John Marshall "Big John" Greer (November 21, 1923 – May 12, 1972)
- accessed September 2011 was an American blues tenor saxophonist and vocalist, best known for his recordings from 1948 to 1956, which included "Got You on My Mind" and "Bottle It Up and Go". Born in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Greer was a friend of

Henry Glover Henry Bernard Glover (May 21, 1921 – April 7, 1991) was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the most successful and influential black executives. He gain ...

from childhood, and both attended college at

Alabama A&M Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Mars ...

together. Glover was playing in

Lucky Millinder Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...

's band when Bull Moose Jackson left the group in 1948; Glover suggested that Greer be chosen as Jackson's replacement. Greer played with

Bob Shad Robert "Bob" Shad (born Abraham Shadrinsky; February 12, 1920 – March 13, 1985) was an American record producer and record label owner. He produced the first album by Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin). Among his ...

and appeared on Millinder's

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

recordings until 1950, when Millinder signed to King Records. Greer stayed with RCA and played with

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter and rhythm-and-blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ...

and Jackson among others. He sang lead vocals on his biggest hit, recorded in October 1951 "Got You On My Mind". In 1953, he switched to

Groove Records Groove Records was a subsidiary of RCA Victor records, founded by '' Billboard'' writer Bob Rolontz in 1953 as a rhythm and blues label. The label tried hard to break into the R&B market. Piano Red had its first hit but Mickey & Sylvia was its ...

, but did not make much impact on the American

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

s there. In August 1954, he released "We Wanna See Santa Claus Do The Mambo", a Christmas hit to this day. In 1956, he finally signed with King, but only recorded for them for about a year. Greer also worked with

Hal Singer Harold Joseph Singer (October 8, 1919 – August 18, 2020), also known as Hal "Cornbread" Singer, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and jazz bandleader and saxophonist. Early life Harold Joseph Singer was born in Greenwood District, Tul ...

and

Bill Doggett William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American pianist and organist. He began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. Best known for his instrumental compositions "Honky Tonk" ...

. By 1957, Greer had developed extended troubles with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

, and he moved back to his home town of Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he died in 1972 at age 48.

Discography

* "Long Tall Gal" // " Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, Drinkin' Wine" ( RCA Victor 50-0007, 1949) * "Got You On My Mind" // "Woman is a Five Letter Word' (RCA Victor 47-4348, 1951) * "Bottle It Up and Go" // "You'll Never Be Mine" (

Groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station ...

G-0002, 1954) * "Too Long" // "When the Roses Bloom in Lovers' Lane" (Groove G-0016, 1954) * "Wait Till After Christmas" // "We Wanna See Santa Do the Mambo" (Groove G-0038, 1954) * "Come Back Maybelline" // "Night Crawlin'" (Groove G-0119, 1955)

CD releases

* ''Rockin' with Big John'' ( Bear Family BCD-15554 CD 1992) * ''I'm the Fat Man 1949–1955'' (

Rev-Ola Rev-Ola Records is a British independent record label formed in 1990 that specializes in reissues, as well as select new releases. The label is headed by Joe Foster, a former child actor and musician/producer. He, along with Alan McGee and ...

CRBAND-17, 2007) * ''Blowin' & Rockin' 1949–1955'' ( Jasmine JASMCD-3227, 2021)

References

1923 births 1972 deaths American blues saxophonists Singers from Arkansas American blues singers Musicians from Hot Springs, Arkansas Groove Records artists 20th-century American singers Blues musicians from Arkansas 20th-century American male singers {{US-blues-musician-stub