Kipling Taquana "Kip" Anderson (January 24, 1938 – August 29, 2007) was an American

soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by ar ...

and R&B

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

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 gen ...

. He is best known for his 1967

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "A Knife and a Fork". He recorded for many

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s, worked as a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

DJ, and maintained a career lasting from the late 1950s to the 1990s, despite serving a decade-long custodial sentence. At various times Anderson 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 ...

, the Drifters,

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the Rhythm and blues, R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

and

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

Biography

He was born Kipling Taquana Anderson in

Starr Starr may refer to: People and fictional characters * Starr (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Starr (given name), a list of people and fictional characters Places United States * Starr, Ohio, an unincorporated comm ...

, Anderson County,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Anderson had his first musical exposure in church, where he sang and played the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. After featuring in his high school band, Anderson met his future business partner, Charles Derrick, at radio station WOIC, in Columbia. In 1959, Anderson's debut single, "I Wanna Be the Only One", was released by

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a h ...

. For his follow-up release, "Oh My Linda", he was accompanied by the guitarist

Mickey Baker MacHouston "Mickey" Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012) was an American guitarist, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia. Early life Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His m ...

. Lack of commercial gains from recording led Anderson to find work as a disc jockey. Everlast Records released Anderson's third single, "I Will Cry" (1962), and "Here I Am, Try Me", and "That's When the Crying Begins" (1964) followed; the latter reached number 79 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His stock rose further with "I'll Get Along", "Woman How Do You Make Me Love You Like I Do", and "Without a Woman" (1966). In 1967, Anderson released "A Knife and a Fork" for Checker, recorded at FAME Studios in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. "A Knife and a Fork" was a midtempo warning to his girlfriend about her consumption of food: "girl, you gonna let a knife and a fork dig your grave". The single entered 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 ...

. A follow-up release, "You'll Lose a Good Thing", issued by

Excello Records Excello Records was an American blues independent record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label. History It recorded such artists as Lonnie Brooks, Lightnin' Slim, ...

, also made the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

on the R&B chart. "I Went Off and Cried" (1968) may be his best-remembered recording, next to "A Knife and a Fork". A

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "A Knife and a Fork" was recorded by

Rockpile Rockpile was a British rock and roll band of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong pub rock, rockabilly and power pop influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds (vocals, gui ...

for the 1980 album ''

Seconds of Pleasure ''Seconds of Pleasure'' is a 1980 album by Rockpile, a band consisting of guitarists/vocalists Dave Edmunds and Billy Bremner, bassist/vocalist Nick Lowe, and drummer Terry Williams. The band had played together on various solo albums by Edm ...

''. A dependency on heroin started to affect his work by 1970, and Excello cancelled his

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

. he continued to record and perform in the 1970s, but a ten-year prison sentence in 1974 for possession of heroin halted his activities. He later stated, "It probably saved my life." While in prison he formed a gospel group with other inmates, who performed under surveillance at local churches and community events. Upon his release from prison, Anderson recorded a

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 ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, before issuing more soul-based music for

Ichiban Records Ichiban Records is an American independent record label, founded in 1985 by John Abbey and Nina Easton in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels. Urgent! Records and Mr. Henr ...

. He also revived his career as a DJ when he moved back to Anderson County. He also hosted a gospel show on WRIX-FM and served as vice president of Electric City Record's gospel division. In 1996, Anderson duetted with

Nappy Brown Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp (October 12, 1929 – September 20, 2008) better known by his stage name Nappy Brown, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singing, singer. His hit record, hits include the 1955 ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard' ...

on the ''Best of Both Worlds'' joint album. Anderson died in

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the prin ...

, in August 2007, at the age of 69.

Discography

Albums

*''A Dog Don't Wear No Shoes'' (1992) - Ichiban *''A Knife and a Fork'' (1993) - Ichiban

Singles

*"I Wanna Be the Only One" / "The Home Fires Are Brighter After All" (1959),

Vee Jay Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a h ...

*"I Wanna Be the Only One" / Making Tracks" (1959), Derrick Records *"Oh My Linda" / "'Til Your Love is Mine (1960), Sharp Records *"I Feel Good" / "I Will Cry" (1961), Everlast Records *"That's When the Crying Begins" / "I Done You Wrong" (1964),

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

*"I Can't" / "I'll Get Along" (1965), Tomorrow Records *"Tell Her I Love Her" / "Woman How Do You Make Me Love You Like I Do" (1965),

Checker Records Checker Records is an inactive record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded ...

*"I Get Carried Away" / "Here I Am, Try Me" (1965), Tomorrow Records *"If That Don't Make You Cry" / "Without a Woman" (1966), Checker *"Take It Like a Man" / "A Knife and a Fork" (1967), Checker *"

Blue Moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...

" / "

Unchained Melody "Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert Rodri ...

" (1967), Concord *"You'll Lose a Good Thing" / "I'm Out of Love" (1967),

*"Letter From my Darling" / "Watch You Work it Out" (1968), Excello *"That's All I Can Do" / "I Went Off and Cried" (1968), Excello *"Frozen Heart" / "Abide in Me" (1969), Eydie *"Jesus Sings with Me (Part 1)" / "Jesus Sings with Me (Part 2)" (1988), Lorna *"I Could'a Been Sleepin'" / "He Never Left Me Alone" (1989), Lorna *"Your Sweetness Is My Weakness" / "A Dog Don't Wear No Shoes" (1992), Ichiban

References

External links