On May 23rd, 1910, pioneering entertainer, scat innovator, guitarist, singer, comedian, drummer, songwriter, and film/TV/stage/voiceover actor-Scatman Crothers (Benjamin Sherman Crothers) was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. TOV covered the artist’s death in the November 22nd post. Please refer to it for more information. Crothers was a unique figure, that worked in the entertainment industry from the 1930's thru the 1980's. One of his last major film appearances was in the classic 1980 horror film The Shining (directed by Stanley Kubrick). He also was a well-loved figure among children, as a result of his voiceover work on animated series like The Transformers (Jazz), Hong Kong Phooey (as Hong Kong Phooey), The Harlem Globetrotters (Meadowlark Lemon), and The Aristocats (as Scat Cat).
Crothers taught himself to play drums and guitar, and started playing clubs in the Terre Haute area, before moving to Akron, OH in the 1930's. He secured a radio spot in Dayton Ohio, which is where he got his name from (due to his scat style of singing). Scat singing has a vocalist replace actual words/lyrics with sounds that resemble a jazz instrumentalist doing a solo. Artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Louis Armstrong pioneered and used the style often. In the 1940's Scatman moved to California, and started performing live in Vegas and L.A. In the 1950's he advanced to appearing in films and TV. Crothers broke barriers, and appeared on a number of hugely popular shows that had never had a single person color on before (Bonanza, Bewitched, Alfred Hitchcock Presents). He also appeared in a long list of memorable Black & Mainstream Movies and TV Shows all throughout the 1970's & 1980's. Check the resume on IMDB. Scatman Crothers was 76 when he passed.
| | |
On May 23rd, 1944, funk innovator, drummer, and member of the Parliament Funakdelic collective-Tiki Fulwood (Ramon Fulwood-l both) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tiki played with Funkadelic from the late 1960's up to 1973. He came to the P-Funk camp via the suggestion of guitarist Eddie Hazel. As the story goes, Hazel and Billy 'Bass' Nelson were on tour with The Parliaments when they stopped in Philadelphia for a gig. At the time they were looking for a replacement for their current drummer Harvey McGee. They heard Tiki playing at The Uptown Theater. Both men were floored, and asked George Clinton to hire him, which he did.
Fulwood (l-black hat) and Hazel were integral members of Funkadelic during the 70's. Funkadelic became an official band, with their own name and sound, in 1968 (they had previously served only as backup to The Parliaments). In 1970 they released their debut self-titled LP on Westbound Records, which features heavily sampled drum break songs like What Is Soul, Mommy, What’s Funkadelic?, Good Old Music, I Bet You, and I Got A Thang-You Got A Thang-Everybody’s Got A Thing. Listen to any of these songs, and you’ll hear several loops and segments that have been used by hip hop producers. During this time he also played with Tyrone Davis and Chairmen Of The Board. In 1973 Fulwood left the P-Funk camp, and briefly played for Miles Davis. He left Miles around 1974, and moved to Washington, D.C. Once there he formed his own band called Tiki, with Wilbur Harris and some assorted others. They recorded one album, but it was never released. This Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame musician was just 33 years old when he passed away.
| | |
On May 23rd, 1954, former undisputed middleweight champion (1980-1987), and the man who held the title for the second longest stint of any boxer during the 20th century-Marvelous Marvin Hagler (Marvin Nathaniel Hagler) was born in Newark, New Jersey.
Interesting Fact: Hagler legally changed his name to 'Marvelous Marvin' Hagler in 1982, after he became extremely perturbed with sportscasters and announcers not mentioning it when referring to him. He wasn’t liked much by the greater public-as he was quiet, to the point, and very good at defeating his opponents. He wasn't a showman, like so many of his peers. Hagler defended his title 12 times, over a span of six years and seven months.
Interesting Fact: Hagler legally changed his name to 'Marvelous Marvin' Hagler in 1982, after he became extremely perturbed with sportscasters and announcers not mentioning it when referring to him. He wasn’t liked much by the greater public-as he was quiet, to the point, and very good at defeating his opponents. He wasn't a showman, like so many of his peers. Hagler defended his title 12 times, over a span of six years and seven months.
The fighter that stopped his undisputed reign was America’s Golden Boy Sugar Ray Leonard (some still question the judges results even 32 years later). Anytime people (who don’t participate in a sport, never have participated in a sport, and never will participate in a sport) have the opportunity to judge the sport, and make decisions on who the winner is by their standards, prior convictions and official point systems (i.e., score cards), then the winner isn’t necessarily the winner. Hagler was too good, too Black, and too strong to continue to chase the top spot for longest reigning champion of the 20th century (Tonay Zale aka The Man of Steel ranks #1). The judges knew that, and everyone who followed boxing knew that…Thus comes the Cinderella Story of Leonard coming back from three year retirement, to fight a man that had been wiping off the map boxing legends like Roberto Duran and Tommy 'The Hitman' Hearns, was befitting of the American Lie we call our beautiful history. The Underdog Story is the premise that this country was founded on-the bruising Brits with their taxation & bullying of the American criminals, I mean colonists (yes they sent criminals to America instead of hanging them). The bullied prevail in the end (1776). It’s a David and Goliath thing. Hagler being Goliath, and had to go down. Hagler kept a relatively low profile ever since; but remains a highly respected figure in boxing's lexicon of history. Marvelous Marvin Hagler is 65 today-and still a Champion!
| | |
HONORABLE MENTION: On May 23rd, 1934, inventor, producer, audio engineer, educator, and the originator of the Moog Synthesizer-Robert (Arthur) Moog was born in NYC, NY. TOV covered the inventor’s death on the August 21st post. Please refer to it for more information. Moog invented the first commercial synthesizer and the Minimoog. He also invented the pitch wheel, voltage controls, envelope generators, and modulators. All of these combined made the synthesizer an official instrument. Roger Troutman and Bernie Worrell are the most notable musicians to use the Moog. Robert Moog was 71 at the time of his death.
On May 23rd, 1941, soul musician, songwriter, producer, and lead singer of Chairmen Of The Board-General (Norman) Johnson was born in Norfolk, VA. Most remembered for singing lead on the hit single Give Me Just A Little More Time (Capitol Records, 1970), Johnson start singing in the church before going to secular music in his teens. He joined The Showmen and recorded his first single in 1961. He put together the Chairmen Of The Board in the late 1960's with some of the former members from The Showmen, and also wrote Patches for Clarence Carter. He was 69 when he passed away.
On May 23rd, 1973, Neo-Soul innovator, singer, producer, pianist, composer, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and 3x Grammy Award Winner-Maxwell (Gerald Maxwell Rivera) was born in Brooklyn, NY. Maxwell is one of the pioneering voices & faces of The Neo-Soul Sound in the 1990's-along with similar artists like D’Angelo, Dwele, Raphael Saadiq, Erykah Badu, Amel Larrieux, and Jill Scott. He was heavily influenced by what he calls the ‘Jheri Curl Soul’' of the 1980's like Ready For The World, Full Force, and LeVert. He started playing and singing in his teens, and was performing in NYC nightclubs by the time he was 18. Decades later, he remains one of the popular singers around, and his music is very likely the catalyst for a lot babies born since his debut. Maxwell is 46 today.
On May 23rd, 1975, we lost a game changer of a comedian, dancer, actress, and one of the first female comedians to release her stand up routines as albums-Moms Mabley (Loretta Mary Aiken). TOV covered the comedian’s birthday in the March 19th post. Please refer to it for more information. Moms Mabley performed in plays during the early part of her career, and made her film debut in The Emperor Jones (1933). Moms Mabley went on to be featured prominently in film and television during the 1960's and 1970's, as a regular on The Pearl Bailey Show, The Flip Wilson Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and The Merv Griffin Show. Moms also released 20 LPs between 1961 & 1972 (five of them in 1964). Moms Mabley was pioneer, that opened doors for many of the comedians that came after her-especially those with the more raunchy and bold styles. She was 81 when she passed on.
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