On May 1st, 1930, seminal bluesman, singer, pioneering blues harp player, songwriter, guitarist, session musician, former Chess Records recording artist, member of The Head Cutters/Headhunters (with Muddy Waters & Jimmy Rogers), and one of the first to electrify the harmonica-Little Walter (Marion Walter Jacobs) was born in Marksville, Louisiana. TOV covered the artist’s death in the February 15th post. Please refer to it for more information. There’s a few things that Little Walter is known for which make him a prominent figure in blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll. He helped innovate The Chicago Blues sound with Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers (Headhunters). He also was the first known musician to use distortion, as a purposeful and melodic sound on recordings during the early 1950's.
He’s the only artist to be inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame as a harmonica player. He led bands, and his harp is featured on nearly all of the Chess recordings for Muddy Waters (where harmonica is present). Walter on harp was like Charlie Parker on sax, Jimi Hendrix on the ax, and Chaka Khan’s vocals on tracks. He joined Muddy Water's band in 1948, at the age of 18, and stayed with him for four years (1948-1952). In 1952: He went solo, he electrified his harp, and released the single The Juke-which would be Chess Records’ biggest seller ever (it stayed atop the charts for 8 weeks). To this day, it’s the only harmonica song to reach #1. Little Walter went on to record 14 top-ten hits for Chess between 1952 and 1958. He was 37 years old when he passed away.
| | |
On May 1st, 1934, highly talented jazz musician, pianist, songwriter, composer, singer, arranger, producer, and Howard University graduate-Shirley (Valerie) Horn was born in Washington, D.C., USA. Ms. Horn was an amazing jazz pianist, with equal skills in singing-a contralto that had a tint of smokiness to her voice. Quincy Jones and Dizzy Gillespie raved about her seductive and alluring tone. Ron Carter and Miles Davis spoke about her ability to play the piano, and sing simultaneously without a glitch. She made it look easy and sound good too. She started playing at the age of four. Her grandmother gave her the basics, an astute organist herself. She enrolled at Howard University, to study classical piano and composition, when she was 12, yes 12.
During her time at Howard, she was introduced to jazz music. Her major influences included cool jazz pioneer-Ahmad Jamal and Canada’s finest pianist-Oscar Peterson. Jazz took her to the infamous U Street District, which was well-known on a global scale for its high quality live music (prior to the 1968 riots that destroyed it). She was offered a seat at Juilliard, after graduation; but finances were tight so instead she started a jazz trio (1954). Due to the fact that she was a female, and Black, a lot of doors were closed to her as a bandleader. It took six years for her to get a deal with the small NYC indie imprint Stere-O-Craft Records. She released her debut LP Embers And Ashes in 1960. Her career spanned over 40 years. She most recently worked with Wynton Marsalis. Shirley Horn was 71 when she passed in 2005.
| | |
On May 1st, 1991 the extremely popular MTV show Unplugged aired its first all-hip hop show. By the time 1991 came around, hip hop music was highly, if not entirely based on samples. As the technology improved, so did the beats. Rewinding to the early 1970's however, hip hop music was based off a Dee Jay playing breaks (choice snippets of live instrumentation on wax, which samples also come from), then you see that hip hop music is based on live instruments & bands-no matter the format. With that said, a lot of viewers were shocked that MCs could rock with a live band and no Dee Jay (prior to The Roots). A good MC can rock over anything...The Sugarhill Gang rocked with the live bands Positive Force (We Got The Funk) and also The Sequence (also Positive Force) Essentially anybody doing rap on Sugarhill Records had Positive Force as their LIVE backing band. Thus the shock was misplaced. I was more shocked that they gave MCs a chance to rock on Unplugged…
The line-up was De La Soul (Ring Ring Ring, Buddy), MC Lyte (Cappucino), A Tribe Called Quest (Can I Kick It?) and LL Cool J (Jinglin’ Baby, Mama Said Knock You Out). To be real, LL killed it! He seemed at home with the band, as if they had rehearsed. I’ll also go as far as to say that, without his performance, I believe the show would’ve been a flop. The other performers did well; but they didn’t drive & command the band. A band must have a leader-someone to follow. I think the other three acts followed the band, where as LL led the band. They fed off his energy, and he MADE them play their instruments. The crowd fed off LL and the band. It was a dope set (Season 2 Unplugged).
| | |
HONORABLE MENTION: On May 1st, 1924, gospel, blues, and R&B singer-Big Maybelle (Mabel Louise Smith) aka 'America’s Queen Mother Of Soul' was born in Jackson, TN. Maybelle started off in the church choir, moving to R&B when she turned 10. She started singing professionally with Dave Clark’s Memphis Band, when she was 12. Shortly thereafter, she toured with The International Sweethearts Of Rhythm (an all-female vocal and jazz band). At age 20 Maybelle made her recording debut in 1944, with Christine Chatman’s Orchestra. King Records signed her in 1947, the same year she made her solo debut. She also recorded with Tiny Bradshaw and Oran Hot Lips Page. She was 47 at the time of her passing.
On May 1st, 1966, The Ed Sullivan Show experienced a first as James Brown & his band performed live on the show. He gives the crowd a real feel of what The JB Experience is like. Since the sets were cut in time, he had his band rehearse a medley, pre-chopped and screwed. He basically did a full show in a few minutes. He came out in true James fashion too: a sloped floor, band on both sides of him, etc. His set included: Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag, I Got You (I Fell Good), Ain’t That A Groove, It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World, and his all-time classic Please Please Please (including the cape). The Supremes and Nancy Ames also performed on the show.
On May 1st, 1998, we lost a true Pan-Africanist, author, political activist, Civil Rights spokesperson, public speaker, educator, former Black Panther Party leader, and spouse of Kathleen Cleaver-(Leroy) Eldridge Cleaver. He was the author of Soul On Ice (1968), and the man who had a public beef with then-Black Panther Party Chairman Huey P. Newton. He was more of a soldier than a politician. His views encompassed a ‘real’ revolution, with physical warfare-where as Huey & Bobby Seale weren’t afraid to fight, but didn’t seek it out. Cleaver stood in opposition to that, with a sentiment of now is the time to seize it. Eldridge Cleaver was 62 when he passed.
On May 1st, 2013, Chris Kelly (l) of Kris Kross passed away. The rapper/actor referred to as Mac Daddy was found unresponsive in his Atlanta, GA, home. He overdosed, on coke and horse. Sad. Even more so, that the media didn’t cover this tragedy much. Also, Jermaine Dupri didn’t speak heavily on it like he should've. He exploited them to build So So Def Records-I mean, he produced their music. He could’ve at least used it as a teaching tool for the younger artists he sought to exploit-I mean produce. Kelly was the person responsible for Kris Kross coming about. He encouraged Chris Smith (Daddy Mac-r) on the idea that they should pursue music full-time. He was just 34 when he died.
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