these singles didn't appear in many cities -- St. Louis, Chicago, and Kansas City were the only three to register sales -- they foreshadowed his coming work with Stax Records. Furthermore, they were very popular within St. Louis, so much so that Gooden resented King's success and pushed him off the label.
Following his stint at Coun-Tree, Albert King signed with Stax Records in 1966. Albert's records for Stax would bring him stardom, both within blues and rock circles. All of his '60s Stax sides were recorded with the label's house band, Booker T. & the MG's, which gave his blues a sleek, soulful sound. That soul underpinning gave King crossover appeal, as evidenced by his R&B chart hits -- "Laundromat Blues" (1966) and "Cross Cut Saw" (1967) both went Top 40, while "Born Under a Bad Sign" (1967) charted in the Top 50. Furthermore, King's style was appropriated by several rock & roll players, most notably Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, who copied Albert's "Personal Manager" guitar solo on the Cream song, "Strange Brew." Albert King's first album for Stax, 1967's Born Under a Bad Sign, was a collection of his singles for the label and became one of the most popular and influential blues albums of the late '60s. Beginning in 1968, Albert King was playing not only to blues audiences, but also to crowds of young rock & rollers. He frequently played at the Fillmore West in San Francisco and he even recorded an album, Live Wire/Blues Power, at the hall in the summer of 1968.
Early in 1969, King recorded Years Gone By, his first true studio album. Later that year, he recorded a tribute album to Elvis Presley (Blues for Elvis: Albert King Does the King's Things) and a jam session with Steve Cropper and Pops Staples (Jammed Together), in addition to performing a concert with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. For the next few years, Albert toured America and Europe, returning to the studio in 1971, to record the Lovejoy album. In 1972, he recorded I'll Play the Blues for You, which featured accompaniment from the Bar-Kays, the Memphis Horns, and the Movement. The album was rooted in the blues, but featured distinctively modern soul and funk overtones.
By the mid-'70s, Stax was suffering major financial problems, so King left the label for Utopia, a small subsidiary of RCA Records. Albert released two albums on Utopia, which featured some concessions to the constraints of commercial soul productions. Although he had a few hits at Utopia, his time there was essentially a transitional period, where he discovered that it was better to follow a straight blues direction and abandon contemporary soul crossovers. King's subtle shift in style was evident on his first albums for Tomato Records, the label he signed with in 1978. Albert stayed at Tomato for several years, switching to Fantasy in 1983, releasing two albums for the label.
In the mid-'80s, Albert King announced his retirement, but it was short-lived -- Albert continued to regularly play concerts and festivals throughout America and Europe for the rest of the decade. King continued to perform until his sudden death in 1992, when he suffered a fatal heart attack on December 21. The loss to the blues was a major one -- although many guitarists have tried, no one can replace King's distinctive, trailblazing style. Albert King is a tough act to follow.

Source: All Music.com.

Brownie McGhee "Not guilty blues" (1996)

Brownie McGhee "Born for bad luck" (2002)

Brownie McGhee

Brownie McGhee's death in 1996 was an enormous loss in the blues field. Although he had been semi-retired and suffering from stomach cancer, the guitarist was still the leading Piedmont-style bluesman on the planet, venerated worldwide for his prolific activities both on his own and with his longtime partner, blind harpist Sonny Terry. Together, McGhee and Terry worked for decades in an acoustic folk-blues bag, singing ancient ditties like "John Henry" and "Pick a Bale of Cotton" for appreciative audiences worldwide. But McGhee was capable of a great deal more. Throughout the immediate postwar era, he cut electric blues and R&B on the New York scene, even enjoying a huge R&B hit in 1948 with "My Fault" for Savoy (Hal "Cornbread" Singer handled tenor sax duties on the 78).
Walter Brown McGhee grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee. He contracted polio at the age of four, which left him with a serious limp and plenty of time away from school to practice the guitar chords that he'd learned from his father, Duff McGhee. Brownie's younger brother, Granville McGhee, was also a talented guitarist who later hit big with the romping "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"; he earned his nickname, "Stick," by pushing his crippled sibling around in a small cart propelled by a stick.
A 1937 operation sponsored by the March of Dimes restored most of McGhee's mobility. Off he went as soon as he recovered, traveling and playing throughout the Southeast. His jaunts brought him into contact with washboard player George "Oh Red" (or "Bull City Red") Washington in 1940, who in turn introduced McGhee to talent scout J.B. Long. Long got him a recording contract with OKeh/Columbia in 1940; his debut session in Chicago produced a dozen tracks over two days.
Long's principal blues artist, Blind Boy Fuller, died in 1941, precipitating Okeh issuance of some of McGhee's early efforts under the sobriquet of Blind Boy Fuller No. 2. McGhee cut a moving tribute song, "Death of Blind Boy Fuller," shortly afterward. McGhee's third marathon session for OKeh in 1941 paired him for the first time on shellac with whooping harpist Terry for "Workingman's Blues."
The pair resettled in New York in 1942. They quickly got connected with the city's burgeoning folk music circuit, working with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Leadbelly. After the end of World War II, McGhee began to record most prolifically, both with and without Terry, for a myriad of R&B labels: Savoy (where he cut "Robbie Doby Boogie" in 1948 and "New Baseball Boogie" the next year), Alert, London, Derby, Sittin' in With, and its Jax subsidiary in 1952, Jackson, Bobby Robinson's Red Robin logo (1953), Dot, and Harlem, before crossing over to the folk audience during the late '50s with Terry at his side. One of McGhee's last dates for Savoy in 1958 produced the remarkably contemporary "Living with the Blues," with Roy Gaines and Carl Lynch blasting away on lead guitars and a sound light years removed from the staid folk world.
McGhee and Terry were among the first blues artists to tour Europe during the '50s, and they ventured overseas often after that. Their plethora of late-'50s and early-'60s albums for Folkways, Choice, World Pacific, Bluesville, and Fantasy presented the duo in acoustic folk trappings only, their Piedmont-style musical interplay a constant (if gradually more predictable) delight. McGhee didn't limit his talents to concert settings. He appeared on Broadway for three years in a production of playwright Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955, and later put in a stint in the Langston Hughes play Simply Heaven. Films (Angel Heart, Buck and the Preacher) and an episode of the TV sitcom Family Ties also benefited from his dignified presence. The wheels finally came off the partnership of McGhee and Terry during the mid-'70s. Toward the end, they preferred not to share a stage with one another (Terry would play with another guitarist, then McGhee would do a solo), let alone communicate. One of McGhee's final concert appearances came at the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival; his voice was a tad less robust than usual, but no less moving, and his rich, full-bodied acoustic guitar work cut through the cool evening air with alacrity. His like won't pass this way again.

Source: All Music.com.

Big Maybelle "Whole lotta shakin' goin' on" (1938)

Big Maybelle

Her mountainous stature matching the sheer soulful power of her massive vocal talent, Big Maybelle was one of the premier R&B chanteuses of the 1950s. Her deep, gravelly voice was as singular as her recorded output for Okeh and Savoy, which ranged from down-in-the-alley blues to pop-slanted ballads. In 1967, she even covered ? & the Mysterians' "96 Tears" (it was her final chart appearance). Alleged drug addiction leveled the mighty belter at the premature age of 47, but Maybelle packed a lot of living into her shortened lifespan.
Born Mabel Louise Smith, the singer strolled off with top honors at a Memphis amateur contest at the precocious age of eight. Gospel music was an important element in Maybelle's intense vocal style, but the church wasn't big enough to hold her talent. In 1936, she hooked up with Memphis bandleader Dave Clark; a few years later, Maybelle toured with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She debuted on wax with pianist Christine Chatman's combo on Decca in 1944, before signing with Cincinnati's King Records in 1947 for three singles of her own backed by trumpeter Hot Lips Page's band.
Producer Fred Mendelsohn discovered Smith in the Queen City, re-christened her Big Maybelle, and signed her to Columbia's OKeh R&B subsidiary in 1952. Her first Okeh platter, the unusual "Gabbin' Blues" (written by tunesmith Rose Marie McCoy and arranger Leroy Kirkland) swiftly hit, climbing to the upper reaches of the R&B charts. "Way Back Home" and "My Country Man" made it a 1953 hat trick for Maybelle and OKeh. In 1955, she cut a rendition of "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On" a full two years before Louisiana piano pumper Jerry Lee Lewis got his hands and feet on it. Mendelsohn soon brought her over to Herman Lubinsky's Savoy diskery, where her tender rendition of the pop chestnut "Candy" proved another solid R&B hit in 1956. Maybelle rocked harder than ever at Savoy, her "Ring Dang Dilly," "That's a Pretty Good Love," and "Tell Me Who" benefiting from blistering backing by New York's top sessioneers. Her last Savoy date in 1959 reflected the changing trends in R&B; Howard Biggs' stately arrangements encompassed four violins. Director Bert Stern immortalized her vivid blues-belting image in his documentary Jazz on a Summer's Day, filmed in color at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
Maybelle persevered throughout the '60s, recording for Brunswick, Scepter (her "Yesterday's Kisses" found her coping admirably with the uptown soul sound), Chess, Rojac (source of "96 Tears"), and other labels. But the good years were long gone when she slipped into a diabetic coma and passed away in a Cleveland hospital in 1972.

Source: All Music.

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