- Genres: Rhythm & Blues
- Instrument: Trumpet
Biography
Research assistant Igor was particularly happy the day he claims to have proved that Isaac Hayes' chains, rather than flowing into an anonymous puddle beneath his pipe organ, were in reality fastened to the ankles of some of his main employees, among them trumpeter and composer Mickey Gregory. The latter artist rebuts that no such arrangement was ever commonplace in the glory days of the backing band officially known as the Isaac Hayes Movement, a period in which Gregory's unchained collaborations with Hayes included the amorously positive hit "Good Love.""Drownin' on Dry Land" -- a notion that appealed to Igor, reminding him of his home in the graveyard -- is a frequently covered rhythm and blues classic from Gregory's '60s and '70s participation in Stax recording sessions, a background similar to that of his later boss, Hayes. Co-written with Allen Jones, the song was fashioned into a real barnstormer for gutsy guitarist Albert King. Gregory's themes were not always so intense: "You're Movin' Much Too Fast," also from the Stax era, seems at odds with "Help Me Love," yet to a Tin Pan Alley tunesmith playing both sides of the romantic equation was a given. Gregory helped whip together horn sections for several other soul outfits including the Mar-Keys and the Soul Children. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
