Frederick Below, Jr. (September 6, 1926 – August 13, 1988)
was an American
blues drummer, best known for his work with
Little Walter
Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning hi ...
and
Chess Records in the 1950s. According to Tony Russell, Below was a creator of much of the rhythmic structure of
Chicago blues
Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...
, especially its
backbeat
In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a p ...
.
He was the drummer on Chuck Berry's song "
Johnny B. Goode".
Career
Below was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, and as he put it - "grew up around nothing ''but'' music". He started learning music and playing drums in the
DuSable High School
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable High School is a public four-year high school campus located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. DuSable is owned by the Chicago Public Schools district. The school ...
and at about the age of 14, formed a sort of a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
band with two of his high school friends,
Johnny Griffin
John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...
and
Eugene Wright
Eugene Joseph Wright (May 29, 1923 – December 30, 2020) was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Career
Wright was a cornetist at high school and led the 16-piece band Dukes of Swing in his 20s. He was large ...
.
As a young man, Below served in the Army twice. The first time between 1945 - 1946, after being
conscripted
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...
into the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
, he served in the infantry ("I practiced on helmet liners, helmets, boxes and things like that").
In 1946, When he was discharged from his service and came back home to Chicago, Below attended the reputable Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion, an establishment he graduated in 1948, and in which he received a wide and thorough musical education.
Below re-enlisted the army in 1948, this time as part of the Special Services, and he served in Germany as a member of the 427th Army band. After that second service, he stayed and played in a nightclub in Germany before returning to the United States in 1951.
Back in Chicago, Below joined the
Aces, a band comprising the guitar-playing brothers Louis and Dave Myers and the harmonica player
Junior Wells
Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...
. In 1952,
Little Walter
Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning hi ...
left the
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...
band to pursue a solo career, Wells took over his role on harp in the Muddy Waters band, and Walter commandeered the Aces (the Myers brothers and Below). As Little Walter and the Nightcats, they became one of the top
electric blues
Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930 ...
bands in Chicago.
In 1955, Below left Little Walter's band to concentrate on working as a session musician for Chess Records.
However, he continued to play on Little Walter's records. He also played on hit records for Waters, Wells,
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
,
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...
,
Jimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and recorded several pop ...
,
Elmore James
Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...
,
Otis Rush,
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...
and others.
Below worked with bassist
Willie Dixon, Little Walter, and guitarist
Robert Lockwood, Jr.
Robert Lockwood Jr. (March 27, 1915 – November 21, 2006) was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly ...
on
John Brim
John Charles Brim (April 10, 1922 – October 1, 2003) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He wrote and recorded the song "Ice Cream Man" which was later covered by the rock band Van Halen for their first album, and ...
's last single for Chess, "I Would Hate to See You Go" (1956).
Among his more famous work, he played on Chuck Berry's 1957 hit single "
School Days" as well as on other Berry recording including "
Brown Eyed Handsome Man" (1956), "
Roll Over Beethoven
"Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 hit song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records single, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classi ...
" (1956), "
Too Much Monkey Business
"Too Much Monkey Business" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, released by Chess Records in September 1956 as his fifth single. It was also released as the third track on his first solo LP, ''After School Session'', in May 1957; and a ...
" (1956), the
calypso flavored, "Havana Moon" (1956), "
Rock and Roll Music
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 an ...
" (1957), "
Sweet Little Sixteen
"Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry, who released it as a single in January 1958. His performance of it at that year's Newport Jazz Festival was included in the documentary film ''Jazz on a Summ ...
" (1957), "
Reelin' and Rockin'
"Reelin' and Rockin'" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. It was originally recorded in 1957 and released as the B-side of "Sweet Little Sixteen".
Recording
The song was recorded on December 29-30, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois.
* Chuck Be ...
" (1957), "
Guitar Boogie" (1957), "
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
" (1958), "Sweet Little Rock and Roller" (1958), "
Little Queenie
"Little Queenie" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. Released in March 1959 as a double A-side single with " Almost Grown", it was included on '' Chuck Berry Is on Top'' (1959), Berry's first compilation album. He performed the song in ...
" (1958), "
Almost Grown" (1959), "
Back in the U.S.A." (1959) and "
Let It Rock" (1959).
Below rejoined the Myers brothers for a tour of Europe in 1970.
[Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues''. Penguin Books. p. 3. .]
Below died of
liver cancer on August 13, 1988, in Chicago, at the age of 61.
Partial discography
With
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...
*''
Live and Cookin''' (Chess, 1972)
With
Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper".
Career
Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...
*''
Feel Like Blowing My Horn
''Feel Like Blowing My Horn'' is an album by blues musician Roosevelt Sykes, recorded in 1970 and released by the Delmark label in 1973.973
Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...
With
Sonny Boy Williamson
*''
The Real Folk Blues
''The Real Folk Blues'' is a series of blues albums released between 1965 and 1967 by Chess Records, later reissued MCA Records. Each album in the series highlighted the music of one major Chess artist, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Mudd ...
'' (Chess, 1947-64
966
References
External links
Fred Below — Magic Maker an article of September 1983 by Scott K. Fish, which includes an in-depth interview with Fred Below, published in the
Modern Drummer
''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public. ''Mo ...
website (retrieved August 24, 2018)
* Recordings and transcripts of parts fro
some 1982 phone interviews with Fred Below as published in Scott K. Fish's personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Below, Fred
1926 births
1988 deaths
American session musicians
American blues drummers
Chicago blues musicians
Rhythm and blues drummers
Deaths from cancer in Illinois
United States Army soldiers
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
United States Army Band musicians
Deaths from liver cancer
20th-century American male musicians