Cecil James "Big Jay" McNeely (April 29, 1927 – September 16, 2018) was an American

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 ...

saxophonist.

Biography

Inspired by

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of t ...

and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

, McNeely teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who played

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

, and made his first

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

with drummer

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...

, who ran the Barrelhouse Club that stood only a few blocks from McNeely's home. Shortly after he performed on Otis's "Barrel House Stomp."

Ralph Bass Ralph Basso Jr. (May 1, 1911 – March 5, 1997), known as Ralph Bass,The birth surname of Ralph Bass's paternal grandfather, who was born in Italy, was DuBasso. was an American rhythm-and-blues record producer and talent scout for several indepen ...

, A&R man for

Savoy Records Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music. ...

, promptly signed him to a recording contract. Bass's boss,

Herman Lubinsky Herman Lubinsky (born Hyman Lubinsky; August 30, 1896 – March 16, 1974) was an American radio station and music business executive who founded Savoy Records in New York City in 1942. Career Lubinsky was born to a Jewish family in Branford, C ...

, suggested the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Big Jay McNeely because Cecil McNeely did not sound commercial. McNeely's first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

was "The Deacon's Hop," an instrumental which topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

in early 1949. Big Jay McNeely performed for the famed fifth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

in Los Angeles produced by

Leon Hefflin, Sr Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

. on July 10, 1949. It was at this concert that McNeely and

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

got into a showdown that resulted in pillows being thrown along with other items. His recording of "Blow Big Jay Blow" catapulted him into National prominence. McNeely and his Orchestra would come back to Los Angeles, to perform at the eleventh Cavalcade of Jazz on July 24, 1955 along with Lionel Hampton's Orchestra.

The Medallions The Medallions were an American doo-wop vocal group led by Vernon Green (1937–2000). History The group formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1954, after Vernon Green was heard singing on the street by Walter "Dootsie" William ...

The Penguins ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and James Moody would also be featured that same day. Thanks to his flamboyant playing, called "honking," McNeely remained popular through the 1950s and into the early 1960s, recording for the Exclusive, Aladdin, Imperial, Federal, Vee-Jay, and Swingin' labels. But despite a hit R&B

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, "There Is Something on Your Mind," (1959) featuring Little Sonny Warner on vocals, and a 1963 album for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, McNeely's music career began to cool off. He quit the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

in 1971 to become a postman. However, thanks to an R&B revival in the early 1980s, McNeely left the post office and returned to touring and recording full-time, usually overseas. His original tenor sax is enshrined in the

Experience Music Project The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized ...

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 ...

, and he was inducted into The Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 1989, Big Jay McNeely was performing with Detroit Gary Wiggins (European Saxomania Tour II) at the

Quasimodo Quasimodo (from Quasimodo Sunday) is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the novel ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster, but h ...

Club in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

the night the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

came down, "and Cold War legend has it that they blew down the Berlin Wall in 1989 with earth-shaking sonic sax torrents outside the Quasimodo Club in West Germany". McNeely and Wiggins toured in Germany and Italy with ''The International Blues Duo,''

Johnny Heartsman John Leroy "Johnny" Heartsman (February 9, 1936 – December 27, 1996) was an American electric blues and soul blues musician and songwriter. He showed musical diversity, playing a number of musical instruments, including the electronic organ an ...

, Daryl Taylor (who worked with

Arnett Cobb Arnett Cleophus Cobb (August 10, 1918 – March 24, 1989)
accessed July 2010. was an American tenor saxophonist, somet ...

and

Archie Bell & The Drells Archie Bell & the Drells was an American R&B vocal group from Houston, Texas, and one of the main acts on Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records. The band's hits include " Tighten Up", "I Can't Stop Dancing" (both 19 ...

Roy Gaines Roy James Gaines (August 12, 1937 – August 11, 2021) was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He wrote and recorded the song "A Hell of a Night", which was first issued on his 1982 album ''Gainelining''. ...

, Christian Rannenberg, Donald Robertson, Billy Davis, "Hyepockets" Robertson, and

Lee Allen Lee Allen may refer to: *Lee Allen (wrestler) (1934–2012), wrestler and coach * Lee Allen (baseball) (1915–1969), baseball historian *Lee Allen (musician) (1927–1994), saxophone player *Lee Allen (artist) Lee Allen (1910 – May 5, 2006), bor ...

. Big Jay McNeely regularly performed at the International Boogie Woogie Festival in The Netherlands, and recorded an album with Martijn Schok, the festival's promoter, in 2009. The album was entitled ''Party Time'', and one track from the album, "Get On Up and Boogie" (Parts 1, 2, and 3)", was featured on the vintage music compilation ''This is Vintage Now'' (2011). He died in

Moreno Valley, California Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's p ...

, on September 16, 2018, of prostate cancer, at the age of 91.

Style

McNeely was credited with being the most flamboyant performer out of the saxophone honkers.

Discography

* ''Big Jay McNeely'', (1954, 10",

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 ...

) * ''A Rhythm and Blues Concert'', (1955, 10",

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

) * ''Big Jay McNeely in 3-D'' (1956, Federal), (1959,

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

) * ''Live at Cisco's'', (1963,

Warner Bros. 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 ...

) – recorded live at a jazz club in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1962. * ''Swingin' '', (1984,

Collectables A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

) – 1957–1961 recordings, including unreleased sides. * ''Live at Birdland, 1957'', (1992, Collectables – live performances recorded in stereo at the

, Washington, Birdland Club in 1957. * ''Nervous'', (1995, Saxophile) – rarities, live cuts and alternate takes (from the

and Swingin' Records vaults) from 1951–1957. * ''Blow the Wall Down,'' Sunset Studios, Sinzig/Rhein, Germany (1990) * ''Blues at Daybreak,'' Big Jay McNeely & Christian Rannenberg (1993) * ''Fool for the Ladies'', by EB Davis with Detroit Gary Wiggins & Big Jay McNeely (1996) * ''Crazy'', (1997, Saxophile) – same as ''Nervous'' above. * ''Central Avenue Confidential'', (1999, Atomic Theory) – featuring Red Young on B-3 organ. * ''Big Jay McNeely, The Deacon, Unabridged, Vol. 1, 1948–1950'' (2006, Swingin') – complete 1948–1955 released output. * ''Big Jay McNeely, The Deacon, Unabridged, Vol. 2, 1951–1952'' (2006, Swingin') * ''Big Jay McNeely, The Deacon, Unabridged, Vol. 3, 1953–1955'' (2006, Swingin') * ''Saxy Boogie Woogie'' (2008, Vagabond) with

Axel Zwingenberger Axel Zwingenberger (born 7 May 1955) is a German blues and boogie-woogie pianist and songwriter. Biography Zwingenberger was born in Hamburg, West Germany, and enjoyed eleven years of classical piano training. After listening to recordings by p ...

& The Bad Boys * ''Party Time'', featuring Martijn Schok, Rinus Groeneveld (2009) * ''Party Time Volume 2'', featuring Martijn Schok, Rinus Groeneveld (2011) * ''Life Story'', featuring Ray Collins' Hot-Club & Friends (2012) * Big Jay McNeely – ''Blowin’ Down The House – Big Jay’s Latest & Greatest'' (2016) * Big Jay McNeely – ''Honkin’ & Jivin’ at the Palomino'' (2017)

References

Bibliography

*''Nervous Man Nervous: Big Jay McNeely And The Rise of the Honking Tenor Sax'' (1995,

Jim Dawson Jim Dawson (born September 10, 1944) is a Hollywood, California-based author who has specialized in American pop culture (especially early rock and roll) and the history of flatulence. A self-proclaimed "fartologist", he has written three book ...

, Big Nickel Press)

External links

Official Website Big Jay McNeelyBig Jay McNeely MySpace page
page a
This is Vintage Now Dozens of vintage photos and album coversBig Jay McNeely and "Detroit" Gary Wiggins - Saxomania Tour EuropeNAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Interview with Big Jay McNeely
May 23, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeely, Big Jay 1927 births 2018 deaths American male saxophonists American rhythm and blues musicians Jump blues musicians Soul-jazz saxophonists West Coast blues musicians Jazz-blues saxophonists Imperial Records artists Savoy Records artists Swingin' Records artists Vee-Jay Records artists Musicians from Los Angeles American male jazz musicians Exclusive Records artists 20th-century American saxophonists