On June 23rd, in 2013, we lost a seminal bluesman, bandleader, pioneering soul vocalist, arranger, songwriter and multi-label recording artist-Bobby Blue Bland (Robert Calvin Brooks). TOV covered the artist’s birthday on the January 27th post. Please refer to it for more information. Bland was a unique performer in that he didn’t play any instruments, but composed and arranged a lot of his music. He could hum/sing melodies and have his backing band duplicate them. He also relied heavily on string and horn orchestrations which was uncommon in the blues. This gave him an original sound that was more like soul music than a standard power trio blues band. He was a regular on the blues circuit in Memphis, Tennessee.
Bland was one of the prominent blues act that helped build the city’s blues scene. He accomplished all of this with a third grade education. Bland dropped out of school when he was a child to work in the cotton fields. His mother remarried a man named Leroy ‘Bland’ Bridgeport. This is where Bobby got the name ‘Bland’. They moved to Memphis in the late 40s and Bobby started singing with local gospel groups. He started performing on Beale Street shortly after where met B.B. Kind, Junior Parker, Johnny Ace and Rosco Gordon. All of them formed the band-The Beale Streeters. In the early 50s, he was discovered by Ike Turner and recorded a few sides for Modern and Sun Records. He released his first major hit in 1957-Farther Up the Road. He continued to release singles/LPs throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. The Rock ‘n’ Roll (1992) & Blues Hall of Fame (1981) musician was 83 when he passed.
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On June 23rd, in 1966, 80s/90s R&B musician, little brother of Mark-Bobby-James-Randy-Bunny and El DeBarge, singer, pianist, composer, arranger, songwriter, neosoul pioneer, solo recording artist, producer and youngest member of the DeBarge family-Chico Hamilton (Johnathan Arthur DeBarge) was born in Detroit, Michigan. He got his professional start in music in 1986 when he released his debut LP-Chico DeBarge (Motown). It produced two charting hits. His follow up LP came 2 years later in 1988-Kiss Serious (Motown). His older brothers Bobby, James and Randy had trouble with drugs starting in the late 70s. Chico followed suit and got himself locked up on drug charges shortly after his second LP was released.
When he got out in the early 90s, he hooked up with neosoul pioneering producer-William Kedar Massenberg. He’s the person responsible for bringing acts like Erykah Badu to the greater public. He had a new sound called-neosoul that used live instrumentation and a throwback feel of 70s soul and funk with updated lyricism and imagery. Chico released his 3rd LP with Massenberg on productions in 1997-Long Time No See. It sold extremely well with four charting singles, serving as the blueprint for the neosoul sound. He went on to release a couple LPs during the 2000s-Free (2003) & Addiction (2009). However, drugs were a constant battle in his life. He’s responsible for influencing acts like Dwele and Slum Village that came out of Detroit with a neosoul sound. Chico continues to record and produce. He’s 53 today.
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On June 23rd, in 1941, 60s rock musician, poet, guitarist, singer, upright bassist, translator, harmonica player, songwriter, mandolin player and former member of the Grateful Dead-Robert Hunter (Robert Burns) was born in San Luis Obispo, California. He grew up with Jerry Garcia, and they formed a bluegrass band in their early 20s-The Tub Thumpers (1962). Around the same time, LSD was being pioneered at chemistry labs across the states. Hunter became one of the first test subjects to use the drug under laboratory conditions at Stanford University. LSD was a ‘psychotropic’ drug created and funded by the CIA for the MKULTRA program.
They wanted to see the effects the drug had on people to discern how it could be used as a ‘biological’ weapon. He began using the drug recreationally, as did a lot of people in the 60s. He wrote his first song for the Grateful Dead while on LSD-China Cat Sunflower (later renamed I Know You Rider)/The Eleven. He formally joined the band in 1967 and wrote the song Dark Star a year later (1968). He and Jerry went on to collaborate on writing the majority of the Grateful Dead’s songs during the 70s. In 1974, he released his first solo LP-Tales of the Great Rum Runners (Round Records). He released 11 LP in all from 1974 to 1993. In 1994, Hunter was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Grateful Dead. He became a songwriter for others after 1995. He also was an active member of the Grateful Dead on their 2004 Dead’s Summer tour. He’s 78 today.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On June 23rd, in 1910, jazz musician, photographer, sideman, double bassist, educator and bandleader-Milt Hinton (Milton John Hilton) was born in Vicksburg, VA. He’s one of the most innovative jazz bassist of the 20th century. He was dubbed ‘The Dean of American jazz bass players’, and earned 3 nicknames spanning 3 decades. In the 30s, he was referred to as Sporty (Chicago area), in the 40s he was commonly called -Fump’ and in the 50s he was known as ‘The Judge’. He doubled as a prolific photographer during the growth of jazz from the late 30s to the 70s, documenting the progression of the genre. He was 90 when he passed.
On June 23rd, in 1944, R&B musician, singer and lead vocalist for the Orlons-Rosetta (Jeanette) Hightower was born in Philadelphia, PA. TOV covered the artist’s death on the August 2nd post. Please refer to it form more information. Hightower is most known for singing lead on the Orlons' hit single-The Wah-Watusi (1962). They were an all-female vocal quartet that started out as quintet called the Teenettes. Their sound coul dbe categorized as doo wop, and reflected the late 50s Philly Soul sound. They recorded several singles up to the mid 60s before disbanding (late 60s). In the 70s, she moved to the UK and resumed her career. She was 70 when she passed.
On June 23rd, in 1978, rapper, actor and former Roc-A-Fella Records recording artist-Memphis Bleek (Malik Deshawn Cox) was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Bleek hit the scene via Jay-Z on his Reasonable Doubt album (1996). The song he rhymed on was-Coming of Age. He appeared on most of Jay Z’s LPs and released a few solo LPs of his own, becoming the first official act to sign to the imprint. Bleek grew up in Marcy Projects (like Jay Z) and started rhyming in his teens. He appeared in the State Property movies series, and has collaborated with several others in the game like: Missy Elliott, Cam’ron, Ja Rule, Trick Daddy and DMX. He’s 41 today.
On June 23rd, in 1997, we lost a seminal Civil Rights figure, former spouse of Malcolm X, public speaker, Pan-Africanist, mother, grandmother, nurse, educator and former Nation of Islam member-Betty Shabazz (Betty Dean Sanders). TOV covered Shabazz’s birthday on the May 28th post. Please refer to it for more information. Betty joined the Nation of Islam in 1956. She married Malcolm X on January 14th, 1958. After his death in 1964, Betty made her pilgrimage to Mecca in 1965. She returned to college and became an educator at Medgar Evers College (1976). She was appointed-Director of Institutional Advancement in 1980. She was 63 when she passed.
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