General Crook (born General Columbus Crook, February 28, 1945,
Mound Bayou, Mississippi
Mound Bayou is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,533 at the 2010 census, down from 2,102 in 2000. It was founded as an independent black community in 1887 by former slaves led by Isaiah Montgomery.
Mound ...
, United States) is an American
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
ian.
Crook was raised in
Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta.
H ...
, and moved to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, when he was 17. In 1969 he signed with
Capitol Records, recording with an early version of
Earth, Wind and Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...
. His debut single, "In the Warmth of My Arms", appeared in 1969, followed by "When Love Leaves You Crying" in 1970. Neither sold well, and Capitol soon dropped Crook.
His 1970-71 releases for Down to Earth Records fared better; "Gimme Some" reached #22 on the
US ''
Billboard''
R&B chart in 1970, and "What Time It Is" peaked at #31 on the same chart the following year. He later recorded for
Wand Records
Wand Records was an American independent record label, started by Florence Greenberg in 1961 as a subsidiary of Scepter Records. Artists on Wand Records included The Isley Brothers, The Kingsmen, Mel Wynn & the Rhythm Aces, Chuck Jackson, and the ...
, including a full-length self-titled album in 1974. After the mid-1970s he was active primarily as a
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
and
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
, principally with
Syl Johnson
Sylvester Johnson (born Sylvester Thompson; July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), " Is It Because I' ...
and
Willie Clayton
Willie Clayton (born March 29, 1955) is an American Chicago blues and soul-blues singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 25 albums since the 1980s. He has been performing since the late 1960s. His chart successes span the decades from the ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crook, General
1945 births
Living people
American soul musicians
American male singers
Record producers from Mississippi
Songwriters from Mississippi
Capitol Records artists
Singers from Mississippi
People from Greenville, Mississippi
People from Mound Bayou, Mississippi
American male songwriters