Paul Leon Gayten (January 29, 1920 – March 26, 1991) was an American R&B pianist, songwriter, producer, and record company executive.

Career

Gayten was born in

Kentwood, Louisiana Kentwood is a rural town in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, near the Mississippi state line. The population was 2,198 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical Area. Kentwood is best known as the home ...

, the nephew of blues pianist

Little Brother Montgomery Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communi ...

. In his teens, he played piano in local bands while also setting up his group, Paul Gayten's Sizzling Six, which featured future

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

saxophonist

Teddy Edwards Theodore Marcus Edwards (April 26, 1924 – April 20, 2003) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Edwards was born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. He learned to play at a very early age, first on alto saxophone and the ...

. During the war, he led a band at the Army base in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. He then moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and, with a new trio, established a residency at the Club Robin Hood. In 1947 the trio recorded two of the first New Orleans hits of the R&B era, "True (You Don't Love Me)", and "

Since I Fell for You "Since I Fell for You" is a blues ballad composed by Buddy Johnson in 1945 that was first popularized by his sister, Ella Johnson, with Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra. A version by Annie Laurie with Paul Gayten and His Trio in 1947 led to its ...

", the latter featuring singer

Annie Laurie "Annie Laurie" is an old Scottish song based on a poem said to have been written by William Douglas (1682?–1748) of Dumfriesshire, about his romance with Annie Laurie (1682–1764). The words were modified and the tune was added by Alicia Sco ...

. Both made the top ten in the US '' Billboard'' R&B chart. Gayten also backed singer

Chubby Newsom Velma "Chubby" Newsom or Newsome (January 27, 1920 – September 13, 2003) was an American R&B singer who performed and recorded in the 1940s and 1950s. She was born either in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, or perhaps in Alabama before moving to ...

on her hit single "Hip Shakin' Mama". In 1949, Gayten expanded his combo into a nine-piece orchestra and moved to Regal Records. There, Gayten wrote the number 1 R&B hit " For You My Love" for

Larry Darnell Larry Darnell (born Leo Edward Donald, Jr.; December 17, 1928, Columbus, Ohio – July 3, 1983, Columbus) was a successful American singer, who was instrumental in the formation of the New Orleans style of R&B in the late 1940s and early 1950s ...

, and recorded "

I'll Never Be Free "I'll Never Be Free" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin and George Weiss and performed by Kay Starr and Tennessee Ernie Ford. It reached #2 on the U.S. country chart and #3 on the U.S. pop chart in 1950. Other charting versions *Louis Jorda ...

" again with Annie Laurie. His orchestra toured widely, for a period adding saxophonist Hank Mobley and singer

Little Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

, and appearing on double bills with both Dizzy Gillespie and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. In 1951, he moved to Okeh Records. In 1956, he decided to quit as a touring bandleader and joined Chess Records as a talent scout, producer, promotion man, songwriter and part-time musician and recording artist. He discovered

Clarence "Frogman" Henry Clarence Henry II (born March 19, 1937), known as Clarence "Frogman" Henry, is an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, best known for his hits " Ain't Got No Home" (1956) and " (I Don't Know Why) But I Do" (1961). Career Clarence Henry ...

and produced his first hit, " Ain't Got No Home", in 1956, later going on to co-write and produce his biggest hit, " But I Do", in 1961. At Chess, Gayten produced

Bobby Charles Robert Charles Guidry (February 21, 1938 – January 14, 2010), known as Bobby Charles, was an American singer-songwriter. Early life An ethnic Cajun, Charles was born in Abbeville, Louisiana, United States, and grew up listening to Cajun mus ...

' " Later Alligator" and played the piano on

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 ...

's " Carol", "Beautiful Delilah", and "Vacation Time". In 1956, he also had one of the biggest hits of his own career with "The Music Goes Round and Round", followed up by "Nervous Boogie" in 1957, "Windy" in 1958, and "The Hunch" in 1959. In 1960, he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

with his wife, Odile, to run the Chess operations there. In 1968, he set up his own label, Pzazz, which recorded Louis Jordan, among others. He continued to live in Los Angeles with Odile after retiring in 1978, and died there aged 71 in March 1991.

References

External links

More information
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gayten, Paul 1920 births 1991 deaths People from Kentwood, Louisiana American rhythm and blues musicians 20th-century American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians