Billy Davis Jr ( Part 1)

Recording and Advertising Executive Extraordinaire.

       He was one of the key architects in the development of the soul music we so love today!

The late Billy Davis was born on July 11^th 1932 in Detroit. He started his career in the entertainment industry as a songwriter with Berry Gordy in Detroit during the mid 1950s, creating successful songs for his cousin the late Jackie Wilson, under the pseudonym of Tyran Carlo.

 

Their first major international hit was “Reet Petite” released in 1957 on Brunswick Records, which peaked at number six on the British Pop singles chart listings. Interestingly the record repeated its success in the UK Pop singles chart listings by going to number one on 27^th December 1986, for 4 weeks, almost 30 years after its original release and selling in the excess of 700,000 copies to be certified platinum by the BPI (British Phonographic Industry).

 

Billy Davis also did tremendous work with two legendary recording labels noted for their significant contributions to the popularity of Soul and R&B music amongst the record buying public, Chess Records and Motown Records. He was one of the key architects in the development of the soul music we so love today!

                                     
Davis was also involved in the development of Anna Records which started in 1958 and was jointly owned by himself and Berry’s sister Gwen Gordy, whom he dated at that time, before it was brought out by Berry Gordy and became part of the Motown organization.

Researched and compiled by
 Mr K Tomlin Music Historian  
©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013
 

 

Steve Cropper (Part 3)

                                                                 
One  of  the Key Creative Pillars of  the  Southern Soul Music

Several other Stax classics have been inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame;  “Soul Man”, inducted in 1999, “Green Onions” inducted in 1999, “I’ll Take You There”,  inducted in 1999 and “In The Midnight Hour”, also inducted in 1999.  Many of Steve’s songs have been covered by artists such as George Benson (“Soul Limbo”), Paul Young (“Iron Out The Rough Spots”) and Rita Coolidge (“The Happy Song”).

This illustrates clearly his impact as a Songwriter across a variety of musical styles. Steve’s Croppers greatest achievement was to be inducted in the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame on June 9th 2005, alongside fellow former Stax colleagues David Porter and Isaac Hayes.

Steve Cropper has also demonstrated his musical talents in the world of film, credited as Producer, Songwriter, and Performer.

As Performer and  Songwriter:


  

Blow (2001)

"Be My Lady"
Written by Stephen Cropper, Donald Dunn, Al Jackson Jr., Booker T. Jones
Performed by Booker T & The MG's
Courtesy of Atlantic Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Published by Al Jackson Jr. Music (BMI)
Administered by Bug Music / Irving Music Inc.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

"Behave Yourself"
Written by Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr. and Lewie Steinberg
Performed by Booker T. & MG s
Published by Irving Music, Inc. (BMI)
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

Platoon (1986)

“(Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay”

Performed by Otis Redding

Written by Stephen Cropper and Otis Redding

Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp

As Producer and Songwriter:

Top Gun (1999)

Written by Stephen Cropper and Otis Redding

Performed by Love Actually (2003)

As Producer only:

A Bronx Tale (1993)

“Ninety-Nine and Half (Won’t Do)”

Performed by Wilson Pickett

Written by Stephen Cropper

Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp

Promised Land (1995)

“Green Onions”

Performed by Booker T & The MG's
Written by Stephen Croppper, Donald Dunn, Al Jackson Jr., Booker T. Jones

Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp

My-Fellow American (1996)

“In The Midnight Hour”

Performed by Wilson Pickett

Written by Stephen Cropper and Wilson Pickett

Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp

Lost. The Television Series, Season Two Episode 19 (2006)

“These Arms of Mine”.

Performed by Otis Redding

Written by Otis Redding

Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp

Amazon Women On The Moon (1987)

Performed as actor, playing the character Customer (“Titan Man”)

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Performed as actor, playing the character Steve “The Colonel” Cropper

Amazon Women On The Moon (1987)

Performed as actor, playing the character Customer (“Titan Man”)

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Performed as actor, playing the character Steve “The Colonel” Cropper

Steve was also involved in collaborations with other recording artists outside Stax Records. During the late 1970s, after his departure from Stax before its demise, Cropper got involved in the soundtrack and movie of the “Blues Brothers”, a Pop Chart No.1 album and multi-platinum selling project. He then went on to record two albums on MCA Records, “Playin’ My Thang” in 1980 and “With A Little Help From My Friends” in 1982.


He continued to play and produce on many recording sessions between TMI and Ardent recording studios with such artists as Poco, Jeff Beck, Tower Of Power and Dreams. Cropper is certainly an extraordinary guitarist, still going strong after approximately forty years in the music business. In 1998, he started his own record company, “Play It, Steve Records” and created a state-of-the-art recording studio in Nashville called “Insomnia Studios”.

Steve Cropper is indeed one of the main authors and architects of the Memphis Soul Sound, a creative pillar of the southern soul movement and one of the true stylists on guitar. His many contributions to the world of popular music has had an incredible influence on many of his peers and successors. His impact has been felt all around the world.

                Researched and compiled by
                Mr K Tomlin Music Historian 
                ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013  

                                                                  

 

Steve Cropper (Part 2)

                                                          

One  of  the Key Creative Pillars of  the  Southern Soul Music

Cropper is responsible for Wilson Pickett’s early successes on Atlantic Records.  Pickett came to SStax in 1965 looking to get his career kick-started after several failures trying to get a hit while recording in New York under Jerry Wexler (a legendary recording executive for Atlantic Records and the man responsible for Aretha Franklin’s first million selling recording of "I Never the Way I Love You". 

ilPickett's first collaboration with Cropper was “In The Midnight Hour” which was co-written at the same hotel as that in which coincidentally the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been fatally shot several years later. That song took the No.1 position on the Billboard R&B chart listing from The Four Tops spending nine weeks at No.1 with “I Can’t Help Myself”.  Wilson’s single reached the summit on August 7^th 1965 (1 week).

Another of Steve Cropper’s first major successes as a Songwriter and as   Producer was with Eddie Floyd’s “Knock On Wood” which became a gold single co-written with Floyd. Floyd was the first solo Artist at Stax to have achieved a gold record and as well a key songwriter in the Stax organization. Featured on this recording session were fellow Stax musicians Booker T. Jones (keyboard), Donald “Duck” Dunn (bass) and Al Jackson Jnr. (drums), with Isaac Hayes on piano and the Bar-keys on horns. Cropper’s next landmark recording was Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of The Bay”, which remained R&B and Pop Chart No.1 for several weeks on Billboard. After Otis Redding’s premature death in a plane accident with some other members of The Mar-kays.               

The song received two Grammy Awards for “Best R&B Male Vocal Performance” and “Best R&B Song” in 1969. Steve Cropper co-wrote this song with Otis Redding, played acoustic and electric guitar and also produced the track. The song has been played over six million times, making it the sixth Most Played Song of all time and is also listed on The Grammy Hall of Fame site as a lasting and historical significance, inducted in 1998. The Album entitled “(Sittin On) The Dock of The Bay” achieved UK Pop No.1 position in 1968 and USA Pop No.4 in 1968. Cropper has also co- written “The Happy Song”; “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)” and ”Mr Pitiful”, all recorded by Otis Redding.

Steve performed on two singles that achieved gold record sales of Million-plus Copies sold in the USA for Stax. Those were The Mar-Keys “Last Night”, Pop Chart No 3, August 7^th 1961, Satellite 107 and Booker T & the MGs’ “Green Onions”, Pop Chart No. 3, R&B Chart No. 1, September 15^th 1962, (4 weeks), UK Pop No. 7, 1979, Stax 127




 Researched and compiled by 
  Mr K Tomlin Music Historian 
  ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013

Steve Cropper (Part 1)

One  of  the Key Creative Pillars of  the  Southern Soul Music

                    

While at Stax Records Steve Cropper performed many different roles as Record Producer, Engineer, Studio Musician, Songwriter and Recording Executive. He acquired his engineering skills from Chip Moman, the primary Recording Engineer at Stax during the early years of operation.

Cropper played guitar on Stax’s first major hit, a duet with Rufus Thomas and daughter Carla Thomas entitled “’Cause I Love You”. Stax’s open-door policy and harmonious working methods enabled Cropper to develop a deep passion for the music created there transcending racial lines.

As a result a profound bond developed between himself, Al Jackson Jr., Booker T Washington and Donald “Duck” Dunn. Washington and Jackson were black, born in the Deep South, whilst Dunn, like Cropper, were both white. Together they became the nucleus of the Stax Studio Band and became also the Touring (support) Band for artists such as Otis Redding and the duo Sam and Dave.

And as for several other signed artists/acts at Stax, they complemented the Memphis Horn section and they then emerged of course as Booker T & The MG’s.  The men and women who came together at Stax developed a raw and refined Southern Soul sound to rival other hit-making city centers such as Chicago and Detroit of course with its’ Motown Sound.

 Album was produced by Isaac Hayes

 and Dave Porter. 

The album features Cropper 

on guitar with Booker T & The MGs

and The Memphis Horn section.

Cropper was one of the key people to help the Stax organization develop as a multi-racial corporation during a period in American history then steeped deeply in racial discord. Cropper’s signature guitar sound is found on many of the major R&B and Soul hits to come out of Memphis during the 1960s and early 1970s. The classic hit song "Soul Man" with the powerful guitar intro and the response from The Memphis Horn Section is one of the best of these. 

Steve’s approach to playing set him apart from many of his contemporaries and became a significant element in the development and delivery of Stax’s raw and refined sound. For his great impact on contemporary music, he was also named the second greatest guitar player of all time, behind Jimi Hendrix, according to Britain’s Mojo magazine in 1996.

Many educational institutions are actually conducting courses on Steve Cropper’s guitar techniques, with many publications available to the public. He was elected to The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 by his peers for his historical influence on the development of music through several decades.

 Researched and compiled by 
  Mr K Tomlin Music Historian 
  ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013


                  

                  

Mavis Staples Career Highlights.

Mavis was born in the city of Chicago on the 10^th July 1939.

Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers started their recording careers at the locally-based black-owned legendary record label, Vee-Jay records, during the mid-1950s, as a Gospel recording act for the label. During that period they scored a major hit entitled “Uncloudy Day,” which is now a gospel classic.         

Mavis Staples has become the first African American female solo gospel artist from America to reach the number-one position on the Official UK Christian & Gospel Albums Chart on week-ending 6^th July 2013 (1 week), with her newly-released “One True Vine” album on Anti-Records.

                                
                                 

The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 under the gospel category. The group had two more songs that were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, starting with “I’ll Take You There”, in 1999 under the R&B and Soul category, which was originally released on Stax Records in 1972. This was followed by “Respect Yourself”, also originally released on Stax Records in 1971 and inducted in 2002 under the R&B and Soul category. They were also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame under the Performer category in 1999, presented by Lauryn Hill.

In 2010 her record company Anti- Records released an album called “You Are Not Alone” which was produced by Jeff Tweedy and won a Grammy Award in the Best Americana Album vocal or Instrumental category at the 53^rd Grammy Awards Ceremony. This was Mavis’s first Grammy Award as a solo artist.

Time Magazine described the album as "gorgeous", Spin Magazine described the album as "inspiring", with Rolling Stone listing Staples as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Mavis Staples has become the first African American female solo gospel artist from America to reach the number-one position on the Official UK Christian & Gospel Albums Chart on week-ending 6^th July 2013 (1 week), with her newly-released “One True Vine” album on Anti-Records. The album was recorded in her home town of Chicago.

Written, researched and compiled by
Music Historian Kevin Tomlin
©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013

Guitarist Extraordinaire Who Impacted Rock Music Globally (Part 2)

 

 

 

                                                                     Jimi Hendrix
                                   Guitarist Extraordinaire.

 

One of the most important events in the Hendrix legacy was the transfer of royalty rights to the late Al Hendrix (Jimi’s father) and family which occurred in January 1997. This was made possible by the financial assistance of Paul Allen, a long-time fan of Hendrix and co-founder of Microsoft. He also underwrote the development of the Jimi Hendrix Museum to be located in Seattle. Immediately after the family acquired the intellectual property and several masters of Jimi’s work, they collaborated with Jimi’s former manager and original engineer, Eddie Kramer, who became the mastermind behind several classic recordings reissued on the Experience/MCA Records label. Out of this creative liaison between Eddie, Al and Janie Hendrix, a company was established to promote and administer the legacy of Jimi Hendrix in line with his original musical vision. The Experience Hendrix Company, created by Al and Janie Hendrix, Jimi’s half sister, has received income of over $44 million from recordings and associated merchandising in America alone.

 

With the expanding influence of Jimi Hendrix’s legacy, Touchstone Pictures, a division of the Disney Company, featured one of Hendrix’s classic anthems “Fire” on the movie soundtrack of “Reign Of Fire”, released in June 2002. Also in the same year a Vin Diesel film XXX featured “Purple Haze”, another classic from the 1960s. Nascar USA released Hendrix’s classic “Crosstown Traffic” through MCA Records/Nascar/FoxSports on a compilation entitled “Crank It Up” in 2002. The Gibson Guitar company has recently launched in January 2006 the “Jimi Hendrix Psychedelic Flying V” limited edition in collaboration with the Experience Hendrix Company.

 

According to Forbes magazine, which has compiled a top ten list of posthumous artists who are best sellers in the USA, since the new century began Hendrix’s earnings have been averaging approximately 10 million dollars each year.

 

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Jimi Hendrix produced over 41 gold and platinum records which translates into over 22 million album copies sold to date. With lucrative licensing agreements and extremely large royalty payments accruing to his estate, Jimi Hendrix remains one of America’s greatest cultural earners, contributing significantly to the $40 billion generated annually by the American recording industry which accounts for fully one third of the world market.

 

He was a great fusion guitarist and a fashion trend-setter in the London entertainment community, as the first black man to be seen with long hair and wearing the latest fashion designs, as though they were made just for him.  Hendrix’s unique genius enriched popular music and culture across the world.

 

Researched and compiled by
Mr K Tomlin Music Historian

 

 ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013

 

Guitarist Extraordinaire Who Impacted Rock Music Globally (Part 1)

 

Jimi Hendrix
   Guitarist Extraordinaire.

One of the greatest guitarists the world has ever seen was a touring musician for Little Richard’s band and the Isley Brothers before actually becoming well-known as a solo artist in his own right. Jimi Hendrix bridged the cultural gap between various musical genres (blues, soul, jazz and progressive rock), raising the benchmark to the next level in the process and setting the British music industry on fire.

Hendrix brought with him his own peculiar genius, which he developed through playing American black music on the US soul circuit. He shared this love with British rock icons such as Pete Townshend, The Beatles and Eric Clapton.

Born in Seattle, Washington (the birthplace of the Boeing Aircraft Corporation), on the 27^th November 1942 to parents Al Hendrix and Lucille Jeter and given the name James Marshall Hendrix, Jimi was a self-taught musician who wrote most of the brilliant tracks that marked him out as someone special. He perfected an extraordinary left-handed technique which transformed guitar playing into an art form which has never been repeated by any other recording artist since. Hendrix also used the wah-wah pedal with great mastery and was able to create in live performances (for example at the Woodstock festival) simulated sound effects such as machineguns, bombs and screams using just his guitar and without the assistant of his band members on stage.

Jimi Hendrix’s corporate impact started in the late 1960s with the lifting of trade restrictions on the import of Fender Stratocasters into the UK. Jimi helped to make this particular guitar the biggest-selling electric guitar in history. Before Hendrix’s arrival, all the top rock and blues guitarists in the UKwere using Gibsons and Rickenbackers. They soon switched to the Stratocaster. Hendrix’s legendary white Strat which he played at Woodstockwas auctioned at Sotheby’s in Londonin 1990 for £174,000 and later resold in 1993 for £750,000. The guitar is now on permanent exhibit at the “Experience Music Project” in Seattle, where a whole room is devoted to Jimi.

                    Researched and compiled by
                              Mr K Tomlin Music Historian

                        RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013