Chuck Higgins

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Charles William Higgins under the acronym Chuck Higgins (* 17th April 1924 in Gary , Indiana ; † 14. September 1999 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American jazz -, R & B - and rock - sax player . He was best known for his Pachuco Hop , a rhythm and blues piece from 1952.

Higgins had already mastered the trumpet when he moved to Los Angeles from his hometown of Gary in 1940 as a teenager . After visiting the Los Angeles Conservatory , where he also learned the trombone and saxophone, he formed a band with, among others, the pianist Frank Dunn and the saxophonist Johnny Parker. Their debut single Pachuko Hop on Combo Records was to become Higgins' best-known number, whose fast drive and roaring saxophone in combination with the vowel interludes "Pachuko" particularly liked the Mexican-born residents of the Californian metropolis and thus became one of the first classics of Chicano rock . The young Johnny Guitar Watson also played in his band .

Higgins also became a sought-after accompanist, playing with Charlie Parker and the Orioles , among others . Higgins was also very productive on his own , releasing a variety of singles on major California independent labels of the 1950s, including Aladdin Records , Specialty Records, and Dootone Records .

In the early 1960s he became a music teacher at various local schools. A comeback attempt in Discosound failed the mid-1970s, then Higgins that the R & B rückbesann and limited place on plate publications in live performances. He died of lung cancer on September 14, 1999 .

On the cover of the debut album Freak Out! count the Mothers of Invention Higgins to their influences by him under the heading These People Have Contributed materially in Many Ways to Make Our Music What It Is. Please Do Not Hold It Against Them (dt. "These musicians have in many ways with their material contributed to making our music what it is. Please don't blame them for that ”).

Web links

Individual references, footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Charles Higgins. rockabilly.nl, accessed on July 6, 2011 .
  2. ↑ David Reyes, Tom Waldman: Land of a Thousand Dances. Chicano Rock 'n' Roll from Southern California . 1st edition. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque 1998, ISBN 0-8263-1883-5 , R&B Comes to the Barrio, pp. 12-14 (American English).
  3. ↑ www.killuglyradio.com , as of 07/2011
personal data
SURNAME Higgins, Chuck
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Higgins, Charles William (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH April 17, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Gary (Indiana)
DATE OF DEATH September 14, 1999
Place of death Los Angeles , California