Nashville: Across The Tracks and In The Shadows
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During the first half of the 20th century nearly every town had 2 or 3 recording studios, a handful of clubs, and a few larger venues where music was made. In the most places you could usually find all these outlets in pairs..for every whites only venue, there was a similar spot for black folks only. In the Northern States it was somewhat less overt, but it was still the general rule as deep segregation was the written and unwritten law of the land. Things relaxed a bit in the music world though, even in the south. Rhythm and Blues was at the forefront of this boundary blurring, most famously at places like Atlantic Records, Fame Studios, and Stax, but also in Nashville.
Nashville Jumps - Cecil Gant (1949-Bullet 250)
Though it was the (business)home of country music, Nashville also had a separate (and perhaps even equal) black music scene, featuring clubs (the New Era, the Del Morocco and Maceo's), a major chitlin circuit theater (The Bijou), a 50,000 watt radio station (WLAC), and more than one label focusing on R&B records (Bullet, Sound Stage 7,Dot, Silver Fox, SSS International).
"In 1962, a struggling musician was living above a Nashville nightclub in an apartment furnished with little more than a mattress and a light bulb. Perfecting his guitar playing at home during the day and performing in local clubs at night, he eventually attained worldwide fame. It's a stereotypical Nashville success story, to be sure, but there's a twist. The tale isn't about a country musician. The guitar player's name was Jimi Hendrix." (CMT news)
A few years back The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (which, although I can't vouch from personal experience, sounds like it slays the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame) put on an exhibit called Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1970, that opened up Nashville's R & B closet. In conjunction there were also 2 double discs released that showcased local acts and the output of local labels.
The exhibit told the story of Nashville's black music scene going all the way back to the Fisk Jubilee singers in the 1870's, through the dawn of Rhythm & Blues (see Nashville native Cecil Gant's Nashville Jumps), up to the demise of the soul club scene in the late 70's (percipitated by the construction of I-40 and the record industry's love affair with disco).
One of the main proponents of Nashville R & B was a DJ at WLAC, John Richbourg, a white man, who went by John R on the air, and laid on the jive pretty thick. He also went on the produce records (well over 100 sides) for Sound Stage Seven and his own labels, Seventy Seven and Sound Plus, as well as manage the career of Joe Simon.
Joe Simon - Moon Walk Part 1 (1969-Sound Stage 7)
She's A Wiggler - Fenton Robinson (1971-Sound Stage 7)
Hey, Lucinda - Betty Everett (1976-Sound Stage 7)
We're Not too young -The Continental Showstoppers (197?-Seventy seven Records)- A Northern Soul Fave
Goo Bah-the Continental Showstoppers (197?-Seventy Seven Records)
There weren't a ton of major hits that came out of Sound Stage 7, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the output from the small indie label. Richbourg was a dedicated soulman producing records in black southern styles until his death from cancer in 1986. The performers at a 1984 benefit put together to cover his medical expenses give you an idea of how important he was to the soul community...
"By 1984, Richbourg was dying from lung cancer. His wife, Margaret, and singer Jackey Beavers, a longtime associate, organized a benefit concert to help pay the announcer's steep medical bills. The March 26, 1985 show, held at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House, included numerous artists who were featured in John R.'s broadcasts: James Brown, B. B. King, the Neville Brothers, Rufus Thomas, The Tams, The Coasters, gospel singer Bobby Jones (who then hosted a local TV program), and Beavers (now the pastor of a Cartersville, Georgia church) himself. In his book, Wes Smith commented that James Brown gave one of the best performances of his career at the event." (wiki)
John R (Richbourg) Aircheck from WLAC
Another big name in Nashville was iconoclast record man Shelby Singleton. He started as a regional promo guy in Shreveport, LA for Mercury/Smash, scouring the South for sales and finding new records and labels that he would try to break nationally. After being elevated to producer, he went indie. He wasn't based in Nashville but he spent a lot of time there, starting the Plantation, SSS International , and (with Lelan Rogers -Texas cat who recorded the 13th Floor Elevators) the Silver Fox label. He hit big with novelty country hits from Ray Stevens (Ahab The Arab) and Jeannie C. Riley (Harper Valley PTA), but he had his hands in a lot of Soul records, from his labels and as a producer for Brook Benton. His final claim to fame (and reason for his inclusion in the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame) is that he bought Sun Records in 1969, and oversaw the reissues of that seminal labels' output. The vibe you get from Mr. Singleton's story is that he was all about the music (that would sell), whether it was soul, garage, rockabilly,or country.
Betty Harris-There's A Break in The Road (1969-SSS International)
Mickey Murray-Stickey Sue (SSS International)
Bettye LaVette-Do Your Duty (1970-Silver Fox Records)
Big Al Downing-Cornbread Row (1969-Silver Fox Records) (You can hear why Big Al also had a few country hits)
There were no barriers for him:
(His) roster included artists of varying styles, and it was not uncommon for Mr. Singleton to preside over sessions that featured African-American artists and white musicians.
"He brought (African-American) artists to town and put them up at his house," said Kennedy, who often engineered sessions that Mr. Singleton produced, and who also produced hundreds of records for Kennedy-owned labels. "He brought people like Clyde McPhatter, Brook Benton and Ruth Brown here, and the only hotel where they were allowed to stay was the old Eldorado, in North Nashville. So most of the time, the artists stayed with Shelby."
Shelby Singleton died in 2009 at 77, another great loss from a year that saw a lot of great folks from the music biz pass away. Another loss in 2009 was the Blues guitarist Johnny Jones. He arrived in Nashville from Chicago in the early 60's after holding down gigs with Junior Wells and Earl King. It is said that upon his return he battled Hendrix in a guitar duel at the Club Baron. Hendrix and Billy Cox played in a band called the King Casuals. Johnny Jones replaced Hendrix in the lineup when Jimi headed for New York. He played in and around Nashville for years, releasing his own music and touring with "Gatemouth" Brown and Bobby Bland. Later in his career Johnny Jones backed another Nashville R&B legend, the vocalist, Earl Gaines. Mr Gaines, sadly, also passed away in 2009. Like we've all noted it was a tough year.
Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers w/Earl Gaines-It's Love Baby (24 Hours A Day) (1955-Excello)
Johnny Jones And The King Casuals-Soul Poppin (1968-Peachtree)
The Nashville Soul Story keeps giving though, because Music City was also home to Bobby Hebb("Sunny") and southern soul master Arthur Alexander, whose tunes (Anna,You Better Move on) were covered by the Beatles and The Stones, not to mention a tune he did that Elvis had a comeback with (Burning Love).
Arthur Alexander - Burnin' Love (1972-Warner Bros.)
I really wish I had gotten to see that exhibit, but just going through the Nashville R&B scene on the internets and on record has been a real treat. It should be no surprise to me by now, but the depth of the regional soul music scenes from the 50's through the 70's continues to be a revelation.
Links/Sources
Actions Speak Louder Than Words- SSS International Comp
Johnny Jones & the king Casuals at Funky 16 Corners
CMT News re:Night Train To Nashville Exhibit
Blog with a podcast that had a Continental Showstoppers tune
Guitar News Daily Johnny Jones Obit
Rockabilly hall Of Fame:Shelby Singleton
Arthur Alexander @ Answers.com
Great Blog post on Joe Simon @ B-side
Betty Harris post at Funky 16 Corners
Locating MOG account...
Comments (28)
Even before I get lost in your post.....let me offer kudos on a job well done. This will last the rest of the night.
(little emoticon winking & another shooting it)
CodyB, would you say (I won't because I am not educated enough) that:
Disco is Lady Gaga to what Northern Soul and the Nashville scene is to what Dansc is looking for here. Something that is out there, but existing in smaller circles, and must be dug for these days.
I see a lot of this music and the years it was produced and set to wax (I feel geeky using that term) but it is not something that the general listening public heard of or much about back then.
And what the world lacked back then in getting new music out to the mass populace of America is not much different than the struggle to get quality music out today.
Granted, back then the DJ and program managers where afficianados with a finger on the pulse of what was good verses today where playlist are set nationally by market researchers trying to sell 30 second commercial spots to catagories in a book, and the "Now" generation combined with the internet moves product through so quickly that the artist who take a slower pace to create great music simply get left behind in the chaos for the race for the all mighty dollar?
And that Betty JHarris tune is a nice Funky Friday inclusion. And the Mickey Murray tune is pure James Brown.
Big Al Downing appears to have done Elvis's (Davis/Strange) A Little Less Conversation and dipped some Cornbread in it.
And that Soul Poppin is a magical tune from Johnny Jones... I have learnd me sumfin today aftah all!
Great Post and great listens
(Bows down to the king)
Thanks Ghost,DM..Other than the blatantly historical R&B here, I did lean toward the funkier numbers because of the day.
As to the analogy, hmmm...In some ways folks of today who are into music have no excuses, because everything is available..however the lowest common denominator factor that drives the Lady Gaga's to the top (and I don't necessaily hate her) is troubling. Then again if you look at the top of the charts in any era there's always some issues.
The thing that I find interesting is the number of clubs presenting live music that were present back in the day. Sure there are still a few, but not in the same numbers.
There's still plenty of great music, as we always say, but as a whole it is not the main cultural driver it once was. The major companies and the internets (as DMDM has pointed out) have splintered things into so many sub groups that only the loudest,shiniest music can get noticed by wide swaths of people.
I don't know if this answers the question or not. There's also a ton of disco records that I love..but I have to admit it was part of the end of live rhythmic music, although there does seem to be a little bit of a comeback.
One word - superb!
Hey, that's three words!
My God, Cody. Somebody should be paying you for this.
Cool. Thanks. 2 words.
I wanted to link this back to the country and soul post, but none of those songs will play for a person..
thanks again for another great post, Cody. a lot to swallow here.
Seriously, one of the most thought-out posts I've read MOG, heck, the damn internet, in a while. EXCELLENT!!!
Spectacular post!!!...this will last me a while...thanks!
MB,JV,CP..I appreciate it. It all started out so small and innocent. It was just gonna be about John R., but then..well, it got out of hand. Every place I looked there was another interesting story..It could've been longer.
I guess that lately I'm coming around to the idea that Memphis and Nashville are two of the most important cities in modern American music. The place where rural music met urban and the place where black music met white. The synthesis was going on before this, but coupled with radio and records the spread and scope were larger. There's just so much history there.
Cody, the first paragraph alone is already way more substantial than I hope to find in a post. And it just got better and better. And that is why you're incomparable as a Mogger. When I hear talk of so much history deeply rooted in geography, like this, all I can think of is that nothing's going to beat a time machine (okay, a wormhole can). Nashville + a black music scene don't normally come to mind together. Awesome, awesome post.
Hey Ms.Poe..thanks. This has all been brewing up in my head ever since my wife told me about the museum. Before we met she had made a pilgrimage to Nashville and visited the CMHOF&M. She told me how it really dug into roots the way good museums do. I was more than a little jealous.
Bonus Beat
Bettye Lavette - Loves Made A Fool Of Me (Silver Fox-69)
ah yes, the after dinner mint.
so nice
Oh, yes. You may not remember this, but that Sound Stage 7 set was among my purchases at last year's great Princeton Sell-Off. It has gotten significant play since then, you'd best believe. But I actually think that the tracks you've chosen (which unsurprisngly coincide with my favorite cuts) are among the lesser efforts here. In particular that Betty Harris track is one of Toussaint's finest moments as a producer, and that is really saying something. And Bettye LaVette..well, the only word is "phew," isn't it? Final semi-random thought (having just been listening a couple of days ago to Arthur Alexander's greatest hits): How much does Mick Jagger owe him? (One man's answer: a ton.)
True,Ivy,true. 3 Cd's might have been pushing the envelope for Sound Stage 7..Although John R's own Seventy Seven label is pure dope from what I can see.
Arthur Alexander has always been a tough one for me..it took me til this post to really get him. I'm much more of a Don Covay man myself.
That Betty Harris tune is a twisted gem of funk..all that crazy feedback, it's like some Lee Perry shite.
And yes, Bettye LaVette's voice..often in support of not so great material, is most excellent. She still sounds great too, 40 years on from these records.
Alexander is, to me, another great example of what you said about Bettye LaVette, He also seems to have been hemmed in by the loser persona thing - lighten up, man! And if there was ever a singer who shouldn't have had one of those insipid white choruses behind him....
That's the Nashville sheen rubbing off on him.
Quite a daunting selection of tunes here, cody, but some cracking stuff. When Charly put out some SSS tracks in the eighties they seemed to be pressed from poor quality versions (perhaps vinyl rather than original tapes?), and weren't always easy to enjoy due to muddy sound quality. These really show what the label could do.
By way of contrast, here is the Dynamic Ken Parker's take on "The Choking Kind", recorded at Studio One backed by the Sound Dimension and Count Ossie's Rastafarian drummers in 1971
Yes Mr.B..this one kept growing and growing on me. As Ivy mentions, the Sound Stage 7 set (which was on Charly) aren't perfect sonically and not really close to the top of the stack tune-wise either. Still fun in my estimation though and I love,love Ann Sexton. John r's 77 label records seem to groove a little more too..I didn't include Jackie Beavers in the round up either. I probably should've added him, but I'd be pushing it..I guess I already am.
Love the Ken Parker esp. the extra drums.
Mr.Beavers has some Detroit history (the original recording of, "Someday we'll be together") but he did most of his work in Nashville and still lives there I believe. I can't seem to come across a consensus on the spelling of his name.
Jakey Beavers-Hey,Girl
like the Jakey cut, been looking at johnny bristol recently he and jackey did a few singles together as Johnny and Jackey.
I did a post about johnny and jackey and the history of Someday We'll be together back aways..Definitely need to look into it more. I never found their original. Of course if you follow the link you can't hear the tunes.
Have you heard anything about the Groovesville USA book?
I believe I preordered it, but have yet to see it.
yes, i remember that post, nice seeing it again. I'd love to hear some of the Anna singles that were made before Motown began. didn't realize all these guys were in it together-Jr walker, Johnny B and Jackey Beavers from Battle Creek Mich.
Don't know anymore about the book than you do. hopefully it happens because it needs to be done
Gawsh Code, nice batch. (not worthy)
Well howdy there Mr.Mully. Thanks for moseying over.
Another major post, with great sides. Couldn't let this one slip by.
Holy cow,Spike..you made it!