Roy Brown
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Roy Brown
- Genres: Rhythm & Blues
Biography
When you draw up a short list of the R&B pioneers who exerted a primary influence on the development of rock & roll, respectfully place singer Roy Brown's name near its very top. His seminal 1947 DeLuxe Records waxing of "Good Rockin' Tonight" was immediately ridden to the peak of the R&B charts by shouter Wynonie Harris and subsequently covered by Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many more early rock icons (even Pat Boone). In addition, Brown's melismatical pleading, gospel-steeped delivery impacted the vocal styles of B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and Little Richard (among a plethora of important singers). Clearly, Roy Brown was an innovator -- and from 1948-1951, an R&B star whose wild output directly presaged rock's rise.Born in the Crescent City, Brown grew up all over the place: Eunice, LA (where he sang in church and worked in the sugarcane fields); Houston, TX; and finally Los Angeles by age 17. Back then, Bing Crosby was Brown's favorite singer -- but a nine-month stint at a Shreveport, LA, nightclub exposed him to the blues for the first time. He conjured up "Good Rockin' Tonight" while fronting a band in Galveston, TX. Ironically, Harris wanted no part of the song when Brown first tried to hand it to him. When pianist Cecil Gant heard Brown's knockout rendition of the tune in New Orleans, he had Brown sing it over the phone to a sleepy DeLuxe boss, Jules Braun, in the wee hours of the morning. Though Brown's original waxing (with Bob Ogden's band in support) was a solid hit, Harris' cover beat him out for top chart honors.
Roy Brown didn't have to wait long to dominate the R&B lists himself. He scored 15 hits from mid-1948 to late 1951 for DeLuxe, ranging from the emotionally wracked crying blues of "Hard Luck Blues" (his biggest seller of all in 1950) to the party-time rockers "Rockin' at Midnight," "Boogie at Midnight," "Miss Fanny Brown," and "Cadillac Baby." Strangely, his sales slumped badly from 1952 on, even though his frantic "Hurry Hurry Baby," "Ain't No Rockin' No More," "Black Diamond," and "Gal From Kokomo" for Cincinnati's King Records rate among his hottest house rockers.
Brown was unable to cash in on the rock & roll idiom he helped to invent, though he briefly rejuvenated his commercial fortunes at Imperial Records in 1957. Working with New Orleans producer Dave Bartholomew, then riding high with Fats Domino, Brown returned to the charts with the original version of "Let the Four Winds Blow" (later a hit for Domino) and cut the sizzling sax-powered rockers "Diddy-Y-Diddy-O," "Saturday Night," and "Ain't Gonna Do It." Not everything was an artistic triumph; Brown's utterly lifeless cover of Buddy Knox's "Party Doll" -- amazingly, a chart entry for Brown -- may well be the worst thing he ever committed to wax (rivaled only by a puerile "School Bell Rock" cut during a momentary return to King in 1959).
After a long dry spell, Brown's acclaimed performance as part of Johnny Otis' troupe at the 1970 Monterey Jazz Festival and a 1973 LP for ABC-BluesWay began to rebuild his long-lost momentum. But it came too late; Brown died of a heart attack in 1981 at age 56, his role as a crucial link between postwar R&B and rock's initial rise still underappreciated by the masses. ~ Bill Dahl, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Roy Brown (blues musician)
| Roy Brown | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Roy James Brown |
| Born | September 10, 1925 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Died | May 25, 1981 (aged 55) San Fernando, California, United States |
| Genres | R&B, Blues, Rockabilly |
| Occupations | Singer, Composer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1945–1981 |
Roy James Brown (September 10, 1925 — May 25, 1981)[1] was an American R&B singer, songwriter and musician, who had an influence on the early development of rock and roll by changing the direction R&B was headed in. His original song and hit recording "Good Rocking Tonight" was covered by Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pat Boone, and the rock group Montrose. Brown was the first singer in recording history to sing R&B songs with a gospel-steeped delivery, which was then considered taboo by many churches. In addition, his melismatical pleading, vocal style influenced B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Elvis Presley, Jackie Wilson and Little Richard.[2]
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Contents
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Career
Brown was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.[1] As with many R&B singers, he started singing gospel music in the church. His mother was an accomplished singer and church organist.[3] After a move to Los Angeles, California some time in the 1940s, and a brief period spent as a professional boxer in the welterweight category, he won a singing contest in 1945 at the Million Dollar Theater covering "There's No You", originally recorded by Bing Crosby. In 1946, Brown moved to Galveston, Texas, where he sang in Joe Coleman's group performing mostly songs from the Hit Parade, in a club called the Club Granada. His numbers included a song he wrote entitled "Good Rocking Tonight". After being rejected by the Armed Forces because of flat feet, he secured his first major job in a Shreveport, Louisiana club singing mostly pop ballads such as "Stardust" and "Blue Hawaii." The owner of Bill Riley's Palace Park hired him, as Brown told a Blues Unlimited interviewer, because of his appeal as "a Negro who sounds white."[4] It was at the Palace Park that Brown started developing a blues repertoire, learning contemporary R&B tunes such as "Jelly Jelly" (recorded by Billy Eckstine).[5] He returned to New Orleans in 1947, where he performed at The Dew Drop Inn.[6]
Brown was a big fan of blues singer Wynonie Harris. When Harris appeared in town, Brown tried but failed to interest Harris in listening to "Good Rocking Tonight." Dejected, Brown approached another blues singer, Cecil Gant. Brown introduced his song, and Gant had Brown to sing it over the telephone to the president of De Luxe Records, Jules Braun, reportedly at 4:00 in the morning. Brown was signed to a recording contract immediately. Brown recorded the song in a jump blues style with a swing beat. It was released in 1948 and reached #13 on the US Billboard R&B chart. Ironically, Wynonie Harris covered it and hit the top of Billboard's R&B chart later in 1948.[2] Presley also covered the song for Sun Records in 1954; later re-released on RCA Victor when his recording contract was sold to that record label in 1956.[citation needed]
Brown continued to make his mark on the R&B charts, scoring 14 hits from mid-1948 to late 1951 with De Luxe, including "Hard Luck Blues" (his biggest seller in 1950), "Love Don't Love Nobody", "Rockin' at Midnight," "Boogie at Midnight," "Miss Fanny Brown," and "Cadillac Baby", making him the undisputed king of R&B for those three years.
After his popularity peaked, Brown began to experience a lull in his career. Doo-wop and R&B groups were quickly gaining popularity as the standard sound of R&B in the early to mid 1950s. The decline of his fortunes coincided with his successfully winning a lawsuit against King Records for unpaid royalties in 1952, one of the few African American musicians to do so in the 1950s. This has led some, such as author Nick Tosches (in his book Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll, which contained a chapter on Brown) to believe that Brown may have been blacklisted. Brown's other misfortunes included trouble with the IRS. When confronted by the government for back taxes he owed, he approached Elvis Presley to ask for help. Presley wrote him a brown paper check, but it wasn't enough to keep him out of jail. Brown did a little prison time for tax evasion. When his popularity ebbed in the rock and roll era, he tried teen-slanted songs like "School Bell Rock", but had little success and subsequently went into semi-retirement.[7]
Brown had a brief comeback through Imperial Records in 1957. Working with Dave Bartholomew, Brown returned to the charts with the original version of "Let the Four Winds Blow" (co-written by Fats Domino), which would become a hit later for Domino.
He returned to King Records where his popularity ground down to a low by 1959, but he sporadically managed to find work and do some recording through the 1960s, making appearances where ever he was wanted.[2] To supplement his income, Brown sold the rights to "Good Rocking Tonight."[citation needed] He also worked as an encyclopedia salesman.[8]
In 1970, Brown closed The Johnny Otis Show at the Monterey Jazz Festival. As a result of the crowd's positive reaction, he recorded "Love for Sale", which became a hit for Mercury Records.[3]
In the late 1970s a compilation album of his old work brought about a minor revival of interest. In 1978 he had a successful tour in Scandinavia following the releases of Laughing But Crying and Good Rocking Tonight. Shortly before his death he performed at the Whisky A Go-Go in West Hollywood, California and headlined the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1981.
Brown died of a heart attack, at Pacoima Lutheran Memorial Hospital,[9] near his home in the San Fernando Valley on May 25, 1981. He was 55 years old.[1][2] The Reverend Johnny Otis conducted the funeral. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame the same year.
In 2008, two of his songs, "Butcher Pete Pt. 1" and "Mighty, Mighty Man" were included in the video game, Fallout 3.
Discography
Chart singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop[10] | US R&B[11] |
||
| 1948 | "Good Rocking Tonight" | - | 11 |
| "'Long About Midnight" | - | 1 | |
| 1949 | "Rainy Weather Blues" / "'Fore Day In The Morning" | - | 5 / 6 |
| "Rockin' at Midnight" | - | 2 | |
| "Miss Fanny Brown" | - | 8 | |
| "Please Don't Go (Come Back Baby)" | - | 9 | |
| "Boogie At Midnight" | - | 3 | |
| 1950 | "Hard Luck Blues" | - | 1 |
| "Love Don't Love Nobody" | - | 2 | |
| "Cadillac Baby" / "'Long About Sundown" | - | 6 / 8 | |
| 1951 | "Big Town" | - | 8 |
| "Bar Room Blues" | - | 6 | |
| 1957 | "Party Doll" | 89 | 13 |
| "Let The Four Winds Blow" | 29 | 5 | |
Complete singles discography
- DeLuxe 1093 Good Rocking Tonight/Lolly Pop Mama 1947
- DeLuxe 1098 Special Lesson No. 1/Woman's A Wonderful Thing
- DeLuxe 1107 Roy Brown Boogie/Please Don't Go
- DeLuxe 1128 Mighty, Mighty Man/Miss Fanny Brown
- DeLuxe 1154 Long About Midnight/Whose Hat Is That
- DeLuxe 1166 All My Love Belongs To You/Ebony Rhapsody (with Ethel Morris)
- DeLuxe 3093 Good Rocking Tonight/Lolly Pop Mama 1950
- DeLuxe 3098 Special Lesson No. 1/Woman's A Wonderful Thing 1950
- DeLuxe 3107 Roy Brown's Boogie/Please Don't Go 1950
- DeLuxe 3128 Mighty Mighty Man/Miss Fanny Brown 1950
- DeLuxe 3154 'Long About Midnight/Whose Hat Is That 1950
- DeLuxe 3166 All My Love Belongs To You/Ebony Rhapsody 1950 (with Ethel Morris)
- DeLuxe 3189 Roy Brown Boogie/Miss Fanny Brown Returns 1950
- DeLuxe 3198 Rainy Weather Blues/'Fore Day In The Morning 1950
- DeLuxe 3212 Rockin' At Midnight/Judgement Day Blues 1950
- King 4602 Travelin' Man/Hurry Hurry Baby 1953
- King 4609 Grandpa Stole My Baby/Money Can't Buy Love 1953
- King 4627 Gamblin' Man/Mr. Hound Dogs In Town 1953
- King 4637 Old Age Boogie/Part 1 Old Age Boogie - Part 2 1953
- King 4654 Crazy Crazy Women/Laughing But Crying 1953
- King 4669 Caldonia's Wedding Day/A Fool In Love 1953
- King 4684 Letter From Home/Midnight Lover Man 1953
- King 4689 Everything's All Right/Lonesome Lover 1954
- King 4704 Trouble At Midnight/Bootlegging Baby 1954
- King 4715 Up Jumped The Devil/This Is My Last Goodbye 1954
- King 4722 No Love At All/Don't Let It Rain 1954
- King 4731 Ain't It A Shame/Gal From Kokomo 1954
- King 4743 Worried Life Blues/Black Diamond 1954
- King 4761 Fannie Brown Got Married/Queen Of Diamonds 1955
- King 4816 Shake 'Em Up Baby/Letter To Baby 1955
- King 4834 My Little Angel Child/She's Gone Too Long 1955
- King 5178 La-Dee-Dah-Dee/Melinda 1959
- King 5207 I Never Had It So Good/Rinky Dinky Doo 1959
- King 5218 Hard Luck Blues/Good Looking And Forty 1959
- King 5247 School Bell Rock/Ain't No Rocking No More 1959
- King 5333 Ain't Got No Blues Today/Adorable One 1960
- King 5521 Mighty Mighty Man/Good Man Blues 1961
- Imperial 5422 Everybody/Saturday Night 1957
- Imperial 5427 Party Doll/I'm Sticking With You 1957
- Imperial 5439 Let The Four Winds Blow/Diddy-Y-Diddy-O 1957
- Imperial 5455 I'm Convicted Of Love/I'm Ready To Play 1957
- Imperial 5469 Tick Of The Clock/Slow Down Little Eva 1957
- Imperial 5489 Ain't Gonna Do It/Sail On Little Girl 1958
- Imperial 5510 Hip Shakin' Baby/Be My Love Tonight 1958
- Imperial 5969 Let The Four Winds Blow/Diddy-Yi-Diddy-Yo 1963
Albums
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Please expand this section. More information might be found in a section of the talk page. (February 2009) |
- Laughing But Crying — 1977
- Good Rocking Tonight — 1978
- We Came to Party — 1978
Compilations
- King 156 "Rock 'n' Roll Dance Party" 1956
See also
- List of blues musicians
- List of dirty blues musicians
- List of jump blues musicians
- List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
- West Coast blues
References
- ^ a b c Dead Rock Stars Club website - birth and death details
- ^ a b c d "Roy Brown". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p294/biography. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
- ^ a b Back cover of We Came To Party, presumably by Roy Brown himself
- ^ Honkers And Shouters. The Golden Years Of Rhythm And Blues. Crowell-Collier Press, New York, 1978, p. 100
- ^ Honkers And Shouters. The Golden Years Of Rhythm And Blues. Crowell-Collier Press, New York, 1978, p. 100
- ^ Gérard Herzhaft, Paul Harris, Brigitte Debord, Jerry Haussler, Anton J. Mikofsky. Encyclopedia of the Blues.
- ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 96. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ Rocknrollshow.com biography - accessed February 2008
- ^ Palmer, Robert (May 26, 1981). "nytimes.com". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/26/obituaries/roy-brown-a-pioneer-rock-singer.html.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc.. p. 89. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 53.
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Mentioned in
Hard Luck Blues
(1976 Album by Roy Brown)
The Dwellers
(Rock Band, '90s)
Risque Rhythm: Nasty 50s R&B
(1991 Album by Various Artists)
Laughing but Crying
(1977 Album by Roy Brown)
Live at Monterey
(1971 Album by Johnny Otis)
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