Thomas Bowles

This article deals with the saxophonist, for the physicist see Thomas J. Bowles

Thomas Harold "Beans" Bowles (* 7. May 1926 in South Bend (Indiana) ; † 29. January 2000 in Detroit ) was an American baritone sax player in the session band the Funk Brothers of independent labels Motown Records starred .

Career

The tall (1.88 meters) Bowles started playing the clarinet in 1935 and was a professional saxophone player at the age of 16. He studied from 1944 at Wayne State University in Detroit, but dropped out of pharmacy studies in favor of a stay with the US Navy , where he played in a US Navy band. The jazz-oriented Bowles preferred to play flute and baritone saxophone and has since been considered the first flutist in rhythm & blues . Then he worked from 1949 in the house band of the Detroit Flame Show Bar under the direction of Maurice King. Billie Holiday appeared here from July 8, 1949 on and was one of the stars he was allowed to accompany. The bar's cigarette license belonged to Gwen Gordy, sister of Berry Gordy Jr. Through this connection Bowles met Berry Gordy Jr. in 1958. know. Bowles put together the local jazz band The Swinging Dashikis at that time .

Marv Johnson - Once Upon a Time

Bowles' first recordings were Bill Doggett's Soft and Shindig (baritone wax solo), made on July 17, 1957 in Chicago (line-up: Doggett / organ, Clifford Scott / tenor saxophone + flute, Bowles / baritone, Billy Butler / guitar, Johnny Pate / Bass guitar and Shep Shepard / drums). Bowles and his band had accompanied Marv Johnson on Once Upon a Time in January 1958 for the small Kudo label (# 663; "with the Band of Harold" Beans "Bowles"). Then Berry Gordy was able to win the rhythm and blues singer Marv Johnson as the first artist on his record label Tamla Records . Its first single there was the Sonny Woods-produced Come to Me (Tamla # 101), which was created in December 1958 and was released on January 21, 1959. The core line-up of the Funk Brothers already played here, with Eddie Willis / Joe Messina (guitar), Bowles (saxophone / flute), James Jamerson (bass), Joe Hunter (piano) and Benny Benjamin (drums). Bowles intoned a lively flute solo that gave the song an unusual sound.

The small and fluctuating salary as a freelance musician forced Bowles to be employed by Tamla Motown; he followed the recommendation of Gordy's sister Esther Edwards. He was initially a member of the Swinging Tigers ( Snake Walk Pt I / II , Tamla # 54024; June 1959), the first instrumental recording for Motown and at the same time the first composition for Smokey Robinson (accompaniment: Jamerson, Benjamin, Bowles). He then accompanied the Miracles on The Feeling is so Fine / Bad Girl (saxophone; September 1959). Bowles' own band Swinging Dashikis was used from 1960 onwards with the Motown artists on tours and was not intended as a studio band. In 1960, Bowles acted as a producer for Motown's then most valuable artist Marv Johnson, for whom he was also available as a road manager, driver and companion. Together with saxophonist Ron Wakefield, Bowles was finally a member of the Twistin 'Kings , who opened up the twist wave for the young Motown group ( White House Twist / Christmas Twist , November 27, 1961; Congo Twist Parts 1 & 2 , December 18 1961). Outside Motown, Bowles appeared in the baritone saxophone solo in the instrumental section of the chiffon hit One Fine Day in May 1963 .

Participation in Motown hits

At that time he was already an integral part of the Motown session band Funk Brothers , since 1960 he was part of their line-up. He can be heard in particular on the hits I Want A Guy ( Supremes ; flute; recorded December 1960), Do You Love me ( The Contours ; tenor saxophone; June 29, 1962), Stubborn Kind of Fellow ( Marvin Gaye ; piccolo ; 23 July 1962), You Really Got a Hold on Me (Miracles; November 9, 1962), Heat Wave (Vandellas; June 1963), One More Heartache (Marvin Gaye; January 1966) or What's Going On (Marvin Gaye; February 1971 ). He composed Stevie Wonder's Fingertips Part I (May 21, 1963), but never received royalties for his musical contribution to the song . In his book, written by son Dennis Bowles, Bowles describes himself as the main composer of the song, particularly because of the harmonica solo he practiced with Stevie Wonder. The album version presents a pure Bowles flute instrumentation, Wonder only plays bongos. On October 3, 1966, Bowles accompanied the Temptations , of which he was temporarily manager from 1963, on their first live album Temptations Live! .

More functions

In addition to his work as a session musician, Bowles organized the “Motortown Special” (renamed “Motortown Revue” in April 1963) as a road manager from January 1961, a tour of the Motown artists with buses across the United States. He supervised the appointments, arranged for hotel stays and gave musical advice to the young artists. He also arranged courses in which the artists were taught the correct behavior in public.

Bowles was with Motown from the start, making him one of the record label's longest remaining instrumentalists. Besides Benny Benjamin, he was the oldest member of the Funk Brothers. When Motown moved from Detroit to Los Angeles in June 1972 , the Funk Brothers broke up. In 1990 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, of which he died in 2000.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Peter Benjaminson, The Story of Motown , 1979, p. 13
2. ^ Bill Dahl, Motown: The Golden Years , 2001, p. 265
3. ^ Mary Wilson, Dreamgirl - My Life as a Supreme , 1986, p. 108
4. ↑ it is disputed whether Andrew "Mike" Terry played the saxophone after all
5. ↑ Clarence Paul / Henry Cosby are registered as composers with the BMI : BMI entry for fingertips  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ^ Dennis Bowles, Fingertips - The Untold Story , 2003, p. XI
7. ↑ Nick Talevski, Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries , 2006, p. 48