Jeri Sullavan born November 14, 1918

Jeri Sullavan (November 14, 1918 - June 27, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter who was mainly credited as Jeri Sullivan.

Born Leona McGinty* in Jersey City, Hudson, New jersey, USA. She moved with her family to Bremerton, Washington, when she was a teenager. Her academic classes included shorthand and typing. She took lessons in tap, toe, and ballet dancing as she trained to be a professional dancer, debuting at age 7. In her teenage years her focus shifted to singing, and she took vocal lessons, first in Seattle and later in California and Chicago. She graduated from Bremerton High School in 1936. While there she was a member of the Glee Club, sang in school plays, and wrote the class song for the 1936 graduates.

Sullavan's first professional engagement was singing in a ballroom in Bremerton, earning $1.50 per night. In 1937 she left Bremerton to tour with Peri Maurer and his orchestra, billed as Jeri Powell. A visit to a nightclub in San Francisco led to her working with Bernie Cummins and his orchestra. She later sang with other orchestras, including those of Art Jarrett, Claude Thornhill, Pinky Tomlin, Orrin Tucker, Beasley Smith, and Glen Gray. On September 18, 1941, Sullavan married George Sontag, who was the pianist for Tucker's orchestra when she began singing with that group.

Sullavan's radio career began at WSM in Nashville, where she sang with Smith and his orchestra on the Mr. Smith Goes to Town program. After a network executive heard her singing there, he sent recordings to New York. and within a year she had become a regular singer on CBS. In August 1944, Radio Mirror magazine called her "one of that company's coming stars". Soon after passing her audition with CBS she had her own program, accompanied by Paul Baron and his orchestra, singing on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The show debuted on June 18, 1943, and was expanded to five nights per week in August 1943. It ended on November 17, 1944. The trade publication Variety reviewed Sullavan's performance at the Versailles in New York in June 1944, saying, "She requires schooling in rostrum or floor deportment, but there is no denying her ability at lilting a tune, whether it's a straight rhythm, ballad, or novelty number". The review commented that she focused more on singing into the microphone than on paying attention to the audience but added that she could change her approach.

                                   

She sang briefly with The Mel-Tones (who changed their name after she left to "Mel Torme and The Mel-Tones"). She also sang on the Jack Pepper Show, which was a summer replacement radio program in 1944. In May 1945 she became the featured singer on The Durante-Moore Show on CBS. She joined Bob Crosby as his regular singing partner on his Wednesday night CBS radio program in May 1946. During World War II, Sullavan frequently entertained American military personnel at Army and Navy camps and canteens. The men stationed at the Maritime Naval Training Station at Sheepshead Bay presented her with a scroll in recognition of her having performed there more than any other entertainer. Sullavan was seen and heard in the soundie "Tico Tico" (released January 15, 1945). In behind-the-scenes film work, she was a ghost singer, including dubbing for Jean Peters in Love That Brute and for Virginia Mayo in A Song Is Born.

In 1944 Sullavan was in the cast of At Home, an experimental variety television program that was broadcast on CBS. She was the subject in one part of a CBS test of colour TV in 1946, the first public demonstration of colour TV by CBS that used live talent. Sullavan, Morey Amsterdam, and Paul Baron were credited with authorship of the song "Rum and Coca-Cola", but they lost two lawsuits for copyright infringement of the song's lyrics and music. As a result of the suits, the three retained copyrights but had to pay $150,000 to Mohamed Khan for use of the lyrics and, with regard to the music, had to pay Maurice Baron, who had the copyright to a song with the same tune. After taking time to settle the lawsuits during 1948-1949, she returned to singing on the nightclub circuit and took a handful of television and film jobs. Around this time she recorded a few sides for the Signature and Metro Hollywood labels.

In 1950, she provided the uncredited "ghost singing" vocals (including "You Took Advantage of Me") for actress Jean Peters in the film Love That Brute. On television, she made a guest appearance on CBS's The Steve Allen Show in February 1951. She occasionally dabbled in songwriting during the mid-1950s, notably co-writing the lyric to "He Loves Me" with composer Lou Bedell, which was recorded by The DeJohn Sisters. Much later, a 45 RPM single credited to Jeri Sullivan performing a rendition of Steve Allen's "This Could Be the Start of Something", was issued on George Garabedian's specialty label, Mark56 Records. By the mid-1950s, Sullavan had largely retired from performing and recording. Because she retained her share of the U.S. copyright to "Rum and Coca-Cola" after the 1949 legal settlement, she continued to earn publishing royalties as the song remained a staple on film soundtracks, television programs, and oldies compilations for decades.

Very little was documented about her private life in her later years. She settled in the Coachella Valley and died of natural causes on June 27, 2003, at age 84, in Palm Desert, California.

(Edited from Wikipedia, Ask Gemini & Discogs)*(Please Note that a few sources give birth name of Louise Schlosser)

John Hammond born November 13, 1942

John Hammond (November 13, 1942 – February 28, 2026) was an American blues singer and guitarist whose career spanned six decades, which included collaborations with some of the most important and acclaimed artists of all time.

John Paul Hammond who was born in New York City, inherited a complex family legacy. He was the son of legendary Columbia Records producer John Henry Hammond Jr., the talent scout who discovered Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen, and a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt through his grandmother Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond. His parents split when he was young and Hammond found his own path in high school, inspired by Jimmy Reed's Carnegie Hall album to pick up the guitar and he was particularly fascinated with slide guitar technique. He left Antioch College in Ohio after a year to pursue music full time.

By 1962, with the folk revival starting to heat up, Hammond had attracted a following in the coffeehouse circuit, performing in the tradition of the classic country blues singers he loved so much. By the time he was just 20 years old, he had been interviewed for The New York Times before one of his East Coast festival performances, and he was a certified national act. Hammond sang and played in a passionate barrelhouse style and moved easily between acoustic and electric guitars, primarily playing acoustic guitars, favouring a steel-bodied National Reso-Phonic Guitar which was older than he was. He turned professional and signed with Vanguard Records in 1963, releasing his self-titled debut that year. The album consisted largely of interpretations of Willie Dixon, Lightnin' Hopkins, Robert Johnson, and Chuck Berry's "Maybellene." It marked him as one of the first white artists to record a full blues album, establishing his devotion to traditional acoustic styles.

                                   

Hammond found his way to New York City's Greenwich Village and in 1966 a young Jimi Hendrix came through town, looking for work. Hammond offered to put a band together for the guitarist and got the group work at the Cafe Au Go Go. As the coffeehouses were falling out of favour, the bars and electric guitars were coming in with folk-rock. Hendrix was approached there by Chas Chandler, who took him to England to record. Hammond recalled telling the young Hendrix to take Chandler up on his offer. "The next time I saw him, about a year later, he was a big star in Europe," Hammond recalled in a 1990 interview. Hammond holds a unique distinction in music history as the only person to have both Hendrix and Eric Clapton in his band simultaneously during a five-day run at The Gaslight Café in 1968.

His 1965 album "So Many Roads" featured guitarist Mike Bloomfield and three members of Ronnie Hawkins' group, Robbie Robertson, Garth Hudson, and Levon Helm, who would soon become The Band. Hammond played a role in boosting their wider recognition by recommending them to Bob Dylan, contributing to their involvement in Dylan's famed electric world tour. He also recorded with Duane Allman and Dr. John, positioning himself at a key crossroads of blues and rock history.

As with Dr. John and other blues musicians who've recorded more than two dozen albums, there are many great recordings that provide a good introduction to the man's body of work. His self-titled debut  has now been reissued on compact disc. Other good recordings to check out include I Can Tell (recorded with Bill Wyman from the Rolling Stones), Southern Fried (1968), Source Point (1970, Columbia), and his string of early- and mid-'90s albums for Point Blank/Virgin Records, Got Love If You Want It, Trouble No More (both produced by J.J. Cale), and Found True Love. Over his career spanning from 1962 to 2026, Hammond recorded 34 albums across labels including Vanguard, Columbia, Rounder, Flying Fish, Pointblank, and Palmetto.

He won a Grammy Award in 1985 for his performance on the "Blues Explosion" compilation, recorded at the 1982 Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1970 he provided the music for the film "Little Big Man" starring Dustin Hoffman. He hosted the 1991 UK television documentary "The Search for Robert Johnson," helping to popularize the Delta blues legend for a wider audience. In 2001, Hammond released "Wicked Grin," consisting almost entirely of the compositions of Tom Waits, with Waits producing and contributing guitar and backing vocals. In 2003, the Blues Foundation voted him as the Blues Music Award winner (formerly the W.C. Handy Award) for Best Acoustic Blues Artist, which is among the highest honors a blues artist can get.

More albums followed including In Your Arms Again in 2005, and Push Comes to Shove in 2007. His 2009 album, Rough & Tough, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2010. In 2011, he was the Blues Music Award winner for Acoustic Artist of the Year and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. He was honoured with two awards at the Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony in Memphis, in 2015, for Best Acoustic Blues Album for "Timeless" and for Best Acoustic Blues Artist.

John Hammond died from cardiac arrest at a hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey, on February 28, 2026, at the age of 83.

(Edited from Legacy, AllMusic & Wikipedia) 

Bozo Darnell born November 12, 1927

 

Bozo Darnell (November 12, 1927 - September12, 1997) was a Country singer, songwriter, musician and entertainer who wrote songs that were recorded by many Country greats. 

He was born Robert Oswald Darnall, in Clarks, Louisiana, to Willie Dee Darnall and his wife Eldonia. Clarks, located in Caldwell Parish in the western part of the state, was a rural village and though only sparsely populated, it was one of the larger towns in the parish. Darnall served his country after World War II, spending time on the Philippines.

By the mid 1950s, Darnall had made his way into music business and had adopted the stage name "Bozo Darnell". At some point, he had teamed up with his brother, appearing as the "Darnell Brothers". He was living in West Texas by then and had made Big Spring his home. The oil boom made these areas flourishing and a small country music scene had developed there since the middle of the decade. Hank Harral, Ben Hall, Hoyle Nix, among other artists kept the music business running with DJ and live stage shows, clubs, record labels and recording studios. By 1955, Darnell appeared with such artists as West Texas DJ Ace Ball and the York Brothers.

In 1959, Darnell founded his own record label, Jaybo Records (alter renamed J-Bo), which was originally headquartered in Odessa, Texas. Darnell's first released record was also the label's debut, comprising "Hearts Entwined" and "Sha Marie" (Jay-Bo #BDF-100), which was likely produced at Ben Hall's High Fidelity studio in Big Spring, judging from Hall's Gaylo publishing on the actual label. The flip, "Sha Marie" was, although never becoming a hit, recorded by different country music artists later on. A year after founding Jaybo, Darnell had moved his operations north to Jeffrey City, Wyoming, where he continued to release discs throughout the years 1960 and 1961. After an oddball single for the Wyoming based Rawhide label, Darnell changed his label's name to J-Bo and by this time, he was probably living in Phoenix, Arizona.

                                   

Bozo Darnell was a natural born songwriter, He penned well over a thousand songs throughout his career. In 1964, he was signed to Kapp Records and recorded one single for the label, "Your Steppin' Stone" b/w "Fool the World" (Kapp #696), which reached promising sales figures. Biff Collie, once legendary DJ in Houston and by then active in Los Angeles, was so impressed by the disc (according to Billboard in July 1965) that he signed a contract with Darnell to promote the disc. 

In August that year, Darnell set out on a promotional tour and though sales and national distribution were promising, "Your Steppin' Stone" failed to reach the charts. David Houston had the biggest hit with the song, taking it to # 7 on the Billboard Charts in 1967. By then, Darnell appeared on the WGN Barn Dance, the last version of the once famous National Barn Dance on WLS.

After his move to Phoenix, Darnell soon connected with the small but lively music scene that had developed in the city since the 1940s. He continued to appear as a singer and comic. In Phoenix, Darnell started to record for the local Ramco label, which also employed a local singer, guitarist, and DJ named Waylon Jennings as a studio musician sometimes. With Jennings, Darnell composed "Down Came the World," which Jennings recorded for RCA-Victor after he had relocated to Nashville. A couple of other songs written or co-written by Darnell were recorded by Nashville country stars but the big break, neither as an recording artist nor as a songwriter, eluded him.

Bozo with Wynn Stewart

Darnell gave birth to three Jamborees during his career, which spanned 50 years or more. The first was in Amarillo, Texas (The Big Spring Jamboree) and the third in his last home town of Burkburnett, Texas (Boom Country Jamboree). On these jamborees Bozo was host to many artists, including Jeannie C. Riley, George Jones, Wynn Stewart, Bill Mack and Vern Stovall to mention a few. In the early 1970s, Darnell and a befriended songwriter from Phoenix, Jack Gunter, worked with country star Wynn Stewart, who was struggling achieving hits at that time, however. Several of Stewart's RCA recordings were written by Darnell. Gunter also recorded Stewart for his Copre label (for which Darnell also recorded in 1974) and licensed the results to Atlantic. 

Darnell recorded a couple of more singles for small Texas based labels until the mid-1970s, before he ceased recording. He also released two albums at unknown dates, however. During the 80's Darnell hosted his very own syndicated television fishing show called "Fishin' Tales And Trails".

Bozo Darnell died at his home on September 12, 1997, in Burkburnett, Texas, at the age of 69 years. 

(Edited from Log Cabin Stories & LP liner notes)

Irvin Stokes born November 11, 1926

Irvin Sonny Stokes (November 11, 1926 – April 20, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter, who many considered to be the Doc Cheatham of the 21st Century.

Stokes was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He began playing trumpet at the age of 12, studying formally in high school and in college. In the 40s he played in various minor bands, including one in which a fellow sideman was Lou Donaldson. In 1947 he relocated to New York City where he played with musicians such as Ernie Henry, Duke Jordan, Cecil Payne, Max Roach, Charles Singleton (with whom he made his recording debut in 1949), and Randy Weston, before joining Mercer Ellington’s band. He remained there for more than a year with concurrent spells deputising for Shorty Baker in Duke Ellington’s orchestra.

During the 50s he played in bands led by Erskine Hawkins, Jimmie Lunceford, Buddy Johnson, Eddie Wilcox, Andy Kirk, Tiny Bradshaw and Erskin Hawkins. In 1959-60 he played in Austin Powell's ensemble Also during the 60s and 70s he freelanced, mainly in New York, playing in pit bands for some Broadway shows, including The Wiz and Hair and also playing jazz gigs with, among others, Bobby Donaldson, with whom he recorded, and the Thad Jones - Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.

                       Here's Portrait Of Jenny" from above album

                                    

In 1978 he also played on the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra's tour of Europe. At the end of the 70s he joined David ‘Panama’ Francis’ Savoy Sultans, an engagement that led to far greater recognition, at home and abroad owing to tours and well-received recordings, than had hitherto been the case. During the long-running association with Francis he also found time to play with other bands. He toured Europe with Illinois Jacquet in 1982 and with Oliver Jackson in 1984. As joint leaders Sokes and Jackson recorded the album Braodway (1984). He became popular in Paris, winning the Hot Club De France Award in 1985, and appeared at many festivals.

In the 90s, he played in bands led by Frank Foster and Chuck Folds. In addition to performing, Stokes has also been active in jazz education. Another facet of his talent lies in acting and he has appeared in several television commercials and also in feature films, including Angel Heart (1987) and Malcolm X (1992). Stokes was a regular performer alongside Spanky Davis at Doc Cheatham's Sunday brunch gig at the Sweet Basil Jazz Club, continuing in this role after Cheatham's death in 1997, when Chuck Folds took over. He also played with the Statesmen of Jazz late in the 1990s.

Stokes was a regular performer alongside Spanky Davis at Doc Cheatham's Sunday brunch gig at the Sweet Basil Jazz Club, continuing in this role after Cheatham's death in 1997, when Chuck Folds took over. He also played with the Statesmen of Jazz late in the 1990s.

Despite working with some important bop musicians during the late 40s and early 50s, Stokes was a swing trumpeter at heart. His playing throughout his career remained consistent and his solos were always melodic and pleasing. He continued to play until the death of Illinois Jacquet in 2004. He died in The Bronx, New York City on April 20, 2007, at the age of 80.

(Edited from AllMusic, Wikipedia & Swing FM)

Papa Charlie Jackson born November 10, 1887

William Henry "Papa Charlie" Jackson (November 10, 1887* – May 7, 1938) was an early African American bluesman and songster who accompanied himself with a banjo guitar, a guitar, or a ukulele.

Maxwell Street

According to most sources, very little information is available on the life of Papa Charlie. His draft card lists his birthplace as New Orleans, Louisiana. During the 'teens he played in medicine and vaudeville shows in New York, Memphis, and in the Midwest. He moved to Chicago in the early 20s and reportedly lived at 624 Maxwell Street. He played the Maxwell Street Market in 1924-25 and the West Side club circuit through the 1930s. Although Ed Andrews was actually the first male country Blues singer to be recorded, in April 1924 by Okeh Records in Atlanta " Barrelhouse Blues ", Papa Charlie was the first commercially successful self-accompanied Bluesman. This meant that "he was the first recorded artist to depart from the traditional orchestral style Blues, sung by women like Bessie Smith, which dominated RACE music from 1920 to 1926.

                                   

He recorded " Salt Lake City Blues ", " Airy Man Blues ", and " Salty Dog Blues " (his most famous song) in Chicago in the fall of 1924 for Paramount Records, and he continued to record for them until 1930. He also recorded two sides with Gertude " Ma" Rainey for Paramount in 1928. According to the blues writer Bruce Eder, Jackson achieved "a musical peak of sorts in September of 1929 when he got to record with his longtime idol, Blind Arthur Blake, often known as the king of ragtime guitar during this period. 'Papa Charlie and Blind Blake Talk About It' parts one and two are among the most unusual sides of the late '20s, containing elements of blues jam session, hokum recording, and ragtime. All of his recordings for Paramount were made in either Chicago or Grafton, Wisconsin. He moved to Okeh Records and recorded several sides for them elsewhere from 1930 to 1934. Among his recordings are several in which he accompanied Ida Cox and Hattie McDaniel.

Papa Charlies' immense popularity was due to his ability to sing and play for his audience in a lively and cheerful manner. His style with quick tempos was very different from that of the slow  sorrowful Blues of his contemporaries. Papa Charlie sang of the misfortunes and predicaments in life, but with amusement and a sarcastic sense of humour. " Shake That Thing ", which is about a popular dance of the time, was a prototype of a genre called hokum/blues. Several of the songs he recorded "Salt Lake City Blues", "Mama Don't Allow It ", "The Fakin' Blues", Salty Dog Blues", and "4-11-44" contain sexual innuendos. Along with the Mississippi Shieks, Papa Charlie had a great propensity for non-blues music, which may have helped account for his large record sales since most people bought records at that time to make themselves feel good. However, Papa Charlie also recorded a few traditional sounding Blues songs like "Up That Way Bound", "Red Hot Papa # 2", "Tailor Made Lover", and "Take Me Back Blues # 2" . Incidentally. he played a guitar on these songs, not his banjo.

He played a 4 string banjo like jazz and minstrel musicians and a 5 string banjo like few other Bluesmen, but he preferred the 6 string banjo. Papa Charlie was the only musician to play a 6 string banjo, which was tuned and fretted like a guitar, although its sound was much lighter. He did not play in the bluegrass clawhammer or jazz flat picking styles. Instead, he used a combination of 2 fingered picking and single strumming with free and very quick rhythms played with his thumb.

His importance in the history of the Blues has been lessened by several factors. His flair for unique and irreverent material, similar to that of Charley Patton, along with his fast upbeat tempo which made his records sell, did not fit into the traditional Blues category. His records were of poor quality since about half of his 66 sides were recorded with an acoustic horn, not a microphone. The rest contained a lot of "hiss" since Paramount used inferior quality materials in their pressing of records. Also, his banjo was not viewed as a traditional Blues instrument. However, no one has duplicated his unique performances. William Henry "Papa Charlie" Jackson died on the West Side of Chicago on May 7, 1938. He was 50 years old. Due to his early death Jackson seems to have fallen through the cracks and is all but forgotten today by critics and historians. Instrumentally he resides on the same plateau with Lonnie Johnson and Teddy Bunn and is one pioneer who deserves wider recognition.

Due to his early death Jackson seems to have fallen through the cracks and is all but forgotten today by critics and historians. Instrumentally he resides on the same plateau with Lonnie Johnson and Teddy Bunn and is one pioneer who deserves wider recognition. It wasn't until 2013 that the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for Charlie Jackson at Lincoln Cemetery in Chicago.

(Edited from bio by Michael Agresti & Syncopated Times)(* Other sources give December as birth month)

Jacqueline Taïeb born November 9, 1948

Jacqueline Taïeb (born 9 November 1948) is a French singer and songwriter. She achieved her greatest success as a pop and yé-yé singer in the 1960s.

Born 1948 in Carthage, Tunisia, the young Taïeb arrived in France with her parents at the age of eight years old. Her father gifted her with a guitar at 12 which she must have really connected with, because soon she would be composing her own songs. It wasn’t long before a talent scout would discover her while singing with friends. It was ’66, and what an exciting time it must have been for the perky 18 year old singer-songwriter, scoring a contract with the record label Impact, and then being quickly whisked away off to London for her first recording sessions.

                                  

1967 saw a string of 7″ releases for the now 19 year old Jacqueline, but it’s her debut EP release that she is most well worshiped for. All four songs on the EP were composed by the young singer herself, which for that time, was quite rare, as most female singers were expected to perform songs that had been written for them, or perhaps covers of other popular high selling hits. Though the lead track, the almighty ye ye classic 7 heures du matin, was only a small hit at the time, it has gone on to become considered a classic of the French girl pop genre. She was voted Best Newcomer at the inaugural Midem music festival in Cannes for the song. The song was about a bored teenage girl who does not wish to go to school that day and fantasizes about rock and roll stars such as The Who and Paul McCartney.

Jacqueline had a small handful of releases in the late sixties, and while none had the impact of this garage hit, they all carry the distinctive Taieb charm. There is also a very sort after Canadian only LP release entitled simply Jacqueline Taïeb, pressed in ’67, and while it contained many of her previous releases, it also included the exclusive On Roule A 160. 

Her second album was released in April 1967 with the title "Qu'est-ce qu'on se marre à la fac", also called "La Fac de lettres", which made her widely known. 

Several albums followed without achieving the same success, and in the early 70's Jacqueline took a break from recording and began to write for other musicians. Famous artists such as Yves Montand, Michel Fugain, Fabrienne Thibault and Stone have all sung Taieb’s songs. The list goes on. In 1988, she penned the song "Ready to Follow You", which became an international hit for American singer Dana Dawson. The single sold more than 500,000 copies, and the album sold 300,000 in France alone. 

Over the decades, Taïeb's 1960s discography found a cult following worldwide, particularly in Japan, the UK, and North America. Tracks like "7 Heures du Matin" were regularly reissued on garage-rock and yé-yé compilations (such as Girls in the Garage) and licensed for international advertising campaigns (including Bentley and Lolita Lempicka). 

In 2013 Jacqueline fulfilled her teenage dream when she recorded at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, resulting in the album "Jacqueline Taieb sings Elvis". She has released sporadic new music over the years, including the single "Peace Love & Action" in 2015.

(Edited from Wikipedia, Cult 45 & Melody TV) 

Donnie Fritts born November 8, 1942

Donald Ray Fritts (November 8, 1942 – August 27, 2019) was an American session musician and songwriter. A recording artist in his own right, he was Kris Kristofferson's keyboardist for over forty years. In 2008, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Donald Ray Fritts was born in Florence, Alabama, the younger of two sons of Huey and Helen (Brown) Fritts. His father was a building contractor who played guitar and bass in a local swing band on weekends. His mother was a homemaker. He began playing drums in local bands such as The Satellites and Hollis Dixon & the Keynotes at age 15, before graduating to the Mark Vs and the Pallbearers, two formative groups led by his future co-writer, Mr. Penn. 

He switched from drums to piano when he decided to try his hand at songwriting. He later developed into a session keyboard player. Working closely with Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill, Dan Penn, Arthur Alexander, David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan and Norbert Putnam, Fritts was involved in many of the early songs and recordings created in the Muscle Shoals music industry.

Kristofferson & Fritts

In 1965, Fritts signed with a Nashville publishing company. Songs which he wrote were recorded by Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. He later met Kris Kristofferson who was just beginning a career in songwriting. When forming his band, Kristofferson called on Fritts, who continued as his keyboard player for over twenty years, performing live, on recordings and allowing him to experience every musicians dream by playing at Carnegie Hall. 

Through his association with Kristofferson, Fritts appeared in over fifteen movies during his acting career, including three of Sam Peckinpah's movies: Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and Convoy. A colourful character onscreen and off, Mr. Fritts appeared alongside Mr. Kristofferson in Frank Pierson’s 1976 remake of “A Star Is Born.” He also played keyboards on the movie’s theme song, “Evergreen,” written by Barbra Streisand and Paul Williams, which won an Academy Award for best original song and a Grammy for song of the year. He also appeared in the aptly named film "Songwriter".

Because of his acting career, Donnie was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Thus, every year when Oscar nominations rolled around, the Academy sent screeners of all the nominated files to his home in Alabama. Possessed of a rough-hewed voice akin to Mr. Kristofferson’s, Fritts was a late bloomer as a recording artist. He released only a handful of albums, and he did not release the first — “Prone to Lean,” a mix of humorous and tender-hearted originals produced by Jerry Wexler for Atlantic Records at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio until 1974. 

                                   

That album derived its title from “the Alabama Leaning Man,” an enigmatic nickname conferred on Fritts by Jerry Wexler. In the liner notes, Mr. Kristofferson chose a more decipherable and apposite sobriquet to describe his friend’s approach to writing and playing music: “Funky Donnie Fritts.” His second album, "Everybody's Got a Song" was released in 1998. It included guest appearances by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, Waylon Jennings, Delbert McClinton, Tony Joe White, Leroy Parnell & John Prine.

In 2001, Fritts had a kidney transplant that closely followed seven heart operations. While he was recovering in the hospital after the transplant, a friend asked how he was doing. Fritts responded that he had "one foot in the groove." It became the title of his third album in 2008, produced by Dan Penn with Ron Laury, recorded at Dandy Studio in Nashville. On February 22, 2008, Kristofferson was on hand in Montgomery, Alabma to induct Donnie into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Fritts focused on session and touring work with his backing band the Decoys supported him during a two-week tour of Japan in 2009. His most recent on-screen role was in the 2012 film Jayne Mansfield’s Car, written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.

In 2015, he signed with Single Lock Records and released his fourth album "Oh My Goodness" which some critics sat was his masterpiece.Stripped down to the bare essentials of Fritts’ weathered vocals and his Wurlitzer electric piano, this masterful record showcased an artist who had survived with his soul, grace, and humour intact. In 2018, his last album "June (A Tribute to Arthur Alexander)" was released. It was a moving and deeply personal tribute to his long-time best friend Arthur Alexander, the soul singer and songwriter of tunes covered by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, among countless others.

After a long illness, Fritts died from complications of heart surgery on August 27, 2019, at a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. He was 76.

(Edited from Wikipedia, New York Times, Bitter Southerner, Sigle Lock Records & AllMusic)