King Curtis

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King Curtis (actually: Curtis Ousley * 7. February 1934 in Fort Worth , Texas; † 13 August 1971 in New York City ) was an American tenor saxophonist of the 'n' rock and roll and rhythm and blues of the 1950s and 1960s .

Member of other bands

King Curtis played from 1952 first in the bands of Lionel Hampton and Horace Silver . Apparently the first recordings come from Houston on January 10, 1952, namely the previously unreleased title Bad Luck Baby (Hummingbird Records) with singer and pianist Melvin Daniels for RPM. In April 1953, Boogie In The Moonlight / I'll Be There was again written for Melvin Daniels (RPM # 383) in Forth Worth .

new York

King Curtis - Steel Guitar Rag

Curtis moved to New York in 1956. Here he first recorded the title Gum Shoe with Sonny Thompson's band on October 11, 1956 , shortly afterwards he made his first own recording as King Curtis in December 1956 with the title Kings Rock / Dynamite At Midnight (January 1957; Apollo # 507). He was involved in the original recording of Got My Mojo Working by Ann Cole & The Suburbans on January 27, 1957 (Baton # 237), which was released in April 1957. The song only became famous in the version by Muddy Waters , who recorded the title on December 1, 1956, but took it over from Ann Cole. Then the Steel Guitar Rag (DeLuxe # 6142) was released in June 1957 with the King Curtis Orchestra .

As Curtis himself confirmed in an interview, he was discovered by talent scout Jesse Stone performing in a New York club for Atlantic Records . His first single for the subsidiary label Atco was created on February 5, 1958 with Birth Of The Blues / Just Smoochin ' (Atco # 6114). From October 1957 he was used as a replacement for the Atlantic session musicians Jesse Powell, Arnett Cobb and Al Sears as a session player with a variety of interpreters such as Chuck Willis (October 30, 1957 Betty And Dupree and three other titles, February 14, 1958 What Am I Living For , Hang Up My Rock'n Roll Shoes and 2 more tracks, six more tracks between February and April 1958), Big Joe Turner (January 22, 1958 four tracks), Ruth Brown (three tracks July 30, 1958, 28 October 1958 for Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean , 5-10-15 Hours and two more songs), LaVern Baker (September 11, 1958 I Cried A Tear and three others, December 18, 1958 for four tracks) or Clyde McPhatter , where his characteristic stuttering staccato saxophone can often be heard. He played the tenor saxophone for the first time at the Coasters recording session on March 17, 1958, where he can be heard with Yakety Yak and three other recordings. He made himself useful again on December 11, 1958 with Charlie Brown and two other titles for the Coasters.

Curtis also uses the time at Atlantic Records to team up with other session musicians on recordings. On February 5, 1958, he gathered session musicians as King Curtis Octet and recorded four tracks. On July 1, 1958, his name appears in the King Curtis Sextet on three titles, on April 24, 1959, he plays Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn .

In the meantime Curtis had his saxophone service, for example Buddy Holly on September 10, 1958 with Reminiscing (Curtis composed with Holly) and for Waylon Jennings' first single ( Jole Blon , recorded in the same session), the Shirelles with Boys or Clyde McPhatter for A Lover's Question . On September 27, 1958 (and again on October 4 and 20, 1958) he accompanied the Three Suns on their LP Swingin 'On A Star , after which Curtis also appeared on the million seller Kansas City in the version by Wilbert Harrison , who appeared in the February 1959. Shortly afterwards he accompanied the Drifters on March 6, 1959 on There Goes My Baby , in November 1959 his first own LP, Have Tenor Sax Will Blow , was released, which expresses his instrumental skills.

The 1960s

In the following years Curtis concentrated on LPs and continued to be a frequent guest in recording studios. On September 18, 1960, the small label Prestige produced the title Do You Have Soul Now? , Jeep's Blues , Soul Meeting , What Is This Thing Called Love? , Lazy Soul and All The Way , recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's recording studios (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey) with Nat Adderley (cornet), Wynton Kelly (piano), Sam Jones (bass) and Belton Evans (drums). At the session scheduled for April 25, 1961, the songs Trouble in Mind , But That's Allright , I Have To Worry and Jivin 'Time are leveled for the LP Trouble in Mind . In the session of September 19, 1961, The Hucklebuck / So Rare are created ; on January 5, 1962 Free for All , Low Down , I'll Wait For You ; on February 15, 1962 When the Saints Go Marchin 'In . For TruSound Records on 19 and 22 September 1961 title for the LP are Old Gold immortalized. The same record label terminated sessions for the LP It's Party Time on July 11, 1961 and January 5, 1962 , and on February 15, 1962, songs were recorded for the LP Doin 'The Dixie Twist .

An intense label hopping then brought King Curtis to Enjoy Records (1961-62), King Records ( King Curtis Stomp / Steel Guitar Rag ; 1962 # 5647), Capitol Records (1962-65) and finally in 1965 back to Atlantic Records, where he remains until his death. For his subsidiary label he recorded the LP Live at Small's Paradise in Harlem (Atco # 33-198), recorded live on July 22, 1966 and released in February 1967. Titles such as There Is Something On Your Mind are created together with Cornell Dupree , Jimmy Spruill and Joe Puma (guitar), Paul Griffin (piano), Charles Rainey (bass), Willie Bridges (baritone saxophone), Melvin Lastie (cornet) and Ray Lucas (drums).

King Curtis - Spanish Harlem

His commercial instrumental music brought him only modest hit parades. His single Soul Twist , released in February 1962, achieved the best placement with an R&B number 1 hit and rank 17 on the pop hit parade , the very first record by the small label Enjoy . Here he was supported by his backing band Noble Knights (later Kingpins), which consisted of Paul Griffin (piano), Ernie Hayes (organ), Al Casey or Billy Butler (guitar), Jimmy Lewis or Jerry Jermott (bass) and Ray Lucas ( Percussion). Later band members were Cornell Dupree and Hugh McCracken (guitar), Richard Tee (piano), Chuck Rainey (bass) and Pretty Purdie (drums). On January 24, 1964, Capitol produced the classics Honky Tonk and Night Train for his LP Soul Serenade . Together with his former Atlantic session colleague Al Caiola, he recorded the Guitar Boogie Shuffle that same year . Capitol is dissatisfied with the poor hit parade results, so Curtis moves to Atlantic Records after three years . Here again the LP That Lovin 'Feelin' was released by the subsidiary label Atco Records in October 1966 , and in March 1967 the LP Plays The Great Memphis Hits was released , with which he concentrated on instrumental versions of great vocal hits. From this the rhythm-intensive Jump Back was decoupled as a single. He continued the instrumental versions of great vocal hits with the LP King Size Soul in December 1967.

Together with Jerry Wexler , he began to produce recordings for other artists, later also alone. The artists he produced include Freddy King , Roberta Flack , Delaney & Bonnie , Donny Hathaway, and Sam Moore .

Between 1962 and 1971 he produced 15 Hot100 hits. He appears as a session player on almost 220 LPs. King Curtis is therefore one of the most productive session players of the fifties and early 1960s, although the producers often gave him the freedom to improvise solos. However, he made a large number of his own instrumental recordings with his tenor or alto saxophone, sometimes with guitar.

On August 13, 1971, King Curtis was stabbed to death by a drug addict outside his New York apartment. Curtis' funeral included Aretha Franklin , Jerry Wexler, Stevie Wonder , Duane Allman and Rev. Jesse Jackson . The Allman Brothers built the Soul Serenade into their You Don't Love Me as a tribute at a concert shortly after Curtis' death .

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1962 Soul serenade US103 (12 weeks)
US 		-
1967 The Great Memphis Hits US185 (12 weeks)
US 		R&B11 (11 weeks)
R&B
1968 King size soul US168 (9 weeks)
US 		R&B25 (4 weeks)
R&B
Sweet soul US198 (2 weeks)
US 		-
The Best of King Curtis US190 (4 weeks)
US 		-
1969 Instant groove US160 (3 weeks)
US 		-
1970 Get ready - R&B37 (8 weeks)
R&B
1971 Live at Fillmore West US54 (15 weeks)
US 		R&B9 (12 weeks)
R&B
1972 Everybody's talkin ' US189 (3 weeks)
US 		R&B48 (2 weeks)
R&B

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More albums

  • The Good Old Fifties (1959) on Atco
  • Have Tenor Sax, Will Blow (1959) on Atco
  • King Soul (1960) on Prestige
  • Soul Meeting (1960) on Prestige
  • Party Time (1961) on Tru
  • Old Gold (1961) on Tru
  • Doin 'the Dixie Twist (1962) on Tru
  • Country Soul (1962) on Capitol
  • Soul Twist and Other Golden Classics (1962) on Collectables
  • Plays Hits Made by Sam Cooke (1965) on Capitol
  • Live at Small's Paradise (1966) on Atco
  • That Lovin 'Feeling (1966) on Atco
  • Blues at Montreux (1971) on Collectables
  • Mr. Soul (1972) on Ember
  • Soul Time (197?) On Up Front
  • Live in New York (1985) on JSP

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US R&B R&B
1962 Soul twist
 US17 (13 weeks)
US 		R&B1 (18 weeks)
R&B
King Curtis and the Noble Knights
Beach party
 US60 (8 weeks)
US 		-
King Curtis and the Noble Knights
1963 Do the monkey
 US92 (2 weeks)
US 		-
1964 Soul serenade
 US51 (12 weeks)
US 		R&B20 (10 weeks)
R&B
1965 Spanish Harlem
 US89 (3 weeks)
US 		-
1966 Something on Your Mind
 - R&B31 (5 weeks)
R&B
1967 Jump back
 US63 (6 weeks)
US 		-
Memphis Soul Stew
 US33 (9 weeks)
US 		R&B6 (10 weeks)
R&B
King Curtis & the Kingpins
Ode to Billie Joe
 US28 (6 weeks)
US 		R&B6 (9 weeks)
R&B
The Kingpins
For what it's worth
 US87 (4 weeks)
US 		-
King Curtis & the Kingpins
I Was Made to Love Her
 US76 (6 weeks)
US 		R&B49 (2 weeks)
R&B
King Curtis & the Kingpins
1968 (Sittin 'On) The Dock of the Bay
 US84 (5 weeks)
US 		-
King Curtis & the Kingpins
Valley of the Dolls
 US83 (2 weeks)
US 		-
King Curtis & the Kingpins
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
 US83 (3 weeks)
US 		-
King Curtis & the Kingpins
Harper Valley PTA
 US93 (2 weeks)
US 		-
King Curtis & the Kingpins
1969 Instant groove
 - R&B35 (2 weeks)
R&B
King Curtis & the Kingpins
1970 Get ready
 - R&B46 (2 weeks)
R&B
King Curtis & the Kingpins
1971 Whole Lotta Love
 US64 (6 weeks)
US 		R&B43 (4 weeks)
R&B
King Curtis & the Kingpins

Important influences

Curtis himself influenced musicians like Clarence Clemons , Michael Brecker , Junior Walker , Brother Vernard Johnson and Tom Scott . Even Robbie Robertson of The Band is said to have once described as one of his major influences Curtis.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ mojo is a common blues term that describes a talisman with magical powers, often amulets or animal bones
  2. ^ Charlie Gillett, Interview with King Curtis, April 1971, reprinted in Charlie Gillett, Making Tracks: The Story of Atlantic Records , 1988, p. 51
  3. ^ John J. Goldrosen, Buddy Holly: His Life And Music , 1975, p. 251
  4. ↑ a b Chart sources: US
personal data
SURNAME King Curtis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ousley, Curtis (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American R&B tenor saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH February 7, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Fort Worth , Texas, USA
DATE OF DEATH August 13, 1971
Place of death New York City , USA