Billy Gayles
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Billy Gayles
Billy Gayles (October 19, 1931 – April 8, 1993) was an American rhythm & blues drummer and vocalist. Gayles was a member of Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in the 1950s with whom he recorded for Flair Records and Federal Records as the lead vocalist. Gayles also backed various musicians, including Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Otis Rush, Albert King, and Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes. Life and career Willie James Gayles was born in Sikeston, Missouri on October 19, 1931. He became interested in blues and jazz music after he moved to Cairo, Illinois as a teenager. Gayles learned to play the drums and toured with blues musicians Earl Hooker and Robert Nighthawk. In the early 1950s, he relocated to Clarksdale, Mississippi. In March 1954, Gayles recorded with Ike Turner's King's of Rhythm, resulting in the release of the Turner-penned single "Night Howler" / "My Heart In Your Hands" on Flair Records. By 1956, Gayles had joined the band now based in East St. Louis, mainly ...
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Ike Turner
Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his then-wife Tina Turner as the leader of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. A native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, Turner began playing piano and guitar as a child and then formed the Kings of Rhythm as a teenager. His first recording, " Rocket 88" (credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats), is considered a contender for the distinction of first rock and roll song. During the 1950s, Turner also worked as a talent scout and producer for Sun Records and Modern Records. He was instrumental in the early careers of various blues musicians such as B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and Bobby "Blue" Bland. In 1954, Turner relocated to East St. Louis where his Kings of Rhythm became one of the most renowned acts in Greater St. Louis. He l ...
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East St
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that east is the direction where the Sun rises: ''east'' comes from Middle English ''est'', from Old English ''ēast'', which itself comes from the Proto-Germanic *''aus-to-'' or *''austra-'' "east, toward the sunrise", from Proto-Indo-European *aus- "to shine," or "dawn", cognate with Old High German ''*ōstar'' "to the east", Latin ''aurora'' 'dawn', and Greek ''ēōs'' 'dawn, east'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin oriens 'east, sunrise' from orior 'to rise, to originate', Greek ανατολή anatolé 'east' from ἀνατέλλω 'to rise' and Hebrew מִזְרָח mizraḥ 'east' from זָרַח zaraḥ 'to rise, to shine'. '' Ēostre'', a Germanic goddess of dawn, might have been a personifica ...
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The Ikettes
The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had hits such as "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" and "Peaches 'N' Cream." In 2017, ''Billboard'' ranked "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" No. 63 on its list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. The group started as “The Artettes”, the backing group of Art Lassiter. The first official incarnation of The Ikettes was composed of Delores Johnson, Eloise Hester and Josie Jo Armstead. The most popular line-up consisted of Robbie Montgomery, Venetta Fields, and Jessie Smith. It was this trio that later morphed into The Mirettes. As the 1960s progressed, the Ikettes became known for their sexy onstage appearance; minidresses, long hair and high-energy dance routines that mirrored their mentor Tina Turner. "They represent me, and in my act they gott ...
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Oliver Sain
Oliver Sain Jr. (March 1, 1932 – October 28, 2003) was an American saxophonist, songwriter, bandleader, drummer and record producer, who was an important figure in the development of rhythm and blues music, notably in St Louis, Missouri. Biography He was born in Dundee, Mississippi, United States, and was the grandson of Dan Sane, the guitarist in Frank Stokes' Memphis blues act the Beale Street Sheiks. (The spelling discrepancy was the result of a birth certificate error). He played trumpet and drums as a child. In 1949, he moved to Greenville, Mississippi to join his stepfather, pianist Willie Love, as a drummer in a band fronted by Sonny Boy Williamson, soon leaving to join Howlin’ Wolf where he acted as a drummer intermittently for the following decade. After returning from the United States Army draft, serving in the Korean War, he returned to Greenville, and took up the saxophone to rejoin Love in Little Milton's backing band. Sain moved to Chicago in 195 ...
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Stacy Johnson (singer)
Stacy Johnson (April 13, 1945 – May 11, 2017) was an American R&B singer and songwriter best known as a vocalist in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Johnson also released solo records and sang in the St. Louis based group the Sharpees led by Benny Sharp. Life and career Johnson was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 13, 1945. Johnson, the oldest of six, began singing in locals groups around Soldan High School. Johnson admired Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the Spaniels, and Little Anthony and the Imperials. In 1958, he joined the doo-wop group the Superiors. They began appearing in local talent shows. The Superiors competed against other groups with Oliver Sain's band backing them. Dave Dixon, a popular disc jockey at KATZ, hosted "Shower of Stars," a competition for aspiring singers and musicians. At one of those shows, Johnson befriended another singer named Vernon Guy from The Cool Sounds. Although underage, the group was permitted to perform at clubs like the Whirlawa ...
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Erskine Oglesby
Erskine Oglesby (January 20, 1937 – March 7, 2004) was an American tenor saxophonist and blues singer. He was a native of St. Louis and as a teenager he played in a local band with Chuck Berry. He later played with Little Milton, Albert King, and Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm. Oglesby also recorded as a solo artist and released a few albums on Black & Tan Records. Biography Oglesby was born in the St. Louis neighborhood of Mill Creek Valley on January 20, 1937. By the age of 14, he was playing in a local band with guitarist Chuck Berry. Oglesby attended Vashon High School in St. Louis. As a teenager, Oglesby joined the Air Force near the end of the Korean War. After his service, he joined Billy Gayles' band in 1958. Through Gayles, he met bandleader Ike Turner and joined his Kings of Rhythm as a baritone player and vocalist. Oglesby left the band because he did not wish to tour. Through the years, Oglesby played saxophone on records by various R&B and blues artists such Ik ...
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Clayton Love
Clayton D. Love Jr. (November 16, 1927 – February 28, 2010) was an American blues pianist, who led his own band, the Shufflers, in the early 1950s. He was later a vocalist in Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm. Biography Love was born in Mattson, Mississippi, and grew up in Clarksdale. While in high school, he studied trombone under Consuella Carter. He was also taught band theory and techniques by Dr. E. G. Mason. At the age of sixteen, he lied about his age to enlist in the US Navy during World War II in 1944. He was sent to Camp Shoemaker in Dublin, California, the Philippines, and Guam where he developed his piano skills. After his discharge he studied as a pre-med at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College near Vicksburg. He began performing in Vicksburg clubs with his band, the Shufflers, before graduating in 1949. His cousin, bandleader Earl Reed, recommended him to the owner of Trumpet Records, Lillian McMurry, and he first recorded for the label in 195 ...
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Larry Davis (blues Musician)
Larry Davis (December 4, 1936 – April 19, 1994) was an American electric Texas blues and soul blues musician. He is best known for co-writing the song " Texas Flood", later recorded to greater commercial success by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Biography Davis was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and was raised in England, Arkansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas. He swapped playing the drums to learn to play the bass guitar. In the mid-1950s, he had a working partnership with Fenton Robinson, and following the recommendation of Bobby Bland was given a recording contract by Duke Records. Davis had three singles released, which included " Texas Flood" and "Angels in Houston". Thereafter, he had limited opportunity in the recording studio. He resided in St. Louis, Missouri, for a while, and played bass in Albert King's group. He also learned to play the guitar at this time; the guitar on Davis's recording of "Texas Flood" was by played by Robinson. Several single releases on the Virgo and ...
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All Your Love (I Miss Loving)
"All Your Love (I Miss Loving)" or "All Your Love" is a blues standard written and recorded by Chicago blues guitarist Otis Rush in 1958. Of all of his compositions, it is the best-known with versions by several blues and other artists. "All Your Love" was inspired by an earlier blues song and later influenced other popular songs. Composition and recording "All Your Love" is a moderate-tempo minor-key twelve-bar blues with Afro-Cuban rhythmic influences. An impromptu song "apparently dashed off ... in the car en route to Cobra's West Roosevelt Road studios", it borrows guitar lines and the arrangement from "Lucky Lou", a 1957 instrumental single by blues guitarist Jody Williams. The song alternates between guitar and vocal sections, with an instrumental bridge performed as a faster-tempo twelve-bar shuffle featuring Rush's guitar solo. The song was produced by Willie Dixon and features Rush on guitar and vocal, Dixon on bass, Ike Turner on second guitar, Little Brothe ...
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Double Trouble (Otis Rush Song)
"Double Trouble" is a blues song written and recorded by Chicago blues guitarist Otis Rush in 1958. Since its release as a single in 1959, the song has been recorded by several blues and other artists, including several versions by Eric Clapton. Stevie Ray Vaughan named his band " Double Trouble" after Rush's song. In 2008, Rush's original version was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, who called it a "minor-key masterpiece". Original song "Double Trouble" is a slow tempo twelve-bar blues notated in 4/4 time in the key of D minor. According to biographer Don Snowden, "The song's underlying air of quiet desperation stretched to the breaking point is enhanced by brilliant use of dynamics and some truly mind-boggling, strangled guitar fills near the end." According to Otis Rush, the song's title was inspired by a comment by a woman upon viewing her hand during a card game "trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble, double troubles". The song was produced by Willie ...
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Boxtop (song)
"Boxtop" (also known as "Box Top") is a song written and produced by musician Ike Turner. It was originally released as a single in 1958 on Tune Town Records. "Boxtop" is noted for being Tina Turner's first appearance on a record under the name "Little Ann," two years before her debut as Tina Turner on "A Fool In Love" in 1960. Background and recording Clarksdale native Ike Turner moved his band the Kings of Rhythm to East St. Louis in 1954. Soon they earned a reputation as one of the liveliest bands in the St. Louis and East St. Louis club scenes. Ann Bullock from Brownsville caught the band's act with her sister Alline Bullock at the Manhattan Club in East St. Louis. In awe of Turner and his band, she tried several times to get his attention to perform with them. In 1957, 17-year-old Bullock finally got her chance when the band's drummer, boyfriend of her sister, Eugene Washington, gave her the microphone during an intermission. She sang the B.B. King ballad, " You Know I ...
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A-side And B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to be the initial focus of promotional efforts and radio airplay and hopefully become a hit record. The B-side (or "flip-side") is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been as successful as, or more so than, their A-sides. Use of this language has largely declined in the 21st century as the music industry has transitioned away from analog recordings towards digital formats without physical sides, such as CDs, downloads and streaming. Nevertheless, some artists and labels continue to employ the terms ''A-side'' and ''B-side'' metaphorically to describe the type of content a particular release features, with ''B-side'' sometimes representing a "bonus" track or other material. ...
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