Wilburt "Red" Prysock (February 2, 1926 – July 19, 1993) was an American R&B tenor saxophonist, one of the early
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
-influenced saxophonists to move in the direction of rhythm and blues, rather than
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, instrum ...
.
Career
With Tiny Grimes and his Rocking Highlanders, Prysock staged a saxophone battle with
Benny Golson
Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/ hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launc ...
on "Battle of the Mass". He first gained attention as a member of
Tiny Bradshaw
Myron Carlton "Tiny" Bradshaw (September 23, 1907 – November 26, 1958) - accessed July 2010 was an American 's band, playing the lead saxophone solo on his own "Soft", which was a hit for the Bradshaw band in 1952. Prysock also played with Roy Milton and Cootie Williams.
In 1954, he signed with
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
as a
bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...
and had his biggest hit, the instrumental "Hand Clappin'" in 1955. During the same year, he joined the band that played at
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout N ...
's stage shows. He also played on several hit records by his brother, singer Arthur Prysock, in the 1960s.
Personal life
Prysock was born in 1926 in
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
, United States, and died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...
in 1993 in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, at the age of 67. He served in the United States Army during World War II which was when he learned to play saxophone. He was buried at the Salisbury National Cemetery in
Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropoli ...
.
Discography
* ''Rock and Roll'' (Mercury, 1956)
* ''Fruit Boots'' (Mercury, 1957)
* ''The Beat'' (Mercury, 1957)
* ''Swing Softly Red'' (Mercury, 1958)
* ''Battle Royal'' with Sil Austin (Mercury, 1959)
* ''The Big Sound of Red Prysock'' (Forum Circle, 1964)
* ''For Me and My Baby'' (Gateway, 1964; reissued on CD in 2003)