Arthur Lassiter (January 27, 1928 – August 4, 1994) was an American singer, known for his work with
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 1 ...
.
Early life
Lassiter was born in 1928 in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. His parents were cotton
sharecropper
Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land.
Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...
s, and Lassiter began singing after joining his uncles'
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 an ...
group. At the age of 14, he moved to
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. While in Newark, Lassiter performed with the Jubilaires.
Lassiter married his first wife, Neaty Ann (née Butler), with whom he had two children Etta D. and Arthur F. He created a singing school in Indianapolis, Art's School of Harmony, which was destroyed by his wife.
Lassiter later joined the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
and served during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. While stationed in the Far East, he performed in officers' clubs and took up
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
, competing under the name Artie Wilkins (taking his step-father's surname).
Recording career
After leaving active service, Lassiter returned to the United States. During a cross-country drive, he broke down in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. While there he sang at an amateur club night, and was given a permanent booking. He often sang covers of
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
songs, and formed The Bel-Airs with brothers George and Murrey Green and Douglas Martin. By late 1955, the band renamed themselves The Trojans and recorded with RPM Records, backing
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 1 ...
's
Kings of Rhythm
The Kings of Rhythm are an American music group formed in the late 1940s in Clarksdale, Mississippi and led by Ike Turner through to his death in 2007. Turner would retain the name of the band throughout his career, although the group has underg ...
. The group backed Turner again the following February, this time on
Federal Records
Federal Records was an American record label founded in 1950 as a subsidiary of Syd Nathan's King Records and based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was run by famed record producer Ralph Bass and was mainly devoted to Rhythm & Blues releases. The comp ...
under the name of The Rockers.
Turner offered Lassiter a place in his Rhythm Revue, where he subsequently met and worked with
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...
and Albert Cook. In March 1960, Turner chose Lassiter to front his Kings of Rhythm. Lassiter's trio of backup singers —
Robbie Montgomery
Robbie Montgomery (born June 16, 1940) is an American singer and restaurateur. She is noted for being one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960s. After her tenure as an Ikette, she was a member of the Mirettes, and t ...
, Frances Hodges, and Sandra Harding – were called The Artettes, and eventually formed the foundation of
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 ...
. Turner wrote "
A Fool in Love
"A Fool in Love" is the debut single by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on Sue Records in 1960. The song is Tina Turner's first professional release although she had been recording with Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm since 1958. It was the ...
" specifically for Lassiter, but Lassiter failed to turn up to the
recording session The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.
Studio cast recordings
In the case of Broadway m ...
at
Technisonic Studios
Technisonic Studios was a production company in St Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1929, it was the largest and oldest production facility in St. Louis, used to shoot feature films and television commercials. It contained a recording studio where Ike ...
in St. Louis.
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
—then going by the stage name Little Ann—knew the song from rehearsal sessions and recorded a guide track to act as a demo. Lassiter's failure to appear for the session was after Turner lent him money, which he didn't pay back. This financial dispute ended their partnership.
Later life and death
Lassiter later became an active member of the Black Panthers in
San Mateo, California
San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...
, and studied
alternative history
Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...
with
Huey P. Newton
Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966.
Under Newton's leadershi ...
and
Eldridge Cleaver
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party.
In 1968, Cleaver wrote '' Soul on Ice'', a collection of essays that, at the time of i ...
, before relocating to Hawaii in 1970. He owned a club called Destiny in Honolulu until 1975 when he was hospitalized for 14 months due to pancreas failure. Lassiter moved to Japan then New Zealand and eventually ended up in Canada where he began performing again. After Lassiter and his band were deported from Vancouver, he performed as a solo act in
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...
.
Lassiter settled in Washington with his second wife Thelma Lassiter and three children Christine, Arthur Jr., and Lydia. During this time Art performed at many local blues festivals and local venues acquiring a substantial local following in the 1980s.
Lassiter spent his final years with his third wife, Ruth Lindgren and two children Miriam and Linnea. He died in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
from throat cancer on August 4, 1994.
Lassiter also had a son, Andre Montgomery (1961–1995), with his former background vocalist
Robbie Montgomery
Robbie Montgomery (born June 16, 1940) is an American singer and restaurateur. She is noted for being one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960s. After her tenure as an Ikette, she was a member of the Mirettes, and t ...
. Lassiter's grandson, Andre Montgomery Jr., later starred in the reality television series ''
Welcome to Sweetie Pie's
''Welcome to Sweetie Pie's'' is an American reality television series starring the family of former Ikette Robbie Montgomery, and also focuses on the running of their collection of soul food restaurants, Sweetie Pie's. The series premiered on Oc ...
''. He was murdered in 2016 in a plot believed to have orchestrated by Tim Norman, Montgomery's son from a later relationship. In September 2022, Norman was tried and convicted for the murder.
Discography
* 1955: The Trojans, Ike Turner & Orch. – "As Long As I Have You" / "I Wanna Make Love To You" (
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
446)
* 1956: The Rockers – "Why Don't You Believe" / "Down in the Bottom" (
Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
12273)
* 1958: Art Lassiter – "Just One Cure for the Blues" / "Too Late For Tears" (Ballad 1024)
* 1961: Art Lassiter – "It's All Right" / "Just Another Day in the Life of a Fool" (Ballad 5025)
*1962: Art Lassiter – "It's Alright" / "Mr. Loneliness" (
Symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...