Curley Hamner

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William J. "Curley" Hamner (born March 16, 1919 in Birmingham , Alabama ; † January 1982 in New York , New York ) was an American rhythm and blues and jazz musician ( drums , also vocals ), dancer and Songwriter .

Life

Hamner performed as a dancer in his youth; from 1945 he was the drummer with Lionel Hampton , with whom he stayed until 1958. In 1947 he played under his own name for the Californian label Sunrise (among others with Earl Hines and Charles Mingus the track "No Good Woman Blues"), in the early 1950s he toured Europe with Lionel Hampton ( Hamp in Paris , 1953). Hamner was also considered a talented showman who also appeared as a dancer with the Hampton Orchestra. The Jive number “Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop ”(1946), which he wrote with Lionel Hampton, was often covered (by Wynonie Harris , Tex Beneke / Glenn Miller Orchestra and Jacques Hélian , among others ) and was later used as film music , among others. a. in City of Angels (1998). He also wrote the song "Today I Sing the Blues" with Curtis Lewis , which was recorded by Aretha Franklin , and the pop number "Gone Again", which Sil Austin covered in 1959, with Lewis / Hampton .

In 1959 Hamner toured Europe with saxophonist Eric Dixon ; As a dancer he appeared in Paris around 1960 in the show Paris mes amours by Josephine Baker . With a studio formation (including with guitarist Al Casey , also Buster Cooper (trombone), King Curtis (tenor saxophone), Joe "Earl" Knight (piano), Steve Cooper (bass)) he recorded a number of titles in 1959 in New York City like the R&B number “Air Raid” (with the B-side “Piano Tuner”, Fling Records 720), the “Tennessee Waltz” sung by Frankie Tucker (with an instrumental version on the B-side) and “Just Carry On ". The EP Twistin 'and Turnin' (Barclay) was also released in France by Barclay and in West Germany by Ariola , with titles ranging from R&B, rock'n'roll to pop and easy listening ("King & Queen"). He also worked with R&B singer Billy Hambric ("I Gotta Find That Girl") and with Milt Buckner ("Bernie's Tune"). Under his own name, he presented a single album Dance Session Number One in 1962 ; on it u. a. the dance number "Dry Marterie (With a Twist)", a cover version of the Ralph Marterie title from 1956. In the field of jazz, Tom Lord lists him in 34 recording sessions between 1946 and 1960.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ familysearch.org
  2. ↑ Curley Hamner and His Orchestra: Duke Garrette (tp), Bobby Plater (as), Morris Lane (ts), Charlie Fowlkes (bar), Bill Dougherty (from left) [possibly a pseudonym for Eddie South ], Earl Hines (p) , Billy Mackel (git), Charles Mingus (kb), Curley Hamner (dr), Wini Brown (voc). See Gene Santoro: Myself When I Am Real: The Life and Music of Charles Mingus . Oxford University Press 2000, ISBN 0-19-514711-1 .
  3. ^ Billboard September 2, 1950.
  4. ^ Dan Morgenstern : Living with Jazz: A reader edited by Sheldon Meyer , Patheon Books, 2009, also with Nick Catalano: Clifford Brown: The Life and Art of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter . Oxford University Press, 2000.
  5. ^ Billboard February 9, 1946.
  6. ^ Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
  7. ^ Jet Feb. 11, 1960.
  8. ↑ Ian Carr , Brian Priestley , Digby Fairweather (Eds.): Rough Guide Jazz. ISBN 1-85828-137-7 .
  9. ^ King Curtis, a discography . R. Simonds, 1983.
  10. ^ Pyramid Records 101
  11. ↑ Ascot UAS AM 13003 / UAS AS 16003 (stereo)
  12. ↑ Tom Lord: The Jazz Discography (online, accessed October 10, 2017)
personal data
SURNAME Hamner, Curley
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hamner, William J.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rhythm and blues and jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Birmingham, Alabama
DATE OF DEATH January 1982
Place of death New York , New York