Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Stick McGhee

 
Artist: Sticks McGhee
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Wynonie Harris, Rufus Gore

Worked With:

Sonny Terry

Relationship With:

Brownie McGhee
  • Born: March 23, 1917, Kingsport, TN
  • Died: August 15, 1961, New York, NY
  • Active: '40s, '50s
  • Genres: Blues
  • Instrument: Vocals, Guitar
  • Representative Albums: "New York Blues," "New York Blues and R&B 1947-1955," "1951-1955"
  • Representative Songs: "Head Happy With Wine," "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," "Dealin' from the Bottom"

Biography

He may have not been as prolific or celebrated as his brother Brownie, but guitarist Stick McGhee cut some great boozy blues and R&B from 1947 to 1960 -- including the immortal "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" (a tune that Jerry Lee Lewis, for one, picked up on early in life and has revived often since).

Young Granville McGhee earned his nickname by pushing his polio-stricken older brother Brownie through the streets of Kingsport, TN, on a cart that he propelled with a stick. McGhee was inspired to pen "Drinkin' Wine" while in Army boot camp during World War II; it was apparently a ribald military chant that the McGhees cleaned up for public consumption later on. McGhee's first recorded version of the tune for J. Mayo Williams's Harlem logo made little impression in 1947, but a rollicking 1949 remake for Atlantic (as Stick McGhee & His Buddies) proved a massive R&B hit (brother Brownie chiming in on guitar and harmony vocal). The tune has attracted countless covers over the years -- everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Burnette to Wynonie Harris and Larry Dale has taken a sip from this particular wine flask.

After one more smash for Atlantic, 1951's "Tennessee Waltz Blues," McGhee moved along to Essex, King (where he waxed some more great booze numbers from 1953 to 1955 -- "Whiskey Women and Loaded Dice," "Head Happy With Wine," "Jungle Juice," "Six to Eight," "Double Crossin' Liquor"), Savoy, and Herald, where he made his last 45 in 1960 before lung cancer cut him down the following year. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: Stick McGhee
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia

Contents

Early Life

Granville Henry McGhee, also known as “Stick” McGhee (March 23, 1917 – August 15, 1961) was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and was an American guitarist best known for his blues song"Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee". Granville received his nickname during the early years when he was pushing his older brother, Brownie McGhee, who was stricken with polio in a wagon with a stick.[1]Granville began playing the guitar when he was thirteen years old. After his freshmen year, Granville dropped out of high school and worked with his father at Eastman Kodak.[2] In 1940, Granville quit his job and moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, and then he relocated to New York. There he entered into the military service in 1942 and served in the Army during WWII.[3]In 1946, Granville was discharged and settled in New York.[4]


Entertainment Career

In the military, Granville often played his guitar. One of the songs that McGhee was best known for was "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee". The lyrics of the song are as follow:

Drinkin’ that mess is our delight,
And when we get drunk, start fightin’ all night.
Knockin’ out windows and learnin’ down doors,
Drinkin’ half-gallons and callin’ for more.
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Pass that bottle to me!
[5]

This song was one of the earliest prototypical rock and roll songs, and was covered by Jerry Lee Lewis and Mike Bloomfield's Electric Flag (as "Wine"). The song lent its name to the alcoholic fruit drink "spodi". In 1946, Granville and Brownie collaborated and modified the song into a clean cut version for Harlem Records.[6] The song was released a year later in January 1947 at the price of .49 cents. The song did not get much airplay time until two years after when Granville recreated the song for Atlantic records. As a result, the song was so popular among listeners that it rose to Number 3 on the R&B charts.[7]

His songs attracted countless covers over the years, starting his first cover by Lionel Hampton featuring Sonny Parker, then Wynonic Harris, and lastly, Loy Gordon & His Pleasant Valley boys with hillbilly-bop rendition.[8]His song “Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee” maintained its popularity throughout the fifties by various artists, such as Malcolm Yelvington in 1954, Johnny Burnette in 1957, and Jerry Lee Lewis in 1959.[9]

Stick McGhee continued to make records for Atlantic and created popular songs such as “Tennessee Waltz,” “Drank Up All the Wine Last Night,” “Venus Blues” “Let’s Do It,” and “One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show” but his music career overall was not successful.[10]In 1952, McGhee moved from Atlantic to Essex to create a record called “My Little Rose”. The record failed miserably so he moved to King in 1953. There he made a lot of great rock ’n’ roll songs such a “Whiskey, Women and Loaded Dice," "Head Happy With Wine," "Jungle Juice," "Six to Eight," "Double Crossin' Liquor,” “Dealin’ from the Bottom,” and “Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter”.[11]However, he was unable to make money out of his records so he left King to create a record for Savoy in 1955 but soon retired from music business in 1960 because he lost passion.[12]

Death

Stick McGhee died in the Bronx V.A. Hospital on August 15, 1961 of lung cancer at the age of forty-four and he left his old guitar to Brownie’s son before he died.[13]






See also

References

  1. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  2. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  3. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  4. ^ http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/sticksm.html
  5. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  6. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  7. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  8. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  9. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  10. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  11. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  12. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.
  13. ^ Toshes, Nick. Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis . New York : Da Capo Press, 1999.

External links

Stick McGhee Discography


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Stick McGhee".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More