Roy Montrell

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roy Montrell (born February 27, 1928 in New Orleans , † May 16, 1979 in Amsterdam ) was an influential American R&B guitarist. He mainly worked as a studio musician and accompanied R&B and rock 'n' roll greats on their tours.

Montrell was discharged from the army in 1951 and began playing in Roy Milton's band. He moved to New Orleans to start a family there and formed a trio with bassist Lawrence Gate and drummer Victor Leonards that was short-lived as Montrell had Lloyd Price hired him for a tour. Back in New Orleans, he mainly worked as the studio musician for the Studio Band for Specialty Records and Ace Records . In 1956 he appeared on Little Richard's recordings of Heeby-Jeebies , Can't Believe You Wanna Leave , Jenny Jenny and Good Golly, Miss Molly, among others . On weekends he performed in a band with Nat Perrilliat , Curtis Mitchell and Edward Blackwell .

Between 1960 and 1962 he was first signed to Allen Toussaint's house band at Minit Records and was then hired by Harold Battiste at AFO Records for an enormous number of recordings. In 1962 he took over the guitar from Walter "Papoose" Nelson in the live band Fats Dominos , which he also directed musically. Montrell's friend Ulrike Sprenger remembers in Domino's biography that the singer had developed a certain dependency on his band leader, who was involved in all organizational issues and who was able to obtain cash payments from his boss at will. Among other things, he financed his addiction to heroin , which was his undoing on May 16, 1979 on a tour through the Netherlands.

The accomplished guitarist, whose good timing and drive was appreciated by his fellow players, only recorded two singles under his own name. (Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone , a collaboration with John Marascalco , became an R&B standard that was covered by the Stray Cats , among others . Allmusic's Bruce Eder suspects Montrell has appeared on hundreds, if not thousands, of recordings.

Discography

  • 1956 - (Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone / Ooh Wow , Specialty 583
  • 1961 - The Montrell / Mudd , Minit 619

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e John Broven: Rhythm & Blues in New Orleans . 3. Edition. Pelican Publishing, Gretna 1995, ISBN 0-88289-433-1 , pp. 159 ff . (First edition: 1974).
  2. ^ Charles White: The Life And Times Of Little Richard. The Authorized Biography . Omnibus Press, London / New York / Paris / Sydney / Copenhagen / Berlin / Madrid / Tokyo 2003, ISBN 0-7119-9761-6 , pp. 241 f . (First edition: 1984).
  3. ↑ Rick Coleman: Blue Monday. Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll . 1st edition. Da Capo Press, Cambridge 2006, ISBN 978-0-306-81531-7 , New Orleans Ain't the Same, pp. 165 ff .
  4. ↑ Bruce Eder: Roy Montrell Biography. In: All Music Guide. Retrieved December 9, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Montrell, Roy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rhythm and blues guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH February 27, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH New Orleans
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 1979
Place of death Amsterdam