Ben Wiley Payton born 5 January 1948

Ben Wiley Payton (5 January 1948 - 4 December 2020) was a Mississippi bluesman who became an important guitar player and singer on the acoustic blues scene.    

Ben Wiley Payton was born in Coila (pronounced co-why-la), Mississippi, a small community in the hill country of Carroll County, just east of the Mississippi Delta.  The middle of five children, Payton worked in cotton fields when he was not in school. His father was a gravel truck driver and was killed in a truck explosion in 1954, just before Payton’s 6th birthday. Following his father’s death, the family settled in the Delta town of Itta Bena, where his mother worked as a cook in both local restaurants and private homes. 

Payton’s early musical influences include his pianist grandmother, Mabel Johnson, and his uncle Wiley, who played guitar and sang in gospel quartets. Payton’s mother and father also played guitar casually at family gatherings, and he credits the narrative style of his performance style to his mother’s storytelling skills. Payton was given a toy guitar as a young boy living in the Delta, but it was not until his family moved to Chicago in April 1964 that he became immersed in music. 

At 17 he began working as a bassist and backup vocalist in a soul band, which practiced on the porches of their homes in the south side of Chicago, in the neighborhood of 45th and Michigan. After the band was fired from a gig, Payton committed himself to learning to play guitar in a skillful manner. He began taking private guitar lessons with retired DuSable High School music instructor John House, and later continued to school himself through instructional books and practice. 

             Here’s “Back With My Baby Again” from above album.

                                     

Payton was in a variety bands throughout the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, playing contemporary soul music in small clubs and at private parties.  He worked regularly with groups including Bobby Rush and Joe Evans and the Supersonics, and as a member of house bands backed many prominent artists at clubs including Peyton Place.  During this time Payton began to seriously study sounds and chords, and ultimately found his musical direction during a seven-month long stay in Tangier, Morocco in 1970, where he performed in a review featuring famed jazz pianist Randy Weston. 

Payton recalls that when he returned to the Chicago deejays were taking over he club scene, but he nevertheless found work playing with groups including the Wolf Gang, the late Howlin’ Wolf’s backing band, replacing an ill Hubert Sumlin. In 1977 Payton became interested in acoustic blues music after hearing Robert Johnson recordings for the first time. 

Around this time he married and started a family, and although he stopped performing in clubs he continued to play guitar and sing at home and served as Minister of Music at the New Mount Vernon MB Church.  Through listening to public radio programs Payton explored various musical genres, including blues, and continued to study the sounds and styles he had been exposed to in Morocco. 

In 2002 Payton returned to music and his home state of Mississippi. Over the past decade, he had developed a distinctive guitar style that nods to pre-War War II blues style while displaying an innovative and artistic technique all his own. His 2006 debut album, “Diggin’ Up Old Country Blues,” exhibited his varied musical interests. In 2009 Payton played at the Chicago Blues Festival, but was diagnosed with colon cancer. Surgery soon followed and the respect he had gained among fellow musicians and blues fans was reflected in generous fund raisers to help cover his medical bills. He recovered successfully and in 2010 taught blues vocals at Centrum in Port Townsend, Washington and served as an artist in residence at the Berklee School of Music. He also toured England, performing at London’s blues festivals. 

Payton released another album, Caught Up In The Blues, in 2018 that updated his blues even more, incorporating some of the African influences that he picked up in Morocco on a couple of tracks. To find more gigs, Ben moved two more times, returning to Greenwood around 2015 and where he also resumed church preaching, and early 2020 to Clarksdale, Mississippi appearing as a speaker and panelist at several blues events.  But due to the Covid lockdowns and despite streaming videos, this project to be able to play more again could not succeed because he died there eleven months later on 4 December 2020.He was buried in Forest Park-Chicago, IL. 

(Edited from Mississippi Folklife, Living Blues Magazine, Jazz Hot & Blues Bytes)

 

Precious Bryant born 4 January 1942

Precious Bryant (née Bussey; January 4, 1942 – January 12, 2013) was an American country blues, gospel, and folk singer and guitarist. Bryant is described as one of Georgia's great blueswomen. She played Piedmont fingerstyle guitar. 

Bryant was born in Talbot County, Georgia, United States. She was the third child of nine and first became interested in singing by performing at her local Baptist church with her seven sisters. They initially dubbed themselves the Blue Moon Gospel Singers but later changed the group name to the Bussey Sisters. Bryant learned to play guitar from her father and uncle, blues musician George Henry Bussey, before dropping out of high school in eleventh grade. She began to perform wherever she could. 

At age 20 she wrote her first of many compositions, a song titled “Baby Tell Me Don’t You Want to Jump”. Her music was a blend of Piedmont finger-picking blues, blues from the Lower Chattahoochee Valley, urban blues, gospel, and folk. She also absorbed contemporary influences, including Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James.However, she was particularly “drawn to the blues,” because, in her words, “the blues tells the truth.” 

She got married in 1965, and moved to Juniper, Georgia with her then husband. She stayed there for about 11 years before returning home with her son Tony after her husband’s death. During her time in Juniper, Bryant met the blues researcher George Mitchell, who recorded a few of her songs in 1969. He described her as "Georgia musical treasure," but it was a combination of this chance encounter and the death of her husband that made her career possible. 

                                    

A decade after her first recording, Mitchell recorded Precious Bryant again for folklorist Fred Fussell’s In Celebration of a Legacy project for the Columbus Museum. By this point, she was back home in Talbot County living in a four-room trailer with her son Tony. In 1983, Mitchell persuaded Bryant to play at the Chattahoochee Folk Festival in Columbus and soon began playing at local, regional, and international venues to a growing fanbase. Bryant played the 1984 National Down Home Blues Festival in Atlanta, the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, the Newport Folk Festival. In 1995, Bryant met Tim Duffy and became involved with the Music Maker Relief Foundation, who assisted her in booking global tours and shows and increasing her following through events like Blues to Bop in Lugano, Switzerland, Port Townsend Blues Festival, and Chicken Raid in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Precious Bryant released her first commercial album, Fool Me Good, in 2002 through Terminus Records, more than 30 years after George Mitchell first recorded her in Juniper. She was 60 years old. Fool Me Good was an instant success. The album was nominated for two W.C. Handy Awards, including Acoustic Blues Album of the Year and Best New Artist Debut, and won three Living Blues Awards. In 2004, she released The Truth, featuring her son Tony on bass, followed by My Name is Precious Bryant in 2005 through the Music Maker Relief Foundation label. She was once again nominated for two W.C. Handy Blues Awards for best Traditional Blues Female Artist in 2004 and 2006. 

Her song "Morning Train" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 film Black Snake Moan. While Bryant loved playing music, she disliked the travel that came with her career. Ultimately, she preferred performing at local gatherings and talent shows “within a six hour radius of her home.” Although Bryant’s Fool Me Good album helped to generate a loyal fan base and the recognition she deserved, she remained grounded, describing her music as an extension of her life.

“I will always be playing the blues, as long as I live. The blues tells the truth. Sometimes it is sad, sometimes it be happy – it works all kind of ways,” she said. She continued to perform for friends while making an occasional appearance at a local club or festival. 

Precious Bryant died at the age of 71 years on January 12, 2013, in Columbus, Georgia, from complications of diabetes and congestive heart failure. She left behind a legacy as a bridge between traditional and modern blues. Blues researcher Barry Lee Pearson called her “a woman who played the blues like folks want to hear it” Her recordings and performances have ensured her place in blues history as “Georgia’s Daughter of the Blues.” 

(Edited from Lady Plays The Blues Project, Wikipedia & AllMusic)

 

Maxene Andrews born 3 January 1916

Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995) was a celebrated American singer best known as a member of the Andrews Sisters, a groundbreaking vocal group that gained fame during the swing and boogie-woogie era of the 1930s and 1940s. 

Alongside her sisters Patty and LaVerne, Maxene formed one of the most popular female singing trios in history. The Andrews Sisters sold over 75 million records and were known for their close harmonies and upbeat songs like "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," and "Rum and Coca-Cola." Their music became a symbol of American resilience and entertainment during World War II, as they frequently performed for troops in USO shows. 

Maxene, often seen as the "heart" of the group, was known for her clear mezzo-soprano voice and professional discipline. She was often referred to as 'the pretty one' or 'the one on the left. Tall red-headed LaVerne was the one on the right with peppy blonde Patty in the middle. LaVerne was a year older and Patty 4 years younger. Born of a Greek father and a Norwegian mother in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the three sisters showed early musical promise. LaVerne taught herself to play the piano, Patty won tap dancing prizes and Maxine was singing on local radio at the age of 4. At 5 she was performing at luncheons and for veterans at local hospitals. 

The decision to form a sister act was prompted by the swinging close harmony of the Boswell Sisters. Maxine said that they got so good at copying them that they developed a Southen accent. They sang together at school dances and won a talent competition at a local cinema. In 1932 they were hired by band leader Larry Rich who took them on a coast to coast tour. The sisters developed their own distinctive style and sang with various bands and were heard by a recording executive who offered them a recording contract with Decca. 

                                    

Their first record Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen brought them worldwide fame and between 1937 and 1941 they had numerous hits including Apple Blossom Time, Beer Barrel Polka and Eight to the Bar. When America entered the war the Andrew Sisters were born and made frequent overseas tours, recorded such hits as Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree, Don't Fence Me in and starred in 14 films. Maxene married Lou Levy in 1941, and adopted a son and daughter due to having an earlier hysterectomy. The marriage was dissolved in 1950. 

Patty & Maxene 1974

In 1953 various disputes caused the trio to break up for three years then disbanded permanently in 1967 when Laverne tragically died of cancer. Maxine joined the Lake Tahoe Paradise College of Fine Arts as Dean of Women and eventually rose to vice President. In 1973 Bette Middler recorded the sisters Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy which recreated interest in the Andrew Sisters causing their early records to be re released and Maxine and Patty to co star in the musical Over Here on Broadway for nearly a year. Following this Maxene blossomed into a terrific solo performer as she aged with grace and beauty and made many appearances as a solo performer. 

In 1982 after a series of concerts Maxene had a heart attack but after a heart bypass operation she was singing again and made a solo album “Maxene: An Andrews Sister” on which Bette Middler wrote the sleeve notes. This studio album contains recordings from her solo concert material that she recorded in 1985. In her later years she worked as a goodwill ambassador for various causes. Her last performance was on Sunday, October 8th, 1995, in the show 'Swing Time Canteen', at New York City's Blue Angel Theater. Sadly twelve days later Maxene died of a heart attack while vacationing in Cape Cod on 21, October 1995. The day before, she had signed autographs for fans a quarter her age at a local bagel shop, where a rare piece of Andrews Sisters sheet music-”Shoo Shoo Baby”-decorates the wood-paneled walls. 

Maxene & Lynda

Maxene Andrews had a lifelong and close relationship with her manager and companion, Lynda Wells who was a significant part in her later life, offering support after the group’s end and Maxene’s estrangement from her sister Patty. Maxene adopted Lynda as her as a daughter in 1995 to legally protect their partnership since same-sex marriage wasn't recognized, making Wells her sole heir and fulfilling their status as life partners before Maxene's passing. The Andrews Sisters, Laverne, Maxene, and Patty, were none biological mothers. Maxene adopted two children, a daughter, Aleta Ann, and a son, Peter. Patty also adopted one daughter, Pam DuBois.

Maxene remains an enduring icon of American music, celebrated for her contributions to both entertainment and the morale of a generation. 

(Edited from IMDb, Great Entertainers Archives & LA Times) 

Here's a clip of Laverne and Maxene Andrews of the Andrews Sisters make fun of their famous feud with sister Patty in this rare TV comedy duet from 1954. 

Bobby Hachey born 2 January 1932

Bobby Hachey (January 2, 1932 - October 18, 2006) was a singer, musician and television host, considered one of the pioneers of western music in Quebec and an exceptional country guitarist. Initially a member of Kid Baker's orchestra, he played with his two brothers, in addition to being the travelling companion of another legend of the genre, Willie Lamothe. Bobby Hachey began his solo career in 1979. 

Albert Hachey was born in Atholville, New Brunswick, Canada and was introduced to music at a very young age. He learned music by replicating what he heard on the 78s he listened to. He never knew how to read music but could play the guitar, mandolin, and violin and appeared on his first radio show at the age of six. At the age of fourteen, he left school to join the orchestra of Kid Baker, a well-known western artist at the time. With his brothers Terry and Curly, whom he met again a little later in Montreal, they then formed their own musical group. 

Bobby and Terry recorded with Hal Willis in 1951 under the name Hillbilly Ramblers. Subsequently, with their brother Curly in a group called The Sunset Playboys which also included, paradoxically, Mary Lou, a female musician, on double bass and violin. They participated in the weekly show of Willie Lamothe and his Cavaliers des Plaines, on CKVL, the popular station in Verdun. On the heels of this popular show, which was broadcast for most of the fifties Bobby and his brother Curly can also be found on some Lamothes recordings. 

Bobby with Willie Lamothe

In the 1960s, the three brothers, now Hachey Brothers, travelled across Canada and the United States with artists such as Tex Ritter, Carl Smith, Porter Wagoner and Canadian Hank Snow. Back in Quebec, Bobby teamed up again with Willie Lamothe in 1967. The two musicians then became inseparable and the tandem can be found on stage, on the radio and of course on television. Télé-Métropole's weekly show from the Ranch to Willie was one of the most popular music shows of the decade and ran for six years, from 1970 to 1976. . It was a great success for six seasons with a million and a half viewers. 

                     Here’s “Fingers On Fire” from above album

                                   

In its first season, the fame of the show led Bobby Hachey to record his own albums. His first for the London label, featured the biggest names in French-language country and western: Paul Brunelle, Marcel Martel, Lévis Bouliane, Larry Robichaud, Ti-Blanc Richard and of course Willie Lamothe, which testified to Bobby's taste for the music of Buck Owens and his Buckaroos. His masterful interpretation of the "Buckaroo" theme made it a landmark record for Quebec country music fans. The guitarist covered some classics of the American country repertoire such as "Yakety Axe", adapted for guitar by Chet Atkins, "Battle Of New Orleans" and "Buck's Polka", but also the theme from the film Doctor Zhivago "Lara" by Maurice Jarre and the song "Caravan" by Duke Ellington. This record was soon followed by a vocal album where he performed a selection of songs by one of his lifelong idols: "Bobby Hachey sings Johnny Cash". 

In 1975, Bobby Hachey and Willie Lamothe toured Louisiana, and in 1976 they returned to Nashville where they recorded together "30 Years and Then Nashville" and performed at the Grand Ole Opry. The collaboration between Hachey and Lamothe continued until 1976. Lamothe's health began to decline, following heart problems that handicapped him, so in 1979 Bobby chose to continue his career as a soloist. Sometimes nicknamed as “Mr. Smile,” he gave shows until the 2000s. 

While continuing to perform at festivals and in the network of country concert halls during the eighties, Quebec's most famous guitarist also joined a section of the youth who recognized him as one of the pioneers of this instrument on the local scene. This is the case of the singer Mitsou who used his services for the recording of her song "Lettre à un cowboy" on her album "Terre des hommes" in 1990. 

Having slowed down his activities on stage due to health problems, Bobby nevertheless continued to display a passion for music and offered a bilingual double album in 2002 - a CD in each language - to mark his 50 years of career, then a new recording entitled "On se souviens du Rock'N'Roll" in April 2005. The Mérite record company released several albums, in the series Les Étoiles du Country, at the turn of 2006, including an "Instrumental Album" and the compilation "Hommage à Elvis & Johnny Cash". 

Bobby Hachey passed away on October 18, 2006 in Saint-Hyacinthe, following lung and throat cancer. He was 74 years old. A few hours after his death, the Government of Quebec reacted to the news in a press release, regretting the death of the guitarist. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Quebec Info Musique) 

 

Earl Sinks born 1 January 1940

Henry Earl Sinks (January 1, 1940 – May 13, 2017), known professionally as Earl Sinks, was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter and actor. Sinks' career in music and acting spanned the 1950s to the 1990s. He is best known for his brief tenure as a member and occasional lead singer of The Crickets from 1958 to 1960, and for his acting roles in numerous low-budget movies and TV shows in the 1960s. 

He recorded under the names Earl Sinks, Sinx Mitchell, Earl Richards, and Earl "Snake" Richards. He wrote songs for various other artists, including Sue Thompson, The Everly Brothers, The Newbeats, Ernie Ashworth, Brenda Lee, Roy Orbison, Mel Tillis, and Buddy Holly. He also played guitar and sang harmony for sessions with artists such as Mel Tillis, Del Reeves, Mel Street, and Charlie Pride. 

He was born on New Year's Day in Whitharrel, Texas, near Littlefield, and not in Amarillo, as is alleged by some sources, although Earl did move there later in his youth. Sinks performed with Bob Wills at the age of twelve; he created his first recordings as a solo artist in 1958 (aged eighteen) at Norman Petty Studios. Under the alias of "Earl Henry", he recorded 2 singles: "I Am The Man/Whatcha Gonna Do?" and "My Suzanne/Believe A Traveler" with Dot Records. 

After Buddy Holly split with The Crickets near the end of 1958, Sinks was brought in as his replacement by manager Norman Petty. He recorded and performed with The Crickets after Holly's death in 1959, contributing to the album In Style With the Crickets, singing on songs such as "I Fought the Law," "Love's Made a Fool of You", "Deborah", and "When You Ask About Love". Sinks' association with The Crickets ended in February 1960, citing a personal disagreement. David Box was later brought in to finish recording and fulfil the band's contract with Coral Records. 

                                   

Sinks later moved to Nashville, where he continued to release records. He recorded for Decca Records, in addition to Hickory, Capitol, Coral, Brunswick, United Artist, Warner Brothers, and Ace of Hearts Records. He and Norro Wilson, along with Bill Fernez, recorded as the country band The Omegas. In October 1958, Tommy Allsup rejoined The Crickets for the "Biggest Show of Stars: Autumn Edition” after Buddy split from Jerry Allison and Joe Mauldin. The Roses, a vocal backup group, also performed on the tour. 

To form a new band for the planned “Winter Dance Party Tour”, Buddy asked his friend Waylon Jennings to play bass, with Tommy Allsup on guitar and Allsup's friend Carl Bunch to play drums. Tommy and Sinks remained in New York following the end of the “Winter Dance Party Tour” for promotional pictures with J.I. and Joe B. as The Crickets. Sinks had recorded earlier with the Crickets, along with Sonny Curtis, and sang lead on their version of "I Fought the Law,” “Someone Someone,” and “Love's Made A Fool of You." In 1959, he came to Nashville with Bob Montgomery, where they worked together as songwriters with Acuff-Rose. 

In the mid-1960s, Nashville filmmaker Ron Ormond sought a leading actor for his low-budget films. He consulted Smiley Wilson, an artist and booking agent, who recommended his son-in-law, Earl Sinks. At this time, Earl was recording for the Warner Brothers record label as well as appearing in some of the Warner Brothers' television shows, such as Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, and Surfside Six. In his debut film with Ron Ormond, The Girl From Tobacco Row, Earl Sinks acquired a new nickname, "Snake Richards". During an interview with Ken Beck of the Tennessean newspaper, Sinks revealed: “Ron gave me that name.” From then on, deejays began referring to him as Snake Richards. Along with The Girl From Tobacco Row, Ormond's film White Lightnin' Road also included Earl as "Snake" and also later in the 20th Century Fox film by Richard Ball That Tennessee Beat. 

In 1972 he was appointed manager of the Ace of Hearts label (not to be confused with the UK label of the same name) and bought the label with Gene Kennedy the following year. On Ace of Hearts Earl had four more entries in the country charts between 1973 and 1978, the most successful being "Margie, Who's Watching the Baby". In 1976 Sinks launched the short-lived RPA label, for which he rerecorded "House Of Blue Lights" and an LP with that title. Over the years he produced for artists such as John Anderson, Faron Young, Joyce Cobb, Jimmy Dickens, Porter Wagoner, Mark Dinning, The Remingtons, Bobby Lewis, Mel Street, and many more. 

According to the Nashville Tennessean, Sinks lived with his wife, who was once known as Little Rita Faye on the Grand Ole Opry and was the daughter of country stars Smiley and Kitty Wilson. They had a son Brandon Earl Sinks, who also became a musician, and were married for over 50 years .They lived in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, where Earl Sinks died at his home on May 13, 2017. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & This Is My Story)

Wiley Barkdull born 31 December 1928

Wiley Barkdull (December 31, 1928 – August 29, 2014) was an American Country Singer and pianist whose  musical career is virtually inseparable from that of the brothers Rusty and Doug Kershaw. 

Barkdull was born in Forest Hill,Louisiana. His main instrument was the piano, but he may have played rhythm guitar as well, possibly at his live performances. A deep voiced Lefty Frizzell sound-alike, he performed over Crowley's KSIG alongside Jimmy Newman, Jim Toth and the Kershaws. Rusty, Doug and Wiley all started recording for legendary Crowley producer Jay (J.D.)Miller's Feature label in 1953 or 1954. Very few of these recordings were issued at the time, but most of them (plus some KSIG radio transcriptions) finally appeared on the UK’s Flyright label between 1981 and 1991. Barkdull's record for Feature was "I'll Give My Heart to You" (also later rerecorded for Hickory) which appeared in early 1955. It was the last release on the label, crediting the backing to Rusty & Doug and the Music Makers. 

After Feature was wound down, Rusty and Doug were signed by Hickory Records in Nashville and Barkdull was also signed as an artist in his own right. Wiley's deep bass voice contributes to many of Rusty and Doug's recordings and so much so that his name was credited on almost all of the Rusty & Doug sides on which he appeared as a vocalist. In some cases, these harmonies are downright spectacular ("Kaw-Liga", for instance). The Hickory recordings benefited from a first-class accompaniment by the Nashville A-team, sometimes enhanced by the fiddle of Rufus Thibodeaux. 

                                   

Barkdull's solo recordings for Hickory (8 singles altogether) are a mixture of country in the Lefty Frizzell style, western swing and rockabilly. Songs in the latter category include the great two-sider "Hey Honey"/"I Ain't Gonna Waste My Time" and "Too Many", which was covered by Ocie Smith (whose version got a UK release on London, while the original went unissued in the UK). "Too Many" (written by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant) features a great guitar groove by Hank Garland and Ray Edenton, fine percussive sounds by Buddy Harman and Lightnin' Chance and a piano solo by Floyd Cramer. 

Most of Wiley's Hickory material was written by J.D. Miller, with just one Barkdull co-writer's credit. Rusty and Doug scored five country hits between 1955 and 1961, but for Barkdull's solo recordings there was no chart success, in spite of their quality. His final Hickory release was a nice up-tempo treatment of Melvin Endsley's "Keep A-Lovin' Me Baby". After this last Hickory session Barkdull moved to Houston, and started to record for the All Star label in 1961, gaining seven releases by the time the label closed in 1964. He then made two discs for Slick Norris, a Houston and south east Texas area promoter, producer and DJ. Wiley appeared on his Skill label alongside Warren Smith and others whose careers Norris hoped to revive. 

In the 1970s it was probably inevitable that Wiley would eventually cross paths with the larger than life music entrepreneur Huey P. Meaux. Wiley cut an LP at a studio in Pasadena, Texas for Meaux's Crazy Cajun label of Conroe, Texas. This time, though Wiley was singing gospel songs and he seems to have laid out of the country scene by then. As late as 20 June 1986 the 'Baytown Sun' was report ing on the 'Baytown Family Opry' show on North Alexander, which included "a gospel show featuring Wiley and Jessie Barkdull. 

During the 1970s, 80s and 90s the Barkdulls lived on Magnolia Street in Channelview, on the eastern edge of Houston until his wife died in 2012. After which Wiley may have moved across the bay to Pasadena, Harris County, Texas where he died on 29 August 2014, aged 85. Although he'd been in Texas for fifty years, the 'Houston Chronicle' reported that he was to be buried in Lecompte, Forest Hill, Rapides, Louisiana. 

(Edited from This Is My Story & Bear Family’s And More Bears web site)

Felix Pappalardi born 30 December 1939

Felix Albert Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was most famous as the producer of Cream and the bassist for one of the first American hard rock acts, Mountain; sadly, he's also remembered for the tragic shooting that claimed his life at age 43. 

Pappalardi was born in the Bronx, New York City, to an Italian family who immigrated from Gravina in Puglia. He graduated from New York City's High School of Music & Art and studied classical music at the University of Michigan. Upon returning to New York, he was unable to find work as a conductor and soon drifted into the Greenwich Village folk scene. 

Max Morath

In 1964 he joined Max Morath’s Original Rag Quartet (ORQ)in their premier engagement at New York’s Village Vanguard with several other famous musicians. Along with Felix on guitarrón (Mexican acoustic bass) were pianist/singer Morath, who revived classic ragtime played in the Scott Joplin manner, Barry Kornfeld, a well-known NYC studio folk and jazz guitarist, and Jim Tyler, a famous Baroque and Renaissance lutenist playing four string banjo and mandolin. The ORQ then toured the college and concert circuit during the following year, and opened four engagements with the Dinah Shore show in Las Vegas and elsewhere. 

Eric Clapton with Felix

He soon made a name for himself as a skilled arranger, and appeared on albums by Tom Paxton, Vince Martin and Fred Neil for Elektra Records. Thereafter he moved into record production, initially concentrating on folk and folk-rock acts for artists such as Tim Hardin, the Youngbloods, Joan Baez, Richard & Mimi Farina, Ian & Sylvia, and Fred Neil.

As a producer, Pappalardi became perhaps best known for his work with British psychedelic blues-rock power trio Cream, beginning with their second album, Disraeli Gears  in 1967. Pappalardi has been referred to in various interviews with the members of Cream as “the fourth member of the band” as he generally had a role in arranging their music. He contributed instrumentation for his imaginative studio arrangements and he and his wife, Gail, wrote the Cream hit “Strange Brew” with Eric Clapton. 

In 1968 he produced a band named, ‘The Vagrants’ who recorded on the Atlantic Record Label, and which featured a young guitarist named Leslie West. In 1969 along with West, Corky Laing, Mark Clarke, Steve Knight, David Perry, and N.D. Smart II, he founded the hard charging blues-rock group, ‘Mountain.‘ The group was formed in Long Island, New York and actively recorded and toured between 1969 and 1971. One of their first big gigs was playing at the Woodstock Music Festival in Saugerties, New York, in August 1969. Pappalardi produced the band's albums, and co-wrote and arranged a number of the band's songs with Collins and West. They disbanded in 1972 regrouping again in 1974, but disbanded again in 1975. The band’s signature song, “Mississippi Queen” is still heard regularly on classic rock radio stations. They also had a hit with the song “Nantucket Sleighride” written by Pappalardi and Collins. 

                                  

Felix generally played Gibson basses live and on Mountain’s recordings. He is most often shown with an EB-1 but there are photographs of him playing an EB-0 live. He was known for playing a Gibson EB-1 violin bass through a set of Sunn amplifiers that, he claimed, once belonged to Jimi Hendrix. 

Pappalardi was forced to retire because of partial deafness, ostensibly from his high-volume shows with Mountain. He continued producing throughout the 1970s and released a solo album and recorded with Japanese hard rock outfit Kazuo Takeda’s band The Creation (old name Blues Creation), who had opened for Mountain on their Japanese tours. Felix Pappalardi & Creation was released on A&M in 1976. 

He produced The Dead Boys album We Have Come for Your Children in 1978. He also worked on the NBC show Hot Hero Sandwich in 1979 and released his first proper solo album, Don't Worry, Ma, which reflected his growing interest in funk, jazz fusion, and reggae, and featured a large supporting cast, including bassist Chuck Rainey and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. 

On the night of April 17, 1983, tragedy struck: Pappalardi was shot once in the neck by his wife, Gail Collins, and killed. He had been involved in a long-standing affair with a younger woman, of which Collins had knowledge; however, a jury supported Collins' claim that the shooting was accidental, occurring while Pappalardi was showing her how to use the gun. She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide rather than the far more serious charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced to four years. On April 30, 1985, she was released on parole and disappeared to Mexico where she died during December 2013. 

 (Edited from AllMusic, Rock and Roll Paradise & Wikipedia)