Walter Brown (singer)

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Walter Brown (born August 17, 1917 in Dallas ; † June 1956 in Lawton , Oklahoma ) was an American blues and jazz singer and songwriter whose hallmark was nasal singing in the tradition of Big Joe Turner , but without his strong emphasis on blues Shoutings .

Live and act

Brown initially performed in cafes in Kansas City . From 1941 to 1945 he worked as a band singer with the orchestra of Jay McShann (in which the young Charlie Parker also played in 1941 ). On April 30, 1941, Brown and McShann recorded in Dallas for Decca Records a . a. the vowel numbers "Hootie Blues" and "Confessin 'the Blues" emerged; the latter song, written by Brown and McShann, became a hit with Brown / McShann and established the band leader nationwide. In later years the song was also covered by Wynonie Harris , BB King , Little Walter , Chuck Berry , Joe Williams , Esther Phillips and The Rolling Stones ( 12 × 5 , 1964). Brown made further recordings with the McShann Orchestra from 1941 to 1943 in Chicago and New York ("Lonely Boy Blues") as well as radio recordings from the Plantation Club in Los Angeles in March 1944.

Brown abruptly left the McShann band in 1944, where he was replaced by Jimmy Witherspoon . Back in Kansas City, he appeared as the main attraction in a revue at Chez Paree and aimed for a solo career, but without much success. In 1945 he made recordings with the Skip Hall Orchestra ("Susie May" and "(I Love My Baby) I'm A Liar If I Say I Don't", Queen # 4108); In 1947 he recorded in New York City with Tiny Grimes for Signature Records ("Open the Door, Richard") and in Houston with McShann in a smaller cast for Mercury Records ("WB Blues" / "Sloppy Drunk"). Brown's last recordings with McShann's band (including Harold Ashby and Ben Webster ) were made in Kansas City for Capitol Records in April and October 1949.

Discographic notes

  • Walter Brown with the Jay McShann Band: Confessin 'the Blues (Affinity Records, ed. 1981)
  • Jay McShann Orchestra Featuring Charlie Parker & Walter Brown: Blues from Kansas City ( GRP Records , ed. 1992)
  • The Chronological Walter Brown 1945-1947 ( Classics )
  • The Chronological Walter Brown 1947-1951 (Classics)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Edward Komara, Peter Lee: Blues Encyclopedia . 2004, p. 162
  2. ↑ http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1950.html
  3. ^ Nathan W. Pearson Goin 'to Kansas City , 1994, p. 176
  4. ^ Peter J. Silvester: The Story of Boogie-Woogie: A Left Hand Like God . 2009, page 119
  5. ^ Bob L. Eagle, Eric S. LeBlanc: Blues: A Regional Experience . 2013, p. 371
  6. ↑ Parker's twelve-bar alto saxophone solo between the orchestra chorus and the vocal part of Brown was, in the opinion of Parker biographer Ross Russell, "a shock for the jazz world of that time". Quoted from Peter Niklas Wilson & Ulfert Goeman Charlie Parker - His life, his music, his records. Oreos Verlag, Waakirchen 1988
  7. ^ Scott Knowles DeVeaux The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History . 1999, p. 192; Frank Driggs , Chuck Haddix: Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop - A History . Oxford 2005; ISBN 0-19-530712-7 , p. 207
  8. ↑ a b Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed November 29, 2014)
  9. ^ Chip Deffaa: Blue Rhythms: Six Lives in Rhythm and Blues . 1996, p. 222
  10. ^ Driggs / Haddix, Kansas City Jazz , p. 220
personal data
SURNAME Brown, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz and blues singer
DATE OF BIRTH 17th August 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Dallas
DATE OF DEATH June 1956
Place of death Lawton , Oklahoma