On February 4th, 1976, rapper, actor, producer, businessman, and record exec Cam’Ron aka Killa Cam (Cameron Ezike Giles) was born in Harlem, NY. He grew up during The Golden Era of Hip Hop, which had a direct effect on his style. He was pretty good at basketball, and was teammates with Bad Boy's Mase at The Manhattan Center For Science And Mathematics High School. Long time collaborating partner, Jim Jones, attended the same school & all three became close friends. His poor grades kept him from getting scholarships; so he stopped attending school and started running the streets. He linked with Big L, Fred McGruff, Mase, and Bloodshed to form the five man crew-The Children Of The Corn in the mid 90s. They performed and battled around the city, with Harlem serving as home base. In 1997 Bloodshed was killed in a car accident, and the remaining members split to pursue solo careers.
Mase signed to Bad Boy, and introduced Cam to Biggie, who then introduced Cam to Untertainment executive Lance 'Un' Rivera. Rivera signed Cam and released his debut LP Confessions Of Fire in 1998. Confessions reached The Top 10 on both the Pop and R&B charts, and was certified Gold. In 1999 Big L was killed and Cam took it hard. He released his follow up S.D.E. in 2000 on Sony/Epic Records. Sports Drugs, & Entertainment also did well (#2 R&B, #14 Pop). He moved to the Damon Dash, Kareem 'Biggs' Burke, & Jay-Z owned Roc-A-Fella Records in 2001, and a year later released Come Home With Me-his most commercially successful album to date. The album featured his classic cut Oh Boy, which became was a #1 selling single. He also got his acting career started with Roc-A-Fella Films, playing in the famed State Property series and the classic Paid In Full (cast as Rico-his best role in my opinion). Cam is one of few rappers that can kill others in battles, and also sell records. He continues to act, tour, and record. The Harlem World native is 43 today.
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On February 4th, 1975, singer, saxophonist, songwriter, pianist, composer, clarinet player, arranger, actor, producer, jump blues innovator, Rock ‘n’ Roll pioneer, and the man known as ‘The King Of The Jukebox’-Louis (Thomas) Jordan passed away in Los Angeles, California. He’s the fifth most successful Black recording artist of all-time. He also is the man that jump started Rock ‘n’ Roll with his song Caldonia (what makes your big head so hard?). The sound of modern music would be very different without his contributions. The Arkansas native’s father taught him clarinet. He was a bandleader with the Brinkley Brass Band and Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He also was a music instructor. His father would let Jordan play in his bands during summer breaks and extended holidays while he was in school. In his teens (mid 1920s), he started performing as a saxophonist, clarinet player, and later the pianist for The Rabbit Foot Minstrels.
Louis Jordan moved to Philly, to play with Charlie Gaines, and then to NYC shortly after. While in New York, he started playing with Clarence Williams. He joined Chick Webb in 1936 and served as 1st Sax, MC, and lead singer. People began to confuse him as the bandleader because he sang, introduced all the songs, played lead sax, and had a huge stage presence/showmanship. Webb wanted to attract more singers to his band, fired Jordan in 1938, and replaced him with Ella Fitzgerald. Later that year, Jordan co-founded his own sextet and signed to Decca Records. He made his first recordings under the name The Tympany Five (famous for songs like Barnacle Bill The Sailor & Honey In The Bee Ball). Notables like Bill Doggett and Wild Bill Davis played in the band. In 1939 he released Keep A-Knockin,’ and in 1940, You Run Your Mouth And I’ll Run My Business. His hits continued to come during the early to mid 1940s. In 1945, he struck gold with Caldonia, and his crossover success made him a star overnight. He was 66 years old when he died.
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On February 4th, 2005, actor, director, producer, activist, and Hollywood Icon-Ossie Davis (Raiford Chatman Davis) passed away in Miami, Florida. TOV covered the actor’s birthday in the December 18th post. Please refer to it for more information. Ossie Davis made his 1950 film debut, in No Way Out with Sidney Poitier. Davis didn’t want to play the stereotypical roles of the time. This level integrity limited the roles he could play in big budget films; so instead he portrayed more realistic roles depicting the plight of Black People in America on predominantly Black sets. This gave him the courage to go behind the scenes directing & producing the classic films Gordon’s War, Cotton Comes To Harlem, and Black Girl during the Blaxploitation boom of the 1970s.
Davis also did voice-overs and narrations for Anasi The Spider on Sesame Street, X, and Eyes On The Prize. He continued to be a champion of substance based non-stereotypical Black directors and TV writers, showing his allegiance by working on The Cosby Show and acting in movies with Spike Lee (Get On The Bus, School Daze, Do The Right Thing, & Jungle Fever). Davis didn’t just act and direct, he also was a prominent activist starting in the late 1930s until passed away 2005. He and his wife Ruby Dee helped organize and fund The March On Washington For Jobs And Freedom in 1963. He was also instrumental in cultivating the sense of Black Pride that mainstream media would not publicize, because they desired to keep the movement contained and fractured. In 1965, he read the eulogy at El Hajj Malik El Shabazz’s aka Malcolm X's funeral; and in 1968 he delivered A Tribute To Dr Martin Luther King Jr at his funeral. Davis was 87 at the time of his death.
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On February 4th, 2013, we lost a harp bop jazz trumpeter, fusion jazz innovator, sideman, bandleader, composer, arranger, producer, and founder of The Blackbyrds-Donald Byrd (Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II). TOV covered the artist’s birthday in the December 9th post, please refer to it for more information. Picking up where that post left off: Byrd returned to the states in the early 1950s. He played with Mal Waldron, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and Jackie McLean. In the mid to late 50s, he left The Jazz Messengers and worked as a sideman with Coltrane, Monk, Eric Dolphy, and Sonny Rollins. He started his own quintet in 1958, and released their first (live) recording At The Half Note Café in 1960 (Blue Note). Herbie Hancock played and composed songs for Byrd’s second and third LPs-Royal Flush (Blue Note 1961) & Free Form (Blue Note 1962).
Hancock held Byrd in high regard for allowing him to hone his chops. He wanted to stay with Byrd, instead of joining Miles’ band, but Byrd encouraged him to take the job-stating it would help his musicianship. In 1969, after Miles Davis’ fusion jazz LP-In A Silent Way was released, the movement towards a more electrified, funky, and soulful type of jazz was heavily embraced by the top names in the game. Byrd linked with seminal producers-Fonce & Larry Mizell in 1969, who co-produced Byrd’s first fusion LP Fancy Free (Blue Note 1970). In the early 70s, he started teaching music at Howard University. In 1973, he formed The Blackbyrds and released two more LPs (Black Byrd & Street Lady) with the Mizell Brothers as co-producers. Both are fusion classics! His 1975 LP, Places & Spaces, has been sampled by many producers from a wide range of genres. He passed away in Dover, Delaware when he was 80 years old.
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On February 4th, 2016, singer, pianist, producer, kalimba player, songwriter, drummer, arranger, sideman, bandleader, and founder of Earth Wind & Fire-Maurice White passed away in Los Angeles, California. TOV covered the artist’s birthday in the December 19th post. Please refer to it for more information.
Brief Recap: Maurice was born and raised up to his teens years in Memphis, TN. He also spent time in Chicago during the summer months. While in Memphis, he worked with schoolmates Booker T. Jones from (Booker T. & The M.G.s) and Stax Records artist/producer David Porter. After graduating from high school, White settled in Chicago permanently and became a session drummer for both Chess and Cadet Records. He played drums for Muddy Waters, Rotary Connection, The Dells, Buddy Guy, The Impressions, Ramsey Lewis, Fontella Bass, and Etta James to name a few. He formed his own band-The Jazzmen in 1962, which morphed into The Pharaohs later in the decade.
Brief Recap: Maurice was born and raised up to his teens years in Memphis, TN. He also spent time in Chicago during the summer months. While in Memphis, he worked with schoolmates Booker T. Jones from (Booker T. & The M.G.s) and Stax Records artist/producer David Porter. After graduating from high school, White settled in Chicago permanently and became a session drummer for both Chess and Cadet Records. He played drums for Muddy Waters, Rotary Connection, The Dells, Buddy Guy, The Impressions, Ramsey Lewis, Fontella Bass, and Etta James to name a few. He formed his own band-The Jazzmen in 1962, which morphed into The Pharaohs later in the decade.
White also started a songwriting and production team for Columbia Records called The Salty Peppers in 1969, with Don Whitehead & Wade Flemons. He moved to LA in 1970, and changed the band’s name to Earth Wind & Fire. They had a demo they shopped around, featuring Donny Hathaway on some of the vocals. Warner Brothers gave them a deal, and they released their self-titled debut in 1971. This is one of their better LPs. It’s raw, funky, and has been sampled heavily by many-most notably Brand Nubian. They released The Need Of Love in 1971, and Last Days And Time in 1972. Both albums did moderately well. In 1973 they released-Head To The Sky, which greatly expanded their fan base and popularity. The six-time Grammy winner was 74 when he died.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On February 4th, in 1943, session musician, guitarist, songwriter, and member of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section-Jimmy Johnson was born in Sheffield, Alabama. His guitar can be heard on hundreds of Atlantic & Fame recordings made between 1965 & 1990. Some of the artists he’s played for include: Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Denise LaSalle, Johnnie Taylor, Mel & Tim, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Luther Ingram, Bobby Blue Bland, ZZ Hill, Little Milton, Carlos Santana, Margie Joseph, Dr. Hook, The Staple Singers, Joe Cocker, and Bobby Womack. He’s 76 today.
On February 4th, 1950, singer and co-founding member of The Stylistics-James Dunn was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He got his professional start in his teens with co-vocalist Herbie Murrell. They were members of a Doo Wop group called The Monarchs. In the late 1960s, they linked with another vocal group-The Percussions and formed The Stylistics. Members included: Dunn, Murrell, James Smith, Russell Thompkins Jr, and Airrion Love. They signed to Sebring Records, and released their debut single-You’re A Big Girl Now in 1970. James Dunn turns 69 today.
On February 4th, 2002, Stevie Wonder was commemorating the national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & celebrating the 89th birthday of Rosa Parks at the world premiere of her TV Biopic-The Rosa Parks Story. Stevie performed Happy Birthday, which was originally written as a tribute to Dr. King and a political move to make his birthday a federal holiday. Parks is known for starting The Montgomery Bus Boycott-which solidified, polarized, and energized The Civil Rights Movement.
On February 4th, 2013, songwriter, producer, and lead singer for The Troggs-Reg Presley passed away in Andover, Hampshire, England. He was a 60s pop star who scored with hits like Wild Thing, With A Girl Like You, and Love Is All Around. He got more socially and universally conscious during the late 60s (psychedelic era); and as a result, he used his royalty earnings to research the existence of extraterrestrials and lost civilizations. He penned a book in 2002-Wild Things They Don’t Tell Us that discussed his findings. He was 71 at the time of his passing.
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 myriad of information, covering several topics exists on this site going back to 2013 when it was created. PEACE