Willie Egan

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Willie Lee Egan (born October 1, 1933 in Minden , Louisiana, † August 5, 2004 in Los Angeles ), often incorrectly referred to as Willie Egans or Willie Eggins , was an American R&B singer and pianist. Already active in Los Angeles in the 1950s, he disappeared from the public at the beginning of the 1960s and only had a highly regarded comeback as a blues interpreter in the 1980s .

Career

Willie Egan was born in an impassable swampy area near Minden, Louisiana. When he was nine years old, he moved with his grandmother to Los Angeles, where he learned to play the boogie-woogie piano on his uncle's piano. Willie named Amos Milburn , Hadda Brooks , Camille Howard and Nellie Lutcher as his main influences, and his singing is also considered to be very similar to Little Willie Littlefield . On his first single for the Elko Records label in 1949, he anticipated the rock 'n' roll piano Jerry Lee Lewis ' with his pounding right hand .

It wasn't until six years later that A&R manager Mike Gradny hired him for the Vita / Mambo label. He recorded Don't Know Where She Went with guitarist Lloyd Rowe . Soon after, his most successful record of the time, Wow Wow , came out. The next single Sometimes I Wonder carried the wrong artist name Willie Egans like the successor. Willie also played as a session musician on recordings of the Squires , Colts and Chavelles on their Vita recordings.

After Vita Records left the R&B business, another single came out in 1957 on Gradnys Spry Records and in 1958 on Vita boss Larry Mead's own Rays Records : Baby, Baby, Baby was a collaboration with Marvin Phillips , who had been there since 1954 had formed the doo-wop duo Marvin & Johnny with different partners . In the same year, accompanied by the Johnny Otis band with Rock and Roll Fever on Dash Records, Egan's second biggest success came about.

For 1962/63 Willie Egan is again named as "Johnny" by Marvin & Johnny, while others name discographies for recordings on the Swingin 'Records label Emory Perry as a partner of Marvin Phillips. During this time Willie also tried to restart his solo career, but lost all of his musical equipment in a club fire. He then retired from show business and became a nurse in a clinic in Los Angeles.

In 1983, a compilation of Willie Egan's hits was released in Europe under the title Rock and Roll Fever . The English bootleg label Krazy Kat Records believed Egan had already passed away. Promoter Steve Brigati visited Egan in Los Angeles and offered him a concert with Chuck Higgins and Big Jay McNeely at the Electric Ballroom in London . Then Egan recorded his only studio album, Going back to Louisiana, for Ace Records .

Willie Egan died on August 5, 2004 in Los Angeles of longstanding cancer.

Discography

Singles

  • 1949 - It's a Shame / Willie's Boogie , Elko (as Little Willie Egan)
  • 1955 Don't Know Where She Went / Potato Stomp , Mambo 101 (as Lloyd and Willie)
  • 1955 - Wow Wow / What a Shame , Mambo 102 (as Willie Eggins and Orchestra)
  • 1955 - Sometimes I Wonder / Sad Sad Feeling , Mambo 106 (as Willie Egans)
  • 1956 Come On / Oh Baby , Mambo 111 (as Willie Egans)
  • 1956 - She's Gone away, But / Willie's Blues , Vita 119 (as Willie Egans)
  • 1956 - Wear Your Black Dress / I Can't Understand It , Vita 125 (as Willie Egans)
  • 1957 Treat Me Right / You Must Be Foolin ' , Spry 107 (as Willie Egans)
  • 1958 Baby, Baby, Baby / Bye Bye Baby , Rays 34 (as Marvin & Johnny )
  • 1958 - Rock and Roll Fever / Chittlins , Dash 55001 (with the Johnny Otis Band )
  • 1962 - I'm Tired of Being Alone / Baby Don't You Know (as Marvin & Johnny, Egan's involvement disputed)
  • 1963 - Second Helping of Cherry Pie / Pretty One (as Marvin & Johnny, Egan's involvement disputed)

Albums

  • 1983 - Rock and Roll Fever , Krazy Kat 7407 (Bootleg)
  • 1984 - Going Back to Louisiana , ACE 95
  • 1985 - Willie Egan & His Friends , Relic 8002

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Roger Kash: Willie Egan - Wow Wow Rockin 'The Blues. The Complete Vita / Mambo Sessions. Empire Music Group Inc. 2005.
  2. ^ A b Jason Ankeny: Willie Egan Biography. In: All Music Guide. Retrieved November 10, 2008 .
  3. ^ Bosko Asanovic: Marvin & Johnny. In: Soulful Kinda Music. Retrieved November 2, 2008 .
  4. ↑ Pete Hoppula: Marvin & Johnny. In: Wang Dang Dula! Retrieved November 2, 2008 .
personal data
SURNAME Egan, Willie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Egan, Willie Lee; Egans, Willie; Eggins, Willie (popular misspellings)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rhythm and blues musician
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Minden , Louisiana
DATE OF DEATH August 5, 2004
Place of death Los Angeles , California