Al Downing (January 9, 1940
– July 4, 2005), later known as Big Al Downing, was an American musician, and entertainer. He received the Billboard's New Artist of the Year and the Single of the Year Award in 1979. He was inducted into the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...
and was a frequent performer at the
Grand Ole Opry. Downing was nominated as Best New Artist by the
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...
and appeared on ''
Hee Haw
''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...
'', ''
Nashville Now
''Nashville Now'' was an American talk show that focused on country music performers in the style of ''The Tonight Show''. The show aired live on weeknights on TNN from 1983–1993. The host was Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph Emery. The sho ...
'', and
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...
's ''
American Bandstand'' television programs.
Biography
Early career
He was born in
Lenapah, Oklahoma
Lenapah is a town in north central Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States, eleven miles north of Nowata and sixty two miles northeast of Tulsa. Its name is an adaptation of Lenape, the name of a Delaware Tribe of Indians.Cheatham, Gary. Encycloped ...
, United States.
Downing began his career doing piano and vocals in
Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats,
who were an early backing band for country entertainer
Wanda Jackson
Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...
. His piano contributed to the single "Let's Have A Party", which was released in 1960. The song reached No. 32 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and made the Top 40 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...
.
Downing reached the U.S. Hot 100 with "You’ll Never Miss the Water (Till the Well Runs Dry)", a duet with
Little Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...
. After the release of this single, he was signed by
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
. In 1974, Downing recorded the single, "
I'll Be Holding On
"I'll Be Holding On" is a 1974 song by Al Downing. "I'll Be Holding On" was written by Downing, Lance Quinn, and Andrew Smith and produced by Tony Bongiovi, Meco Monardo, and Jay Ellis.
"I'll Be Holding On", went to number one for three weeks on ...
", which went to number one on the U.S.
Disco chart for three weeks. In addition, "I'll Be Holding On" was a hit in Europe. On the other US charts, the single went to No. 31 on the soul chart and No. 85 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Country music with Warner Brothers
Al Downing's popularity continued to grow, and he had several hits on the country charts between 1978 and 1989. He compiled a list of his own songs, which he presented to his producer at Warner Brothers. In 1978, "Mr. Jones" reached the Top 20, followed by "Touch Me (I'll Be Your Fool Once More)" in 1979. That same year, Downing produced "Midnight Lace," which reached the 50s on the charts, and "I Ain't No Fool," which peaked at the upper 70s. In 1980, the "Story Behind The Story" reached the Top 40 and "Bring It On Home" reached the Top 20.
Two years passed before Downing created another hit, this time with the Team label. In 1982, "I'll Be Loving You" reached the Top 50, followed by "Darlene," which reached the lower 60s. The next year, "It Takes Love" reached the Top 40, followed by "Let's Sing About Love," which peaked in the mid-60s. In 1984, "The Best Of Families" became a Top 50 hit; That same year, Downing released his final hit with the Team label, "There’ll Never Be A Better Night For Being Wrong".
Vine Street years
In 1987, Downing was signed by the
Vine Street
Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue and Melrose Avenue. The intersection with Hollywood Boulevard was once a symbol of Hollywood itself. The famed intersection fell into d ...
label, which released the "Oh How Beautiful You Are" (To Me) and "Just One Night Won't Do," both of which hit the Top 70. Two years later, he was signed by Door Knob Records, with whom he produced the 1989 Top 100 hit, "I Guess By Now."
The popular entertainer
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
recorded two songs written by Downing: "Mary, Oh Mary" and "Heartbreak Hill".
Bobby "Blue" Bland
Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer.
Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...
and
Tom Jones have also recorded Downing's songs.
Later career
Downing built a five-decade career around his powerful singing voice and his hard-driving rockabilly-style piano. Downing's compilations of earlier work have been released throughout the world. In Europe, Crazy Music obtained exclusive rights for the original Team label recordings and released these in the form of a 2-CD compilation, ''Classic Collection''. This also contained some of Downing's earlier hits, including "Mr. Jones."
In July 2002, he played the Oneida Casino's Rock'n'Roll Festival in
Green Bay, Wisconsin with dozens of other rockabilly musicians.
In 2003, Downing released his first new album in more than a decade, ''One of A Kind''. The album received favourable radio and print reviews. It ranked third on ''American Roots Country'' and was commended for featuring 14 memorable tracks. He continued to give regular performances at the Grand Ole Opry. In 2000, he was nominated as a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
Downing continued to perform on more than 75 occasions per year in the remaining years of his life. He appeared at
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
's
Havelock Country Jamboree with
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...
and
Roy Clark. In 2005, Downing postponed plans for a European tour that was set to begin on July 1 in Austria. He was hospitalized and diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
. Soon after, he commenced
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...
treatment. Downing died on July 4, 2005.
Style
Downing's musical style found its roots in a variety of musical styles including
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
,
blues, roots,
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
and
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
. He performed
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
and
disco throughout the 1960s and 1970s, when he lived in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He eventually reclaimed his musical roots by turning to country music.
Producer
In additional to his work as a recording artist and performer, Downing also worked as a music producer. During late 1990s and early 2000s, he worked with several European musicians as an
artists and repertoire
Artists and repertoire ( colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumental ...
(A&R) agent. In 2003, he produced the album, ''Straight Beat'', with the Italian bluesman Edo 'Ndoss, which included songs written by Downing that he had not recorded himself. Downing's piano work on this album represented his last recording.
Discography
Albums
Singles
See also
*
List of number-one dance singles of 1974 (U.S.)
These are the ''Billboard magazine'' Hot Dance Club Play number one hits of 1974. October 26 was the premiere week of a dance-related chart in ''Billboard''. Its original charts were called ''Disco Action'' and featured songs that received the s ...
*
List of number-one dance singles of 1975 (U.S.)
These are the ''Billboard magazine'' Hot Dance Club Play number one hits of 1975.
Note: ''Billboard'' magazine's dance/disco chart, which began in 1974 and ranked the popularity of tracks in New York City discothèques, expanded to feature multip ...
References
External links
Official Big Al Downing Homepage*
All Music article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Al (Musician)
1940 births
2005 deaths
Deaths from acute lymphocytic leukemia
African-American country musicians
20th-century African-American male singers
American male singer-songwriters
African-American pianists
American country singer-songwriters
American dance musicians
Carlton Records artists
Chess Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma
People from Nowata County, Oklahoma
Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts
20th-century American singers
20th-century American pianists
American male pianists
Country musicians from Oklahoma
20th-century American male singers
African-American songwriters
21st-century African-American people