The Magnificent Goldberg

I think I can remember seeing that photo, but can't for the life of me recall where or when (except it was a long time ago). What is it? Who is it? MG

Yes, in my view. 'Main attraction' was one of those things where a mechanical groove was greated, over which the soloists played on another day. I know that's true and you can tell by listening. I DON'T know it's not also true of the two Person Mercury albums, but I can't tell by listening. And anyway, 'I no get eye for back' is classic HP at his best. I can't answer the second question. But I can't remember any recording HP did in which Creed Taylor was in any way involved. Creed was a very clever record producer and very keyed into what would sell (though he spent money like water, and much faster than it was coming in the door). To me, Houston as a producer is much more keyed into the music and the musicians. So I doubt if he would even have tried to produce an album like 'The main attraction'. GG's 'Easy', though nothing to do with HP, is more like something that Houston might have done with GG in the late seventies, had GG lived. Or so it seems to me. MG

Myra Gale Brown Gale Storm Frank 'Typhoon' Tyson

Oh yes. Being a Texan, you can write something about him, Fathead Don Wilkerson Wild Bill Moore Jesse Powell King Curtis Clifford Scott Arthur 'Fats' Theus MG

Reuben Wilson - A groovy situation - BN (blue/black label) MG

Wrapmaster Master Henry Gibson Vince Ector

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Willie Banks & the Messengers - Mother why? - Black Label MG

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Damn! Forgot that one! MG

These three albums, and the story behind them, that Bob Porter told me, are one of the things I like best about Houston Person. The two Mercury albums were intended, by Mercury, to follow up, and cash in on, Houston’s success with 'Get outa my way', and the single taken from it, 'Disco sax', on Westbound – both the album and the single made the R&B charts. So, based on sales assumptions, Mercury set a budget for the two albums at $35,000 each. Remember this was mid-seventies money. Houston negotiated that he, not some Mercury employee, should produce the albums. And he brought in each project for about $7,000 – the rest, of course, about $55,000, was his artist’s pay! The albums are what you’d expect – competently played disco, complete with swirling strings and backing vocalists and sloppy tunes like 'I write the songs'. But on 'Harmony', Houston put in something for himself – a great eleven and a half minute funky version of Fela Kuti’s 'I no get eye for back', which sounds great as an instrumental, with a big band pumping behind HP. In early 1977, how hip was that! Houston, I’ve been told by more than one source, has a record collection that would put most of ours to shame. The LP has a gently surrealistic cover featuring Houston’s teenage daughter in a swimming costume. What's interesting is that, in managing the projects at a fifth of the budgeted cost, Houston didn't skimp on contemporary production values. 'Pure pleasure' has 16 additional musicians and 3 background singers (including Patti Austin, who probably wasn't cheap). 'Harmony' has 21 musicians plus 3 singers. It illustrates the motto I heard from ther owner of a record shop and company in The Gambia - 'It's easy to make money in the music business - all you have to know is what to do and how to do it.' Small wonder Joe Fields almost immediately started using Houston as a producer as well as a player. MG

So I'll start with tenor player Buddy Banks. Buddy ran a little R&B band on the west coast in the forties, recording for a variety of labels including: Specialty, Sterling, United Artist, Melodisc & Modern. Only hit was 'Voo-it, voo-it' on Specialty, featuring Marion 'Blues Woman' Abernathy. What was different about Buddy's band was that he had a trombonist (mostly Wiley Huff, who later spent quite a time with Johnny Otis' band) instead of a trumpet. This gave the band a nice mellow sound. Official issued an LP compiling most of the band's material in the 80s: 'Happy home blues'. I see there's a CD out on Blue Moon. MG

I also forgot Buddy Banks Harold 'Pop Pop' Rollins Schoolboy Porter I think it would be good if we had a post about many of those less well-known guys. (I mean a post each.) MG

I wonder if Chewy has that Kent LP? MG

Back in the early sixties, a mate of mine, whose family came from Cervia, had a 45 by Celentano, which he used to sing with irritating frequency when we were riding around. Never seen him perform. That thing swings! Back to the thread Ambrose Mantovani Semprini

Well, his guitar's there... MG

Dear Sir Huh? 'Cry baby cry' is from 'Mother Nature's son'. Unless you've got a different version of the BFT, that's not what's #25, it's 'Uhuru' from 'Another voyage'. (So you had 'Mother Nature's son' already?) Yours Confused of Leatherhead MG

Forgot Charlie Brown Rusty Bryant MG

I thought it would be nice to spare a thread for the great R&B saxmen, particularly (but not exclusively) of the 40s & 50s. So let's start with the 80s just because I'm listening to Gil Scott-Heron's 'From South Africa to South Carolina' which features one Bilal Sunni Ali taking a quite advanced, Pharoah Sanders-style, tenor solo on the track 'Essex'. So who is this guy, when he's not using his Islamic name? Anyone know him? And, since I've mentioned him, don't forget about Pharoah in this context... But OK, back to the old timers. And omigod weren't there a lot of them? In the order I thought of them... Paul Williams Wild Bill Moore Jimmy Forrest Jimmy Coe Hal Singer Red Prysock Sil Austin Maxwell Davis Big Jim Wynn Morris Lane Jack McVea Illinois Jacquet (I should have put him first) Weasel Parker Harold 'Geezil' Minerve Willis 'Gator Tail' Jackson Eddie Chamblee Bubba Broooks Little Willie Jackson Bullmoose Jackson Clyde 'Blowtop' Lynn Lynn Hope Big John Greer Joe Houston Earl Effin' Bostic (should have started with him, too ) Frank 'Floorshow' Culley Lee Allen Alvin Tyler Herb Hardesty Big Jay McNeely Sam 'The Man' Taylor Ray Abrams James Von Streeter Lorenzo Holden Preston Love Jackie Kelso Buddy Floyd William Gaither Benjamin Waters Eddie Taylor Big Al Sears Plas Johnson (he should be in big letters) Paul Bascomb Fred Jackson Jimmy Wright Jesse Powell Buddy Lucas David 'Fathead' Newman King Curtis Hank Crawford Fred Ford Red Holloway Maceo Parker Pee Wee Ellis Nearly forgot Clifford Scott!!! Gene 'Daddy G' Barge Arthur 'Fats' Theus Omigod forgot Louis Jordan!!! Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson Don Wilkerson Bumps Myers Holley Dismukes Bloody 'ell! Not one of these could Sanborn cut. MG

He did play with Paul Butterfield's band. and Little Milton, IIRC, v. early on. What I meant to say is - whatever he did - does this qualify him as one of the BEST EVER in that particular idom? Of all times? Right among the greatest of the great? Somehow I doubt it. Just look at all those really great R&B sax men (leaders and session men alike) who came up through the decades. This sounds more like some PR blurb like they come up with in those "all time great" histories published for the not to historically aware public where out of 100 pages maybe 20 or 30 pages are devoted to whoever was great up to maybe 10 years ago and the remaining 70 or 80 pages are reserved for those who are "great" right now. And this kind of skewed PRESENT-DAY perspective disregards the fact that there were many more who were just as great in THEIR day and who were not forgotten any quicker than those who are perceived to be bigshots now are fairly likely to be forgotten 10 or 15 years from now when their heyday will be over. Yeah!!!! MG

Kofi Annan The Tea Party Hot Chocolate

Izzy Goldberg Dizzy Gillespie Raymond Massey

This afternoon Horace Silver - Silver's serenade - BN (Liberty stereo) Willis Jackson - Please Mr Jackson - Prestige (OJC Stereo) This evening Mighty Gospel Giants of New York - Our way - Nashboro Now Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - From South Africa to South Carolina - Arista next Bobby Timmons - Chicken & dumplin's - Prestige (Transatlantic UK Stereo) MG