Henry Glover

Henry Bernard Glover (born May 21, 1921 in Hot Springs , Arkansas , † April 7, 1991 in St. Albans , New York ) was an American producer, composer and arranger for a wide range of styles such as rock 'n' roll , country , Blues or rock for independent US record labels such as King Records or Roulette Records .

Life

Career

After graduating from school in 1943, the trained trumpeter and keyboardist played in black dance music bands, including the bands of Buddy Johnson (from 1944 as the first trumpeter) and Lucky Millinder (from 1945). When he was performing with the latter band in Cincinnati , he came into contact with Syd Nathan of King Records. Nathan brought him to the newly founded music label in June 1945 as a producer, arranger and A&R man. Glover later also noticed his talent as a composer. He was the first black producer on the country music scene and the second black manager at a white record company. He brought Bull Moose Jackson , Bill Doggett and Wynonie Harris from the Millinder Band to perform on King. Most hillbilly performers had to learn to deal with the fact that a black producer and arranger was now giving them musical instructions. Glover played a key role in setting up the label's own studio in Cincinnati, in particular the construction of one of the first echo chambers can be attributed to him.

The beginnings

Bull Moose Jackson - I Know Who Threw the Whiskey (In the Well)

Glover celebrated his first success as a producer with Benjamin "Bull Moose" Jackson. The first panel of the newly established subsidiary labels Queen Records was Honey Dripper / Hold Him Joe (Queen # 4100) published in August 1945, but still without chart note . But already I Know Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well , recorded on December 19, 1945 in New York, and published in February 1946 (Queen # 4116) could penetrate to # 4 on the independent Rhythm & Blues charts. With the line-up Harold "Money" Johnson (trumpet), Bernie Peacock (alto saxophone), Clarence "Bull Moose" Jackson and Sam "The Man" Taylor (tenor saxophone), Sir Charles Thompson (piano), Bernard Mackey (guitar), Beverly Peer (Bass) and Dave "Panama" Francis (drums) recorded 2 more songs in this session in New York, of which the slow blues Bull Moose Jackson Blues was paired with We Ain't Got Nothin 'But The Blues as a single and as Queen # 4102 appeared again in the same month under the band name Bull Moose Jackson And His Buffalo Bearcats without hit parade resonance. A total of 8 recordings then remained unpublished. Glover first saw sufficient hit potential in I Love You, Yes I Do / Sneaky Pete . His instinct proved him right, because the blues ballad composed by Glover reached the top position in the R&B charts and became the first R&B million seller. It was the first ever rhythm and blues song to receive a gold record .

Bull Moose Jackson - I Love You Yes I Do

In the meantime, the head of the record label Nathan had discontinued the daughter label Queen Records in August 1947 after only 75 singles and transferred its catalog to King Records , where the song was then also released in October 1947 (King # 4181). Some songs in King Records' repertoire, and Bull Moose Jackson in particular, were lyrically risky and ran the risk of not being played on the radio, such as the particularly vulgar Nosey Joe (written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller ; March 1952, King # 4524 ) or the ambiguous Big Ten Inch Record (November 1952, King # 4580) were too suggestive for an airplay . Bull Moose Jackson stayed with King Records until 1955.

Wynonie Harris began for King Records with a recording session directed by Glover in New York City on December 13, 1947, from which Rose Get Your Clothes / Wynonie's Boogie (King # 4202) (King # 4202) was selected for the January 1948 single . When Ivory Joe Hunter joined King in 1947 , Glover didn't really know how to classify him musically. The pressure to succeed was great, because Hunter had left the previous Pacific label with a number 1 hit. That didn't work with King; after all, Guess Who / Landlord Blues (King # 4306) managed number 2 R&B in October 1949 (with Owen Bradley , guitar). After a total of 25 recordings, Hunter left the label in 1949 and went to MGM Records , which in turn released the big hits.

The fifties

When Nathan founded the subsidiary label Federal in November 1950, he ordered Glover to New York City to rent an office at 154 West 54th Street for King Records and to tap the talent potential of the city.

Henry Glover was also responsible for part of the country repertoire at King Records . He produced Grandpa Jones , Cowboy Copas and Moon Mullican. For the latter, he produced and composed the classic I'll Sail My Ship Alone , which after its release in February 1950 rose to number one on the Country & Western charts. "We stood at the piano and put the remains of an unfinished composition together, which we then structured," said Glover, explaining the genesis of the later top hit.

Glover also signed Billy Ward & The Dominoes , who recorded the Chicken Blues on November 14, 1950, but under the future direction of Ralph Bass on Federal Records, and released them as Federal # 12002 in December 1950. Glover discovered the doo-wop formation Swallows in 1951 . Recorded in New York on April 6, 1951, Will You Be Mine / Dearest was created , which went straight to # 9 on the R&B charts as King # 4458 in May 1951. Beside You comes from the third session on October 10, 1951 , which Glover was only convinced of when the lead singer almost imitated the voice of Charles Brown. The idea worked, because at # 8 the record was one position higher than the only chart note so far.

On July 25, 1951, a much-covered classic was created under the direction of Glover. Tiny Bradshaw's blues band recorded Train Kept A-Rollin ' , later recalled by Johnny Burnette (October 1956), the Yardbirds (November 1965) or Aerosmith (March 1974). No notice is taken of this B-side of the knockin 'blues , however, and only his single Soft / Strange (King # 4577), recorded on October 6, 1952, achieves a good ranking again.

The "5" Royales had already had a lot of record experience with Apollo Records when they joined King Records in April 1954. However, this only succeeded through a judicial contract dispute with Apollo, which King won. The success of Glover registered with the previous label could not be repeated at King Records. Only the 13th single on King Records, Thirty Second Lover / Tears Of Joy from May 1957 and the follow-up record Think / I'd better make A Move from September 1957 each achieved # 9 R&B.

Work With Me Annie (written by Glover / Nathan) was intended for the Midnighters , but they were produced by Bass. When the rumor circulated among radio DJs that the Midnighters would release Annie Had A Baby as the next record (as a biological result of the lyrical content of the previous record Work With Me Annie , so to speak ), Glover had to rush to compose the song so that it was quickly named Federal # 12195 could be published in September 1954. The success is overwhelming, because the record developed into another million seller for the group.

The big hits

Lonnie Johnson , one of the most influential blues and jazz guitarists of his day, had already left several record labels behind when he joined King Records in December 1947. Glover produced his first single Tomorrow Night / What a Woman there , recorded on December 13, 1947 in New York. The record made it to number 1 on the R&B charts, which it held for 7 weeks, making it one of the most successful R&B recordings of 1948. Pleasing You (As Long as I Live) / Feeling so Lonesome did not fare much worse in October 1948, which became a number 2 R&B hit. Johnson then left the King Label with his band in 1950, but could no longer place any chart hits with the new label.

Wynonie Harris - Good Rockin 'Tonight

Wynonie Harris also joined the label in 1947. The cover of Roy Brown's Good Rocking Tonight was created on December 28, 1947 , which after its release in May 1948 also penetrated to # 1 R&B. Further good placements followed until the next # 1 was recorded on April 13, 1949 with All She Wants To Do Is Rock . Glover also took care of the recording of Earl Bostic , whose first record for King Records, Sleep, recorded on January 23, 1951, reached a # 6 on the R&B charts. Already the next single Flamingo (created in the first recording session on January 10, 1951) made it to number 1. Lucky Millinders Band, so far not particularly happy with King Records, was only able to do so with I'm Waiting, recorded on February 28, 1951 Just for you to land a # 2R & B. The record that Glover helped to compose stayed there for 8 weeks and became a million seller.

In June 1955 Glover brought the diminutive R&B interpreter Little Willie John to the King label. In the second recording session on March 1, 1956, after three previous good placements, Fever was one of the classics of pop and rock music and another # 1 R&B for the label. Glover struggled to produce the song with an unusual length of the recording session of 6 hours. 40 more singles followed by 1964 for King Records, 13 of which came into the R&B charts. Almost all of them were produced by Henry Glover.

His jump blues activities culminated in the Bill Doggett recording Honky Tonk , the King's most successful rock & roll record. Recorded on June 16, 1956 in New York, the instrumental title consisted of a sturdy tenor saxophone solo by Clifford Scott, underlaid with Dogget's organ and clapping of hands, and a guitar part by Billy Butler, which presents boogie counterparts. Label boss Nathan confirmed that the instrumental hit released in August 1956 (King # 4950) achieved sales of over 4 million records, making it the top-selling single on King Records. This was also thanks to the enormous crossover success , as the single was also able to occupy a # 2 in the pop hit parade. From then on, Doggett was a permanent guest on the R&B charts with his instrumental recordings produced by Glover.

Departure to Roulette Records

Joey Dee & The Starlighters - Peppermint Twist Part I

In late 1958, Glover moved to George Goldner's Roulette Records. Here, too, he took on the role of producer, responsible for Sarah Vaughan , Dinah Washington , Sonny Stitt and Ronnie Hawkins . Big sales success came with Joey Dee & the Starliters ' dance song Peppermint Twist , co-composed and produced by Glover. Ironically, on January 27, 1962, the million seller replaced The Twist as # 1 Pop in the cover version of Twist King Chubby Checker . Both songs were registered with Jay & Cee Music, owned by Glover. Glover then produced the rock band Tommy James & the Shondells from May 1966 with sustained success until 1968, which also produced a few million-sellers under his direction.

further activities

When label boss Sydney Nathan died on March 5, 1968 and his entire second management level had long since left the King Records label, Henry Glover returned to his former employer until the leaderless label was taken over by Starday Records in 1968. He then produced the Grammy Award album The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album by old star Muddy Waters (1975) or Paul Butterfield's 1976 LP Put It in Your Ear .

Glover's services to King Records were not to be underestimated. With his sometimes pioneering productions and compositions, he played a major role in the development of a comprehensive catalog, especially in the country & western area as well as jump blues bands and a high proportion of chart hits for the entire label. He was jointly responsible for the development of rhythm & blues and jump blues in the fifties. Glover was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .

Compositions

Of Glover's total of 453 compositions, most of which he had also produced with the original interpreters, we should particularly mention: Blues Stay away From Me by the Delmore Brothers advanced to the biggest country hit of the year in September 1949, I'll Sail My Ship Alone with Moon Mullican from March 1950 (covered by Jerry Lee Lewis ), I'm Waiting Just For You for Hawkshaw Hawkins in October 1951 (covered by Hank Penny, Otis Williams & Charms and Lucky Millinders Band) or Glover's most successful composition, the much-covered Drown in My Own Tears for Sonny Thompson from March 1952 (vocals Lula Reed) or Rock Love in 1954 for Lula Reed (covered by the Fontane Sisters). He co-wrote most of Bull Moose Jackson's early songs; He also has a number of other hits on his account. When Hank Ballard & The Midnighters switched from subsidiary Federal to King Records in February 1959, Glover wrote the love ballad Teardrops On Your Letter for them .

Web links

• Henry Glover in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Henry Glover at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ John Hartley Fox / Dave Alvin, King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records , 2009, p. 32.
2. ↑ Glover last sang with his former band Lucky Millinder on the song Who Said Shorty Wasn't Coming Back? (King # 4398), taken in Cincinnati on February 23, 1950. Millinder's band was only allowed to switch from Decca Records to King in April 1950 , which began with the single Roll Again / My Little Baby (King # 4379) produced by Glover
3. ^ John Hartley Fox / Dave Alvin, King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records , 2009, p. 28.
4. ^ ^{A b} Arnold Shaw, Honkers And Shouters , 1978, pp. 279f.
5. ↑ Original title: I'll Drown In My Tears ; Thompson was broke when King Records brought him into debt in October 1950. Covers exist by Ray Charles (recorded in New York on November 30, 1955), Bobby Darin (1962), Aretha Franklin (1967) or Herbie Mann (1972)
6. ↑ including the million-seller I Love You, Yes I Do , but also All My Love Belongs to You or I Can't Go On Without You
7. ↑ The most interesting thing about her, however, is her B-side The Twist , which later sparked a dance wave in which Chubby Checker's cover version participated a million times