willie

willieAs you might have heard, the big news coming out of this year's Ponderosa Stomp is the return of Soul Legend Willie Hightower. Backed by our friends The Bo-Keys, Willie came roaring back with a smoking set that just blew everyone away...

In case you missed it, here are some of the things we learned about his career at the Ponderosa Stomp Music History Conference on October 1st:

stewartBorn in 1940 in Gadsden, Alabama, Willie was singing in his Church choir at six years of age. By the time he was in his teens, he had formed his own 'quartet-style' Gospel group, 'The Silver Stars', patterned after his idols The Soul Stirrers. Shortly after Sam Cooke left the group and 'crossed-over' in 1957, Willie decided to do the same, and began singing in local clubs in and around Birmingham. He was soon noticed by legendary civil rights activist and WENN dee-jay Shelley Stewart, who was so impressed by his voice that he sent out a tape to his friend Bobby Robinson in New York. Like most record label owners at the time, Bobby had been on the lookout for 'the next Sam Cooke' since his tragic murder in late 1964, and offered to fly Hightower up to New York to record him.

argoENJOY 2019A

What Am I Living For

Although Willie was unable to recall the name of the studio (probably Bell Sound), Robinson cut this rockin' arrangement of Chuck Willis' posthumous #1 R&B smash on him shortly after his arrival in the Big Town. With the background singers and the band just going for it behind him, Willie demonstrates just how powerful a performer he had already become.

argoENJOY 2019B

Too Late

I think it's an indication of how highly Robinson regarded his new signee that, not only did he consent to recording one of Hightower's own compositions for the flip, but he let him keep the songwriting credit on the label as well (although Bobby did keep the publishing for himself). A slow-burner of a Blues shouter, Willie's sad tale of a love gone wrong just builds and builds.

Not bad for a first record and, with Robinson behind him, Willie soon found himself playing The Apollo. He would make Shelley Stewart his manager for the next ten years.

jr parker lpIn 1966, Mercury brought in Bobby Robinson to produce the newly signed Junior Parker. With Gene 'Bowlegs' Miller handling the arrangements, sessions were held at Royal Studio in Memphis that August and November, resulting in the classic LP Like It Is. In Juke Blues #62, ENJOY artist Jay Dee Bryant is quoted as saying that he met Junior Parker at those sessions after Robinson brought both him and Willie Hightower down there to record as well. Was Bobby (who had just re-activated his FURY label) cutting his own artists on Mercury's dime? Although we will probably never know, that hypotheseis might account for some of the inaccuracies in the Soul Discography. Hmmm...

argoFURY 5002A

If I Had A Hammer

Willie confirmed for us at the conference that all four of his FURY sides were indeed cut in Memphis with Bowlegs Miller acting as the arranger, although (small wonder after 49 years) he could not recall who the guitarist might have been. Be that as it may, this soulful rendition of Pete Seeger's folk classic (inspired, Willie told us, by the Sam Cooke at The Copa version) would become Hightower's breakthrough hit, climbing to #25 on the Cashbox R&B chart in October of 1966... swinging along Memphis style!

argoFURY 5002B

So Tired (Of Running Away From Love)

jr parker session notesOnce again, Willie convinced Robinson to place one of his own compositions on the B side (although Bobby now listed himself as a co-writer), and it just rocks. If we take a look at the personnel listed for those Junior Parker sessions in the liner notes to I'm So Satisfied it reads like a who's who of Memphis horn players, along with what was left of Bill Black's Combo - most of whom would leave for American within a few months. We will take a closer look at whether or not those liner notes are accurate in the next installment of our Clarence Nelson investigation.

argoFURY 5004A

I Love You (Yes I Do)

This one just knocks me out. Released in early 1967, I'm amazed it wasn't a follow-up hit. With that stinging Memphis telecaster mixed way up front, and that big fat baritone leading the horn section, the Bowlegs arrangement is just da bomb! While Willie's vocals are indeed reminiscent of Sam Cooke's, by this point I think he had developed a style all his own.

argoFURY 5004B

(Take My Hand) Let's Walk Together

Both sides of this one were (purportedly) written by Robinson, who apparently liked this side so much that he cut it on Joe Haywood as the initial release on his RAMPAGE label a couple of years later. Hey, I know people who have used this as their Wedding Song! Check out the interplay of those two guitars... if that is indeed Tommy Cogbill and Reggie Young, how cool is that? Once again Willie's vocals are just top shelf...

Willie told us at the conference that at this point Bobby Robinson helped facilitate getting him signed by Capitol Records, as Fury was 'going out of business'. Now on the same label as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Nancy Wilson and Lou Rawls, he felt like he had finally hit the big time.

capitolCAPITOL 5916A

For Sentimental Reasons / You Send Me

Capitol must have thought so too, as they pulled out all the stops and brought Willie into their New York studio to record with Brill building denizens Richard Gottehrer and Seymour Stein (whose Sire Productions would later become the birthplace of 'New Wave'). With respected Soul and Gospel arranger Robert Banks on board, they cut this lush medley of Sam Cooke tunes that Willie had been performing at his live shows.

capitolCAPITOL 5916B

Because I Love You

The fact that the big label was willing to put one of Hightower's compositions on the flip speaks volumes about the inherent quality of his songwriting, I think. This one gets the full 'New York Soul' treatment, with those big fat Robert Banks horn charts, that incisive guitar (Wild Jimmy Spruill?), and those throaty background vocals (Sweet Inspirations?), they just don't come much better than this. Despite sending Willie out to promote the record, neither side dented the charts.

capitolCAPITOL 2226A

It's A Miracle

Disappointed by the sales figures, the bigwigs at Capitol decided to re-unite Hightower with Bobby Robinson for a New York session in April of 1968, resulting in the song that Willie still condsiders the highlight of his long career. Released that July, this Gospel-tinged masterpiece didn't begin to pick up steam until the following Spring when Capitol promoted the record with full-page ads in both Cahbox and Billboard, eventually hitting #18 and #33 on their respective R&B charts. Although Robinson would now claim half the songwriting, Willie was smart enough at this point to create his own publishing company, Too Late Music.

capitolCAPITOL 2226B

Nobody But You

Just as he had done on Enjoy, Robinson selected a proven winner for the flip, and his big fat production here on Dee Clark's 1958 #3 R&B blockbuster just slays me. A record so good that I assumed it was an A Side when I first heard it, I think it blows the original out of the water, and remains the definitive version (although Little Bob's swamp pop rendition will always hold a special place in my heart).

Billboard took notice of Capitol's 'new soul commitment' while 'It's a Miracle' was climbing the charts that April, which was further evidenced, they said, by the big label's new distribution deal with Fame.

capitolCAPITOL 2547A

Ooh Baby How I Love You

Empowered by their bona-fide hit record, the Hightower/Robinson team was able to place their own compositions on both sides of the follow-up. This side is, in my opinion, one of Willie's best records ever. Check him out there just going for it towards the end... "Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby..." Awesome stuff! With those conga drums and 'hot' bass line mixed way up front, Robinson's production here seems to have a new edge.

capitolCAPITOL 2547B

It's Wonderful To Be In Love With You

We asked Willie about that at The Stomp, and he told us they recorded these sides back in Memphis, although he wasn't sure of the name of the studio. Released in July of 1969, it doesn't sound like they were cut at American, or Royal for that matter. If Bobby was still using Bowlegs as his arranger, it seems possible that this was one of the first sessions held at Universal... think that's Clarence Nelson on guitar?

With no visible promotion, neither side of the record charted and that September Billboard was reporting that Robinson would continue to record Willie 'based at his own record shop' in Harlem. That didn't happen.

capitolWillie LPFor whatever reason, the next Capitol single released on Willie that October (2651) was made up of previously released Enjoy and Fury sides. The Capitol LP that was issued around the same time was actually titled If I Had A Hammer, as it included the earlier Fury hit. The rest of the album was fleshed out by material that was already 'in the can' as well. I'm not sure if it was some kind of contractual thing with Robinson (neither was Willie), but at this point Capitol certainly appeared to have lost interest.

Perhaps it was because they had other plans...

As mentioned earlier, Capitol had recently become the national distributor for Fame, and it made sense to hand Willie off to Rick Hall, who knew a thing or two about Southern Soul. The edit of a 1970 Swedish documentary above shows Willie, Rick Hall and The Fame Gang working on his first release for the smaller label. Although Hightower remembers the film crew being there at the studio, he had never seen any of the footage until we screened it at the Stomp.

fameFAME 1465A

Walk A Mile In My Shoes

One of the truly great Fame 45s, Hall's 'R&B record' of Joe South's ageless message song is still just as relevant today as it was when it was first released in the Spring of 1970. Scoring higher on the R&B chart in Billboard (#26) than in Cashbox (#45) this time, it will endure forever. We asked Willie what it was like working with Rick, and he said he appreciated the fact that he kept everyone working until they 'got it right'.

fameFAME 1465B

You Used Me Baby

As deep as deep soul gets, the flip here has remained a favorite of aficianados the world over. According to the label, it was composed by Hightower (who no longer had to include Robinson as his co-writer), but when we asked him about that at the conference, he told us he hadn't actually written it, his Grandmother did! Based on a real life situation, she gave it to Willie to record, and he just nails it! Clayton Ivey's piano on both sides of this record is just amazing, and demonstrates once again just how under-appreciated Hall's 'third rhythm section' is... you go Fame Gang!

fameFAME 1474A

Time Has Brought About A Change

The grandest of Hightower's compositions, it was written as an 'answer song' to Sam Cooke's civil rights anthem A Change Is Gonna Come. The fact that Rick Hall chose to use it as the follow-up to Willie's big hit shows, I think, how much he believed in Willie and his music. Despite being featured in Fame's full-page ads in the trade magazines, it would miss the charts entirely, which certainly seems a shame. What a great record this is.

fameFAME 1474B

I Can't Love Without You

"Time keeps moving on, I don't know where it all went wrong..." Staff songwriter George Jackson teamed up with Mickey Buckins to write this one. With that great Harrison Calloway horn arrangement and patented Rick Hall production, it's right up there with the other great Soul records that Fame was cranking out on folks like Candi Staton and Clarence Carter during that period.

In November of 1970, a Billboard article reporting on the goings-on at Fame claimed that the studio had completed an LP on Willie Hightower. That LP, as we now know, was never released. Although preliminary inquiries have failed to turn up anything, it may be possible that the tapes are out there somewhere! Imagine?

capitolFAME 1477A

Back Road Into Town

Cut from the same cloth (if you will) as Patches (the Clarence Carter mega-hit that Rick Hall had produced for Atlantic a few months earlier), this phenomenal 'message song' peaked at only #58 on the Cashbox R&B chart in May of 1971 (notwithstanding the full page ad treatment), and proved to be Willie's final chart appearance. Written by O.B. McClinton, the 1974 Staple Singers version (produced for Stax by Al Bell across town at Muscle Shoals Sound) has kind of overshadowed this one... but Willie's is better.

fameFAME 1477B

Poor Man

The flip mines the same vein, featuring more of that great Clayton Ivey piano and Junior Lowe guitar that defined this era at Fame... but times were changing. Penned by George Jackson (who had just supplied Hall with a song that spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100), Fame was, as Rick told all of us in the Muscle Shoals movie "...shitting in high cotton." By 1972 the studio's focus was shifting away from R&B, however, and Capitol chose not to renew Willie's contract.

That June, Hightower was signed by Mercury, who was looking to expand their R&B operation. The contract called for four sides to be delivered per year and, to prove they meant business, the label paired Willie with another legendary Southern producer, one Lincoln Wayne Moman.

mercurymercuryMERCURY 73338A

Easy Lovin'

Chips had cashed in his chips in Memphis by then, and re-opened American in an industrial park in Atlanta. Willie confirmed for us at the conference that he had indeed recorded there, making him one of the very few people who did. With that prominent Reggie Young guitar and cookin' bass line (Cogbill or Leech?), Moman and his American Group still had it goin' on!

fameMERCURY 73338B

I Love You So

This Chips Moman production of yet another superb Willie Hightower composition has remained a hidden gem. With Bobby Emmons' big fat Hammond organ laid over the top of a rhythm section expanded to include a vibraphone and some conga drums, great punchy horn lines, and some understated strings there towards the end, I think it's even better than the A Side.

After about six months there in Atlanta, Chips Moman 'quit the business cold' and walked away, a decision that Mercury (I'm sure) was none too happy with. In April of 1973, they amended Willie's contract, calling on him to 'supervise and A&R' his own sessions.

fameMERCURY 73390B

Hungry For Your Love

I've chosen to put the B side first on this one as, according to the label, it was cut at the by then defunct American Studio in Atlanta, no doubt at the same sessions as the previous single. If you notice, however, Willie is now listed as the producer, which would seem to indicate that this 45 was released under the new contract provisions. Co-written with someone named Shirley Pruitt, you can hear some seventies Joe Simon like inflections creeping in to Willie's delivery.

fameMERCURY 73390A

Don't Blame Me

Left to his own devices, Willie returned to his deep soul roots on this one, which he wrote, arranged and produced. The arrangement puts you in mind of Al Green's God Blessed Our Love (which wouldn't be released until the following year)... yes, it's that good. It was recorded at a place called the New London Recording Center, which was located in Homewood, Alabama, not far from Willie's home town. New London had imported Memphis session stalwarts like Michael Toles, Ben Cauley and Don Hines, and was angling for a piece of the Muscle Shoals pie.

Mercury 73486, presumably cut at New London as well, was in the can and slated for release in July of 1974. The single was never issued, however, and that October Mercury terminated their agreement with Mr. Hightower. I'm still working out the reasons why.

motownAfter Rick Hall basically washed his hands of R&B in 1972, Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford formed their own company called Wishbone Productions, luring fellow Fame Gang members Jesse Boyce, Freeman Brown and Harrison Calloway away from East Avalon Avenue as well. They began producing 'Modern Soul' (aka early Disco) records for a variety of labels. With the addition fameof John Helms, Fred Birdwell and Sanchez Harley they formed a studio group named Bottom & Co. that placed a couple of tunes in the lower echelons of the R&B charts for Motown in 1974 and 1975. In 1976 Jesse Boyce and Sanchez Harley moved on to Nashville and formed the first African-American owned production company on Music Row.

fameSS7 2503A

Chicago Send Her Home

Monument's R&B outlet Sound Stage 7 had been reeling ever since Joe Simon jumped ship for Spring Records in late 1970. Joe was back at the top of the R&B charts for Spring in 1975 and early '76 with new material clearly aimed at the 'Disco Crowd'. I think Monument saw their chance to get back on top when they signed Willie Hightower and handed him off to Jesse Boyce and Sanchez Harley. No matter what you might think of 'Disco' per se, this tune positively CRANKS, and the production is far superior to that on Simon's records at the time. I've included the 'long version' here off the Promo 45, as the last minute and a half are among the finest moments of Willie's career. I mean it. If there were any justice in this world, this record would have been a major hit...

fameSS7 2503B

Ain't Nothing Wrong (With Loving One Woman)

...only it wasn't. Now that John R was off the air, Fred Foster's notorious lack of promotion took its toll, and this great record went virtually unoticed. The funky flip here, driven by Jesse Boyce's incredible bass line, may seem a trifle too Disco-fied for many of you, but taken in context with the times (Car Wash was then at #1 R&B and Pop), I think it's pretty damn good.

fameSo What happened next? To be honest, I don't know. We kind of ran out of time at the conference to go into much detail, but it seems inconceivable to me that this man, possessed of one of the truly great voices of Soul Music, who had notched four chart hits, been produced by some of the brightest lights in the business for some of the major players in the game was unable to find a deal, but the fact remains that there was no offer forthcoming. Had Hightower decided to walk away at that point? ...'quit the business cold' as Chips had done a few years earlier? ...or had the face of American Music changed so much that it no longer held a place for an authentic Soul Man... a harsh reality faced by so many others during the same period.

As far as I can tell, Willie would not darken the door of a studio for the next six years.

claunchSOULTRAX (unreleased)

Walk On Water

When he did, it was to return to the place he cut his first hit in 1966, Royal Studio in Memphis. Armed with an album's worth of new material he had written, he would record there in 1982 with Willie Mitchell and Hi Rhythm, which is what you would expect. What you wouldn't expect was that the producers on the project were none other than Quinton Claunch and his original partner Bill Cantrell, who had founded the studio 25 years before! With his singing and songwriting as strong as ever, and Willie Mitchell's updated 'Waylo' sound giving it that eighties feel, I can't believe there was no market for it at the time. The more-or-less finished album remained 'in the can' for the next 25 years, until it was included on a 2007 P-Vine Japanese CD. I asked Quinton Claunch why; "couldn't find a label willing to pick it up," he said, and that was that. Incredible.

CDOn the Japanese CD it says that two of the songs that Willie and Jackie Ragland wrote for those Royal sessions had been released on a label named Adventure One in 1985. That is not entirely accurate, however. Although they are the same songs, they are completely different recordings.

fameADVENTURE ONE 8502A

Too Many Irons In The Fire

West Coast Motown producer James Anthony Carmichael (think Michael Jackson, The Commodores, Lionel Richie) was also from Gadsden, and was impressed with the quality of Willie's material. Carmichael offered to re-cut the tracks out on the coast in 1985 (the same year he sent Say You, Say Me on its way to #1 R&B and Pop) and add his magic touch. Once again, taken in that context, I think these sides stand right up there with Carmichael's other mid-eighties output.

fameADVENTURE ONE 8502B

Tell Me What You Want

I'm not sure how they came to be released on this obscure label, whose other output appears to be limited to a handful of 12" Disco singles... but ultimately it doesn't matter. All I know is that this B side just lays me out every time I hear it. With Willie's soulful delivery of his own heartfelt lyrics over Carmichael's lavish fat-bottomed sound, this one is a keeper, and as good as anything he'd ever done.

This 45 would turn out to be Willie Hightower's last release. It is now thirty years old. That in itself is not that remarkable (especially here on Soul D), except for one thing...

...WILLIE HIGHTOWER IS JUST AS GREAT AS EVER!!

Nobody really knew what to expect at The Stomp until (as you can see in this video of the centerpiece of his set supplied by The Vinyl Word's Nick Cobban) he seemed to turn back the hands of time, and deliver a performance that defined the true meaning of Soul. At 75 years of age, Willie's extraordinary voice appears to have lost none of its power and emotion. He was, quite simply, amazing.

As Soul fans, I think we have been afforded a rare opportunity here to welcome this legend of a man back into the public eye, and let him know how much he and his work have been loved and appreciated all these years... Willie Hightower is back!

- red kelly

line Special thanks to Willie Hightower, Doctor Ike, Seamus McGarvey, Nick Guarino, Quinton Claunch, Howard Grimes, Sanchez Harley, Rune Blomquist, John Broven, Richard Tapp, John Ridley, Nick Cobban, Dave Thomas, David Cole, Bob McGrath, Billboard Magazine and good ol'45cat.

Please join in the discussion... as always, please feel free to email us any scans, photos or mp3s you might have that pertain to the case. You are now a Soul Detective... Welcome Aboard!

slooths _______________________________________

soul sauce

willie

Every once in a while the forces of the Universe seem to align just right, and pull things together in unforeseen and miraculous ways... this is one of those times.

Willie Hightower, one of the truly great Soul Singers of our time, has just released his first album in FIFTY YEARS! As good as anything he's ever done, it was recorded in Muscle Shoals, and produced by none other than Quinton Claunch, the legendary Goldwax impresario who gave us The Dark End Of The Street. That in itself is remarkable enough, but the fact that Willie is now 77 years old and Quinton turns NINETY SEVEN in December makes this event truly extraordinary.

jr parker lpI had first met Quinton back in 2008, as we put together the O.V. Wright Memorial weekend, and I made it a point after that to go see him whenever I was in Memphis. Sharp as a tack, he's still got one of the best 'ears' in the business. After the passing of his wife of sixty nine years in June of 2013, this dyed in the wool 'record man' decided to return to the studio. When my partner John Broven and I visited him on our Soul D Road Trip the following August, he played us the tracks he had just cut in Muscle Shoals on a Kentucky guitarist named Alonzo Pennington. Although they sounded great, Quinton had trouble finding a distributor for the album when he released it on his own SoulTrax label in early 2015. Hold that thought...

argoYears back, Dr. Ike of The Ponderosa Stomp asked author Peter Guralnick (who knows a little bit about Soul Music) which Soul Singer he would most like to see perform at The Stomp. "Willie Hightower!" was his immediate reply. After a few false starts, Ike contacted us here at Soul Detective to see if we could locate him for Stomp #12 in 2015. As fate would have it, John Broven's intrepid friend Seamus McGarvey had spoken with Willie several times at his home in Gadsen, Alabama, and was happy to supply Ike with his number. Once The Stomp booked Willie, Ike naturally wanted Peter to interview him at that year's Music Conference... only he had a prior committment and was unavailable. "What about Red Kelly?" John Broven suggested (bless his heart!), and so I was invited to do an interview and presentation with Willie Hightower in New Orleans in October of 2015. I was just over the moon...

jr parker lpLike most people, I didn't know much about Willie beyond his amazing Fame singles, but as I began to do research for the interview, I discovered that he had recorded at Royal Studio in Memphis (the very studio that Quinton Claunch and his partners founded in 1957) in 1982, with Quinton handling the production. Although not released at the time, the album finally saw the light of day on a Japanese CD in 2007. I called Claunch to ask him about the sessions, and told him about Willie's upcoming Stomp performance. "Let me know how he sounds," he said.

argoWell, as anyone who was there that night can tell you, Willie Hightower gave one of the most solid and soulful performances I have ever witnessed, and proved to the world he had lost absolutely nothing off his incredible voice. He was back! I reported all this to Quinton, as requested, and went on to send him a video of the show to prove my point. I didn't know it at the time, but Billy Lawson, the Muscle Shoals studio owner and engineer who had worked with Quinton on the Alonzo Pennington CD had asked him "Don't you know of any old school Soul singers we could cut - that's what you do best!" There's those forces of The Universe now, folks... Quinton had his man!

jr parker lpLawson had just recently taken over Wishbone, the studio built by Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford after they left Fame in 1973. When Larry Rogers' Studio 19 in Nashville (formerly Scotty Moore's Music City) faced the wrecking ball, Billy bought the console and just about went insane re-wiring and installing it at Wishbone. "I'll never do that again!" he told me when we visited the studio last month.

argoWith the equipment finally where he wanted it, Billy brought in studio veterans like the aforementioned Clayton Ivey, Travis Wammack and Will McFarlane, and proceeded to cut a record that is pure Muscle Shoals magic. As the tracks were completed, Quinton began sending them up to John Broven and I here in New York, and we were just knocked out. This was Real Soul, as good as anything Willie had ever recorded! John in turn played them for Roger Armstrong at Ace in the UK, who jumped at the chance to release this landmark album.

Out Of The Blue was officially issued on August 31st, and is now available from Ace in Vinyl LP, CD and MP3 formats. You need to own a copy!

jr parker lp...but the forces of The Universe weren't through. Old friend Noah Schaffer got in touch a while back and asked for Willie's number. His buddy Eli Reed wanted to throw a 40th birthday party for him, he said, and was hoping Willie would agree to sing with his band. I honestly didn't think they could pull it off but, lo and behold, Willie Hightower performed what may have been his first ever Boston area gig on September 7th at Club Sonia in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Along with Deep Soul songstress Thelma Jones and The Natural Wonders, this show just rocked the house! Peter Guralnick was there, John Broven was there and so was I. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

...and as you can see, the show was truly amazing! Both Willie and Thelma Jones performances were an absolute revelation, and Eli's smoking band just tore it up! Life is Good!

- red kelly, September 2018 _______________________________________

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soul sauce

Henry Henderson

apolloI know we talk a lot around here about places like Memphis and Muscle Shoals, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Nashville, but somehow it seems I haven't paid enough attention to my own hometown. As the site of the premier Black entertainment venue in the world, New York truly had it going on throughout 'The Soul Era'.

alonzoThe Big Town knew few rivals as a recording center in those days as, in addition to Bobby Robinson's Harlem empire, it was home to 'major independents' like Atlantic, Scepter, Big Top, Roulette, Sue, Jubilee and Bell, (to name a few), all of which cut at various 'hole in the wall' studios in and around Manhattan.

bell

long islandHome to such luminaries as James Brown, Don Covay, Gary U.S. Bonds, Roy C and Freddie Scott, Long Island enjoyed a thriving Soul scene all its own, with night clubs and lounges that featured live music springing up wherever there was a sizable Black community.

celebrity club

Calling themselves 'The Showcase of Talent', the Celebrity Club on Sunrise Highway in Freeport was one of the most celebrated of those clubs, and when they brought in Leo Price to put together their 'house band' in the early sixties, he decided to stick around. As he told Seamus McGarvey in Now Dig This, "I stayed up there... playing around those clubs, and backing up groups. In those days [most] recording artists didn't have their own bands, and the Jimmy Evans Booking Agency - I was his band - he had the acts... we played behind."

shirellesIt was his connection with Evans that made Leo a favorite with Long Island club owners, as he was able to bring in national level acts like Wilson Pickett and The Shirelles to keep the cash registers ringing. Price soon had more work than he could handle, and helped install a young singer named Henry Henderson as the leader of the house band at another popular club named Mister C's in Roosevelt.

Henderson had grown up in Jackson, Mississippi, and by the time he was a teenager he was fronting his own group that was represented by Tommy Couch's Malaco Attractions. After cutting a few sides for them that were never released, Henry took off for the bright lights, and wound up here on Long island in 1964.

buster adThis was right around the time that Little Buster's phenomenal Lookin' For A Home was garnering some airplay on local radio. Henry met Buster shortly after that when he was performing at Brownie's Lounge in Lakeview and the two transplanted Southerners hit it off, following each other around the Long Island club circuit from The Freeport Yacht Club and The Steer Inn to Club 91 and The Bluebird Cafe way out in the sticks.

obiIn a scenario truly remiscent of Animal House, in the late sixties notorious bar owner Robert Matherson hired Little Buster to play for his all-white clientele every Sunday at The Oak Beach Inn. When Buster wasn't available, Henry took his place and, between the two of them, they introduced an entire generation of essentially clueless caucasians to the Real Soul music that was happening all around them.

henry 70sAs the sixties gave way to the seventies, The Highway Inn in Uniondale eclipsed the Celebrity Club as ground zero for Long Island Soul, with Leo Price's band once again providing the back-up. When Leo decided to move on, he called on Henry to take his place as leader of the house band, backing up everyone from Big Mama Thornton to The Ohio Players.

interstateIn the early seventies, Henry got together with producer Clyde Wilson and cut a single for a Long Island label named Interstate 95. As Henry recalls it, the studio was located in the Chrysler Building in Manhattan, and they were all set to release the 45 when the label owner, Daniel Yudow, died suddenly, and that was the end of that. Sir Shambling calls the L.L. Milton release that Clyde Wilson produced for the label "a real throwback to the 60s," and that's just what Long Island Soul has remained all these years.

henry discoAs disco began to take hold in the mid-seventies, Henderson had the good sense to lay low for a while, and returned home to Jackson for a few years. By the early eighties he was back on Long Island, starting up a new band, 'The Honey Holders' that would help him carry on in that soulful tradition...

busterizedAs you may know, I was a huge fan of Little Buster and, as I've said before, I'd seen him perform "more times than anyone else, ever." When Buster passed on in May 0f 2006, I was devastated. It was at a tribute to Buster held that June that I first met Henry Henderson. Once I heard him sing, I knew he was the real deal. We would become good friends, and his stories about the scene in those days have never failed to fascinate and enlighten me.

bash2010When Sir Lattimore Brown was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, we flew him up here to New York for treatment, and began arranging what we thought might be his final performance. I asked Henry if he would be willing to get The Honey Holders back together to back him up, and he jumped at the chance.

brothersOnce the two Mississippi natives got together, they were thick as thieves, and I knew that Real Soul was in the house. As anybody who was there that night can tell you, it was a performance we won't soon forget. After Lattimore tragically passed in 2011, both Henry and I decided to keep his memory alive by bringing back his Honey Holders every year to what has come to be known as the CLUB 91 SIR LATTIMORE BROWN MEMORIAL NOFO SOUL BASH.

sam and fredAlthough the personnel may vary from year to year, Henry has never failed to deliver the genuine article. Featuring veterans like Saxy Ric, guitarist Sam MacArthur (who was a member of Leo Price's Celebrity Club band), bass player Fred Thomas (of The JB's), sax man Bobby Gaither (who played on Joe Haywood's Warm and Tender Love), drummer Joe Mannino, bass player Douglas Jackson, and many more, The Honey Holders were the place where Long Island Soul lives!

sad

And now it is my sad duty to inform all of you of the passing of Long Island Soul legend Henry Henderson. According to his good friend Mary Forehand "He passed on January 18th... he was having chest pains and drove himself to the Hospital. He was found sitting in his car the next day." Just So Sad...

May He Rest In Peace.

- red kelly, February 2019 _______________________________________

cos
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Sir Lattimore Brown
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Darryl