On June 10th, 1910, innovative bluesman-singer, songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, multi-label recording artist, Chicago Blues pioneer, and forefather of Rock ‘n’ Roll-Howlin’ Wolf (Chester Arthur Burnett) was born in White Station, Mississippi. TOV covered the artist’s death in the January 10th post. Please refer to it for more information. Howlin’ Wolf is most known for his contributions to Rock ‘n’ Roll and Chicago Blues during the 1950's & 1960's. His songwriting and guitar playing skills have secured him a legacy in Blues, and psychedelic/blues rock, that has endured to this very day. Simply put, Howlin’ Wolf has been deceased for over 40 years-but continues to sell albums, have his music covered by others, and/or have it used in a product promotion capacity. He’s ranked 54th on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of The 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time.
Howlin’ Wolf penned so many blues/rock standards-one of my favorite being Smokestack Lightnin’. Others include Killing Floor, Red Rooster, and Spoonful. Howlin’ Wolf got his nickname from his grandfather, who used to tell the kids stories about the howling wolves that that come out of the forest to take kids away at night for misbehaving. He started playing with Charlie Patton in The Delta Area of Mississippi. Patton was Wolf’s musical mentor on vocals and guitar. Sonny Boy Williamson II taught him blues harp in the Ark/TN area. Wolf was eventually discovered by Ike Turner, who had him cut several sides at Sun Records in Memphis, before he moved north to Chicago and signed to Chess Records in the early 1950's. Howlin’ Wolf was 65 at the time of his death.
| | |
On June 10th, 1971, 90's R&B/New Jack Swing Superstar, early Neo-Soul pioneer, younger brother to K-Ci Hailey, member of Jodeci-JoJo Hailey (Joel Hailey) was born in Monroe, North Carolina. JoJo started off singing hooks for Uptown Records releases, during the late 1980's-but rose to superstardom sharing lead singing duties with his brother, as part of Jodeci (and kater as K-Ci & JoJo). He sang hooks and background on hits for Father MC and Al B. Sure!, during the Uptown days; and also sang with Mary J. Blige. All of them commonly appeared in Father MC’s videos singing and dancing to his songs. And in 1989, he and his brother linked up with Davante ‘Swing’ (Donald DeGrate) & Dalvin DeGrate to form Jodeci.
The group began performing locally around the Charlotte, NC, area; and in 1991 they released Forever My Lady. Their first LP was a success, off the strength of hits like Come & Talk To Me, Forever My Lady, Stay, I’m Still Waiting, U & I, and My Phone. Al B. Sure! helped produce several tracks on the album. The group went on to release the hugely successful Diary Of A Mad Band-and The Show, The Afterparty, The Hotel-before transitioning to become K-Ci & JoJo. The duo also sang on hooks for prominent hip hop/rap artists including Tupac, Gang Starr, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, and more. JoJo is 48 today.
| | |
On June 10th, 2004, we lost seminal soul singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger, sideman, bandleader, saxophonist, multi-label recording artist, and highly recognizable pop culture icon-Ray Charles (Robinson). TOV covered the artist’s birthday in the September 23rd post. Please refer to it for more information. Ray Charles pioneered soul music on Atlantic Records during the 1950's, with hits like Hit The Road Jack, I’ve Gotta Woman, and What’d I Say. He started off as a sideman and vocalist for country and jump blues musicians like Lowell Fulson, and was heavily influenced by Nat King Cole.
Before signing to Atlantic, most of his music sounded just like Cole’s. Ahmet Ertegun, the co-owner of Atlantic Records, encouraged Ray to find his own style & stop copying Cole's phrasing. He wrote Ray’s first hit song Mess Around. I’ve Gotta Woman came a year later in 1954, which divided a lot of the Black community from a religious standpoint. Many felt that Ray’s remake of the classic gospel cut (based off of It Must Be Jesus) was wrong. None could deny, however, that he sang it with pure soul. His next major hit didn’t come until 1959, when he released What’d I Say-which was a warm up song they’d play to get the crowd hype for the show. It also drew from the church, in the call and response fashion, but was highly sexual. He signed to ABC Paramount later that year, and experienced huge crossover success while on the imprint. Ray Charles was 73 when he passed.
| | |
HONORABLE MENTION: On June 10th, 1940, Jamaican Immigrant-turned Rastafarian prophet, pioneering Pan-Africanist, author, activist, businessman, and founder of The Universal Negro Improvement Association & African Communities League-Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. was born in Saint Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Garvey is is one of the fathers of Black Nationalism, and unified The Black Community under the banner of The U.N.I.A. organization. He also started the Back To Africa Movement, which called for Black People displaced in America to return to their original homeland of Africa. For this he became a target of the U.S. Government, and would be imprisoned-then later deported. Still his efforts would lay the framework for multiple movements that would arise in the aftermath. Marcus Garvey was 52 at the time of his passing.
On June 10th, 1946, the first Black Heavyweight Champion Of The World-Jack Johnson (John Arthur Johnson) aka ‘The Galveston Giant’ was born in Galveston, TX. Aside from being boxing's heavyweight champion from 1908 to 1915, Johnson was also an inventor and black & tan business owner (a nightclub/restaurant that caters to an integrated crowd). Both were rare, and highly controversial during the Jim Crow Era. Johnson was a very outspoken Black man, that dated and married outside of his race openly-often flaunting in the faces of angry whites. As a boxer he fought with the orthodox style (left foot in front of right foot, focusing on the weaker side closest to opponent), and punished contender after contender. At one time, he was the most famous Black Man in America. He was also an activist, demanding equal rights for people of color. Years later he would be credited with inventing the wrench, while in prison. Jack Johnson was 68 when he passed away.
On June 10th, 1967, rapper, DJ, beatbox innovator, and former member of The Fat Boys-Darren Robinson aka Buff Love AKA Buffy aka The Human Beatbox was born in NYC. TOV covered the artist’s death in the December 10th post. Please refer to it for more information. Buff was an original member of The Disco Three, which was formed in the early 1980's with Prince Markie Dee and Kool Rock Ski. He was the beatboxer, DJ, and back up vocalist for the trio. The Disco Three morphed into The Fat Boys, and were featured in the 1985 film Krush Groove. Two years later, the crew would star in their own movie, Disordelies. The Fat Boys released seven LPs, of which four went gold. The Human Beatbox was 28 when he passed.
On June 10th, 1973, The First Lady Of Bad Boy Records-singer, songwriter, producer, actress, widowed spouse of The Notorious B.I.G., and former back up singer for Al B. Sure! & Mary J. Blige-Faith Evans (Faith Renee Jordan) was born in Newark, New Jersey. As Biggie's wife, Faith found herself right smack in the middle of the East Coast/West Coast Beef ignited due to issues between B.I.G. & Tupac Shakur-at one point being used as Pac's pawn. As an artist though, Faith released three platinum albums under the Bad Boy Records imprint (1995-2001). Before that she was an accomplished backup singer, and featured vocalist on A Tribe Called Quest’s Stressed Out, Biggie's One More Chance, Eve's Love Is Blind, Eric Benet's Georgy Porgy, and more. Faith continues to make music, and do tv & film work. Faith Evans is 46 today.
For more information on any musician or event reviewed in posts, or for additional information on The Wandering Eyes Blog overall, use the search bar and search the artist or event using keywords. It’s like a Google search for the site. A wide variety of information, covering several topics exists on this site going back to 2013 when it was created. PEACE