George "Teacho" Wiltshire (born Audrick Gladstone Wiltshire; September 20, 1909 – September 29, 1968) was a Barbadian-born American R&B pianist, bandleader, arranger, A&R man, and songwriter, who had success in the 1950s and 1960s with musicians including

Annie Ross Annabelle McCauley Allan Short (25 July 193021 July 2020), known professionally as Annie Ross, was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Early life Ross was born in Surr ...

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

and

the Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in ...

Life and career

Wiltshire was born on a

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

near Belleplaine in St Andrew Parish,

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

, the son of Estelle Wiltshire and an unknown father. In 1917, he and his mother emigrated to the United States, and settled in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. After his mother married, he adopted his stepfather's surname and was registered at school as Audrick Rock, though in later adult life he used the name George Wiltshire. He married in 1929 but the couple soon separated.Opal Louis Nations and Bob Eagle, "Back Room Wizards: Teacho Wiltshire", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.372, September 2022, pp.14-18 In the 1930s, he played piano in clubs in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, before being drafted into the

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in 1940. He joined the music department of the 51st Defense Battalion, which was led by

Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television prog ...

, and Wiltshire was able to hear and play with such musicians as Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, and Louis Jordan. After the end of the war, he adopted the name "Teacho" - of unknown origin - and started working as a singer, pianist, and

talent scout In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scou ...

. In 1951 he began working in A&R for Prestige Records, and his band backed

King Pleasure King Pleasure (born Clarence Beeks; March 24, 1922 – March 21, 1982) was an American jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a well-known instrumental solo. Biography Born as Clarence Beeks in Oakdale, Te ...

on his 1952 hit "

Moody's Mood for Love "Moody's Mood for Love" is a 1952 song by Eddie Jefferson, whose melody is derived from an improvised solo by jazz saxophonist James Moody (and a brief solo in the middle by pianist Thore Swanerud) on a 1949 recording of the 1935 song "I'm i ...

", an early example of

vocalese Vocalese is a style of jazz singing in which words are added to an instrumental soloist's improvisation. Definition Vocalese uses recognizable lyrics that are sung to pre-existing instrumental solos, as opposed to scat singing, which uses nonsen ...

, the addition of lyrics to 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 ...

improvisation. The same year, Wiltshire led the band – including himself on piano,

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout ...

on bass, and Art Blakey on drums – behind

on her successful original recording of " Twisted". He also discovered and recorded with the Mello-Moods on the Prestige label. In 1955, Wiltshire began working with the Tin Pan Alley

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 ...

, essentially working on

song poem Song poems are songs with lyrics by usually non-professional writers that have been set to music by commercial companies for a fee. This practice, which has long been disparaged in the established music industry, was also known as ''song sharking ...

s, setting the lyrics submitted by non-professional writers to music, and recording the results. "Tin Pan Alley Records", ''American Song-Poem Music Archives''
Retrieved 16 September 2022 The following year, he joined Hull Records, where he worked with Mabel Lee, and also recorded with an orchestra under his own name. During the late 1950s, he was increasingly seen as an orchestrator and arranger, and worked on a freelance basis with various musicians including the Fidelitys, Nappy Brown, and

Marie Knight Marie Knight (née Roach; June 1, 1920 – August 30, 2009) was an American gospel and R&B singer. Life and career She was born Marie RoachSeamus McGarvey, "Marie Knight: I Hear Music In the Air", interview and article in '' Juke Blues'' magaz ...

. As a pianist, he was hired by producer Gene Schwartz to play on Dion's single, "

Runaround Sue "Runaround Sue" is a rock and roll song (in a modified doo-wop style), originally a US No. 1 Hot 100 hit (No. 4 on the Hot R&B chart) for the singer Dion during 1961, after he split with the Belmonts. It was written by Dion with Ernie Mares ...

". His reputation grew with his arrangements on Sister Rosetta Tharpe's 1962 album '' The Gospel Truth'', and he also worked in the early 1960s with such musicians as

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

Derrick Harriott Derrick Clifton Harriott OD (born 10 February 1942) is a Jamaican singer and record producer. He was a member of the Jiving Juniors with Herman Sang before embarking on a solo career. He has produced recordings by Big Youth, Chariot Riders, ...

The Exciters ''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 ...

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

– for whom he arranged their hit, "

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

" –

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFad ...

, and

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

. He arranged

' hit " Saturday Night at the Movies", and " Baby I'm Yours" by

Barbara Lewis Barbara Ann Lewis (born February 9, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues. Career Lewis was born in Salem, Michigan, United States. She was writing and recording by her teens with record ...

. Wiltshire died in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

in 1968, at the age of 59.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiltshire, Teacho 1909 births 1968 deaths African-American musicians American rhythm and blues musicians Barbadian emigrants to the United States Barbadian musicians