Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012) was an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

, folk and

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 ...

guitarist and singer-songwriter.

Life and career

Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was raised in the Cabrini–Green housing area. He learned piano, was a childhood friend of Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance and Jerry Butler, and began singing in

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

groups in his teens. In 1962 he took an audition at Chess Records, where he recorded his debut single, "Look at Me Now". At the same time as attending college, he then began performing in folk clubs and coffee houses in Chicago, becoming strongly influenced by the music of John Coltrane. During this period, he briefly performed in a duo with David Crosby in Chicago and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He met

Samuel Charters Samuel Barclay Charters IV (August 1, 1929 – March 18, 2015) was an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet. He was a widely published author on the subjects of blues and jazz. He also wrote fiction. Overview Cha ...

of Prestige Records in 1964, and the following year they recorded his debut album. Charters then took the tapes away with him into the Mexican desert, and the album was eventually released in 1968 as '' The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier''. Two of Callier's songs, "Spin, Spin, Spin" and "It's About Time", were recorded by the

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...

band H. P. Lovecraft in 1968, as part of their '' H. P. Lovecraft II'' album. H. P. Lovecraft featured fellow Chicago folk club stalwart George Edwards, who would go on to co-produce several tracks for Callier in 1969. He continued to perform in Chicago, and in 1970 joined the Chicago Songwriters Workshop set up by Jerry Butler. He and partner Larry Wade wrote material for Chess and its subsidiary

Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

label, including The Dells' 1972 hit "The Love We Had Stays on My Mind", as a result of which he was awarded his own recording contract with Cadet as a singer-songwriter. Three critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful albums followed, produced by Charles Stepney: ''

Occasional Rain ''Occasional Rain'' is a 1972 studio album from American musician Terry Callier. Released by Cadet Records, it is Callier's second album and the first in the trilogy that he recorded in short succession for Cadet with producer Charles Stepney. It h ...

'' (1972), ''

What Color Is Love ''What Color Is Love'' is a 1972 studio album by American musician Terry Callier. Released by Cadet Records, it is Callier's third album and the second of a trilogy that he recorded in short succession for Cadet with producer Charles Stepney. It h ...

'' (1972), and ''

I Just Can't Help Myself ''I Just Can't Help Myself'' is a studio album from American musician Terry Callier. Released by Cadet Records in 1973, this is the artist's fourth album since his debut a decade prior and the final of three that he recorded in short succession fo ...

'' (1973). These demonstrated that Callier's influences included soul, jazz,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

, psychedelia, and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

. Subsequently, he toured with George Benson,

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician Brian Ja ...

and others. Cadet and its parent label

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

were sold in 1976 and Callier was then dropped from the label. The Songwriters Workshop closed in 1976. The following year,

Don Mizell Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places * County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vil ...

signed him to a new contract with his

Jazz Fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and ke ...

Division at Elektra Records, resulting in the R&B-oriented ''Fire On Ice'' (1977) and ''Turn You to Love'' (1978). The opening track of the latter album, "Sign Of The Times", was used as the theme tune of radio DJ Frankie Crocker and became Callier's only US chart success, reaching No. 78 on the R&B chart in 1979. The single prompted his appearance at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

, where Mizell presented him in the Elektra Jazz Fusion Night showcase alongside Grover Washington, Dee Dee Bridgewater and

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...

. When Mizell moved on to work with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

in 1980, Callier was dropped from the label. Callier continued to perform and tour until 1983, when he gained custody of his daughter and retired from music to take classes in computer programming, landing a job at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and returning to college during the evenings to pursue a degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. He re-emerged from obscurity in the late 1980s, when British DJs discovered his old recordings and began to play his songs in clubs. Acid Jazz Records head Eddie Piller reissued a little-known Callier recording from 1983, "I Don't Want to See Myself (Without You)", and brought him to play clubs in Britain. From 1991 he began to make regular trips to play gigs during his vacation time from work. In the late 1990s Callier began his comeback to recorded music, collaborating with

Urban Species Urban Species is a British hip-hop band, best known for several hit singles during the 1990s. The band's music draws on a diverse range of influences (including reggae, blues, funk, dub, jazz, ragga and acoustic folk) and combines live playi ...

on their 1997 EP ''Religion and Politics'' and contributed to

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, ...

's '' Best Bit'' EP in 1997 before releasing the album '' Timepeace'' in 1998, which won the United Nations' Time For Peace award for outstanding artistic achievement contributing to world peace. His colleagues at the University of Chicago did not know of Callier's life as a musician, but after the award the news of his work as a musician became widely known and subsequently led to his dismissal by the University. Terry Callier Queen Elizabeth Hall

As well as touring internationally, Callier continued his recording career, releasing five albums after ''Timepeace'', including ''Lifetime'' (1999), ''Alive'' (2001), ''Speak Your Peace'' (2002), featuring Paul Weller on the single " Brother to Brother", ''Golden Apples of the Sun'' (2003), featuring the words of

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

' poem ''The Song of the Wandering Aengus'', and ''Lookin' Out'' (2004). May 2009 saw his album ''Hidden Conversations'' featuring Massive Attack released on Mr Bongo records. In 2001, Callier performed "Satin Doll" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album '' Red Hot + Indigo'', a tribute to

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. He died from cancer on October 27, 2012, aged 67.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier'' ( Prestige, 1968) * ''

'' (

, 1972) * ''

'' (Cadet, 1972) * ''

'' (Cadet, 1973) * '' Fire on Ice'' ( Elektra, 1978) * ''Turn You to Love'' (Elektra, 1979) * ''Time Peace'' (

Verve Forecast Verve Forecast is a record label formed as a division of Verve Records to concentrate on pop, rock, and folk music. Founding Jerry Schoenbaum of Verve and Moe Asch of Folkways created Verve Folkways in 1964 to take advantage of the populari ...

/ Talkin' Loud/

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

, 1998) No. 92 UK * ''Lifetime'' (

Blue Thumb Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

/Talkin' Loud, 1999) No. 96 UK * ''Speak Your Peace'' ( Mr Bongo, 2002) No. 156 UK * ''Lookin' Out'' (Mr Bongo, 2004) * ''Hidden Conversations'' (Mr Bongo, 2009)

Live albums

* ''TC in DC'' (Premonition, 1996) recorded live in Washington D.C. 1982 * ''Live at Mother Blues, 1964'' (Premonition, 2000) recorded live in Chicago 1964 * ''Alive'' (Mr Bongo, 2001) recorded live in London 2000 * ''Welcome Home'' (Mr Bongo, 2008) recorded live in London 2008

Singles and maxi singles

*"Look at Me Now" (Chess, 1962) * "I Just Can't Help Myself" (Cadet, 1973) * "Ordinary Joe" / "Golden Circle of Your Love" (Cadet) * "Look at Me Now" / "Ordinary Joe" (Cadet) * "Butterfly" / "Street Fever" (Elektra, 1978) * "Sign of the Times" / "Occasional Rain" (Elektra, 1979) * "I Don't Want to See Myself (Without You)" / "If I Could Make You (Change Your Mind)" (Erect, 1982; reissued on Acid Jazz, 1990 & 2006) * "Love Theme from Spartacus" (Talkin' Loud/(Verve Forecast), 1998) * "I Don't Want to See Myself (Without You)" (Talkin' Loud, 1999) * "Silent Night" (Talkin' Loud, 1999) * "Holdin' On" / "When My Lady Danced" (Talkin' Loud, 1999) * "Tomorrow in Your Eyes" – East West Connection featuring Terry Callier (Chillifunk, 2001) * "Brother to Brother" – Terry Callier with Paul Weller (Mr Bongo 2002) * "Running Around" / "Monuments of Mars" (Mr Bongo, 2002) * "In a Heartbeat" – Koop feat. Terry Callier (Superstudio Grå/

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

, 2002) * "Lookin’ Out" (Mr Bongo, 2004) * " Live with Me" – Massive Attack with Terry Callier (Virgin, 2006) * "Advice" – Hardkandy featuring Terry Callier (Catskills, 2006) * "Wings" (Mr Bongo, 2009)

DVD and videos

* ''Terry Callier – Live in Berlin'' (

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and it ...

, 2005) Prod.: Modzilla Films/ Beatrice Tillmann

Appearances

* Vocals on The Juju Orchestra's – "What Is Hip" (2007) * Vocals on Massive Attack's " Live with Me" (2006) * Vocals on Hardkandy's "Advice" (2006) * Vocals on Nujabes's " Modal Soul" (2005) * Vocals on

Kinobe Kinobe is a British music act. It was founded in west London in 1998 by childhood friends Mark Blackburn and Julius Waters. Blackburn departed in 2004, replaced by Dave Pemberton. Chuck Norman replaces Pemberton for their 2017 releases. Kino ...

's "Moonlight and Mescaline" (2004) * Vocals on Jean-Jacques Milteau's "Blue 3rd" (2003) * Vocals on

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 ...

's "Varekai" (2002) * Vocals on Kyoto Jazz Massive's "Deep in Your Mind" (2002) * Vocals on

4 Hero 4hero are an electronic music group from Dollis Hill, London, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Denis "Dego" McFarlane. While the band is often cited as ''4 Hero'' or ''4-Hero'', the name is stylised as ''4hero'' on their albums and ...

's "The Day of the Greys" (2001) * Vocals on Koop's "In a Heartbeat" (2001) * Vocals on

Zero 7 Zero 7 are an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. They began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001 in which their song " Destiny" stayed ...

's "Simple Things"(2001) * Vocals on Grand Tourism's "Les Courants d'Air" (2001) * Vocals on

's ''

Central Reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also ...

'' (1999) * Vocals on

's "Religion and Politics" and "Changing of the Guard", from the album ''Blanket'' (1998), after sampling his song "You Goin' Miss Your Candyman" in their song "Listen" from the album by the same name (1994) * His song "You Goin' Miss Your Candyman" was featured in the French movie, '' Intouchables''.

References

External links

*
Terry Callier
– BBC obituary
Mr Bongo
label site * Hodgkinson, Will
Open Secret
''Guardian Unlimited''. October 15, 2004. Retrieved April 5, 2006 * Ruffin, Mark

''JazzUSA 'Zine''. Retrieved April 5, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Callier, Terry Singers from Chicago American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American folk guitarists American folk singers American soul guitarists American male guitarists American soul singers American jazz guitarists Cadet Records artists MCA Records artists Elektra Records artists Verve Records artists Universal Records artists 1945 births 2012 deaths Guitarists from Chicago 20th-century American guitarists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Prestige Records artists PolyGram artists Mr Bongo Records artists Blue Thumb Records artists Talkin' Loud artists Singer-songwriters from Illinois