Bobby Brown (musician)

Bobby Brown (* 1938 in Olyphant , Arkansas ) is an American rockabilly and rock 'n' roll musician.

Life

Childhood and youth

Brown grew up in a musical family. His father played the guitar and his mother made music on the washboard. Brown sang old folk and gospel songs with his two sisters and four brothers. Country music was primarily heard on the radio . When the young Elvis Presley experienced his rise in 1955, Brown was hit by the "rockabilly fever":

“Then from a Memphis radio station, we heard something different. It wasn't blues like the black people sang, nor was it hillbilly, we knew all those songs and sang every word. They said it was Elvis Presley and he was singing something called Rock and Roll. We had heard Bill Monroe sing " Blue Moon of Kentucky " and we knew every word. Now this guy Elvis was singing that same song differently, fast with a rhythm beat. I knew right then that I loved rock and roll and just had to sing and play it. ”

Brown learned on the guitar to play his older brother and was with a friend on a show KNBY.

Career

Brown quickly built a fan base in his hometown, and after graduating from high school in 1956, he moved to St. Louis , Missouri , where he toured the city's clubs with a band. With his own band The Curios , consisting of Brown (vocals / guitar), Shorty Stewart (lead guitar), Tommy Jones (bass) and Johnny Welker (drums), he then moved to Jonesboro , Arkansas, where he continued in bars and clubs Clubs performed. Brown and his band tried to get a recording deal with Sun Records in Memphis , Tennessee , and also played Scotty Moore of Fernwood Records . Two tapes were recorded for Fernwood, but they were not released.

In a club, Brown and his band were discovered and signed by Arlen Vaden, owner of the Vaden Records label . He took the musicians to Cincinnati , Ohio , where they recorded at WCKY's studio Down at Big Mary's House and I Get the Blues , which were released on record in 1958.

Vaden then brought Brown in for another session. It was a "super session" of various rockabilly and rock'n'roll artists, on which Joyce Green , Larry Donn and Teddy Redell, among others, recorded titles. Donn (bass) and Redell (piano) also played on Brown's second single, Please, Please Baby / Bobby's Blues , which was released in 1959. As popular as Brown was, a hit didn't want to come and then the band broke up. With drummer Johnny Welker, Brown joined Sonny Burgess , whose band had also broken up. Together they went on tour with Johnny Cash ; Brown remembers often writing songs with Cash after the shows.

In the early 1960s, Brown formed a new band that consisted of Johnny Adams (bass), Raymond Thompson (drums / harmonica), Tommy Holder (guitar) and Brown himself (vocals / guitar). With this band he played for years on the east coast and also in Canada. In his career he had the opportunity to play with stars like Narvel Felts , Bo Diddley , Ronnie Hawkins , Conway Twitty , Duane Eddy , Del Shannon , Wanda Jackson , Chubby Checker , Big Al Downing and many more. During this time, records were repeatedly made by small labels, but none of them brought the desired success.

Brown is still a musician these days and often gives concerts with Larry Donn. In 2006 he played at the Hemsby Rock'n'Roll Weekend.

Discography

year	title	Label #
1958	Down at Big Mary's House / I Get the Blues (At Midnight)	Vaden 45-100
	EP Down at Big Mary's I get the blues Banjo & Fiddle Instrumentals (from the Jamboree Gang)	Vaden EP-107
1959	Bobby's Blues / Please, Please Baby	Vaden 45-109
1960	Dream Date / Everybody Has a Dream	XYZ 610
1962	Raunchy Twist / Highland Fling	Fargo LF 1021
1962	Dreamer / Falling from Paradise	Pak 1313
1962/63	Falling from Paradise / Dreamer	Curio Q100 / 1
1963	Lawdy, Miss Clawdy / 3000 Miles	Arc 1025
1963	Chicken Back, Part I / Chicken Back, Part II	Curio Q102 / 3
1964	Ride the Love Train / Coast to San Francisco	Allied AR 6356

Web links

• Entry into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
• Discography with audio samples

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Article in the RHoF