Benny
Spellman (December 11, 1931 – June 3, 2011) was an American R&B singer,
best known for his 1961 hits "LipstickTraces (On A Cigarette)," and
the original version of "Fortune Teller", written by Allen Toussaint
(as Naomi Neville).
Mr. Spellman was born in Pensacola, Fla. He
attended Southern University in Baton Rouge on a football scholarship; at
Southern, he also began singing.
Back
in Pensacola in 1959, Mr. Spellman encountered New Orleans R&B band Huey
Smith & the Clowns. The band’s vehicle had broken down; Mr. Spellman
offered to drive them back to New Orleans. He elected to remain there after
falling in with the burgeoning rhythm & blues community cantered around the
Dew Drop Inn.
He
became one of the many artists to give voice to producer/songwriter Allen
Toussaint’s voluminous 1960s output. In 1962, Minit Records released a 45 rpm
single with Mr. Spellman singing “Lipstick Traces” on the A-side and “Fortune
Teller” on the B-side. Both songs were written by Toussaint under the pseudonym
“Naomi Neville.” “Lipstick Traces,” with Irma Thomas on backing vocals, proved
to be Mr. Spellman’s most significant national hit, reaching No. 28 on
Billboard’s R&B chart. He also contributed backing vocals to Ernie K-Doe’s
smash recording of another Toussaint song, “Mother-in-Law.”
Given his limited national exposure, Mr. Spellman worked the Gulf Coast and local circuit, performing at parties, dances and whatever gigs came up. “I wasn’t making that big money like K-Doe,” Mr. Spellman once said. “I’d play three gigs (in one night) to make more money.” Indicative of the enduring nature of his recordings, many artists would later cover songs originally recorded by Mr. Spellman. The O’Jays, Ringo Starr and Alex Chilton all later did “Lipstick Traces.”
The
Rolling Stones and The Who each did versions of “Fortune Teller.” “Raising
Sand,” the Grammy-winning, million-selling 2007 collaboration between Robert
Plant and Alison Krauss, contained a spooky version of “Fortune Teller.” After
the market for New Orleans rhythm & blues dried up in the late 1960s, Mr.
Spellman largely retired from the music business. He worked for many years at a
beer distributorship.
He
suffered a stroke some years ago and was unable to attend an August 2009
ceremony at Ernie K-Doe’s Mother-in-Law Lounge inducting him into the Louisiana
Music Hall of Fame. At the time, he resided in an assisted living facility in
Pensacola. Spellman died of respiratory failure in June 2011, at the age of 79. (Info
mainly edited from an article by Keith Spira @ nola.com)
16 comments:
For Benny Spellman – Selected Titles go here:
http://www76.zippyshare.com/v/20783754/file.html
1. benny-spellman-fortune-teller
2. benny-spellman-lipstick-traces-on-a-cigarette
3. ernie-k-doe-mother-in-law
4. benny-spellman-ammerette
5. benny-spellman-life-is-too-short
6. benny-spellman-i-didn-t-know
7. benny-spellman-darling-no-matter-where
8. benny-spellman-that-s-all-i-ask-of-you.
9. benny-spellman-roll-on-big-wheel
10. benny-spellman-every-now-and-then
11. benny-spellman-i-m-in-love
12. benny-spellman-stickin-whicha-baby
13. benny-spellman-you-got-to-get-it
14. benny-spellman-talk-about-love
15. bennie-spellman-walk-on-don-t-cry
16. bennie-spellman-please-mr-genie
17. bennie-spellman-slow-down-baby
18. bennie-spellman-someday-they-ll-understand
19. benny-spellman-t-ain-t-it-the-truth
20. benny-spellman-the-word-game.
21. benny-spellman-its-for-you- my-love
22. benny-spellman-sinner-girl-original
Hello!
This link is dead...
Could you please reupload?
Thanks for the good music!
Hello Werner, This is not my rip but a home made compilation I found many moons ago on Multiply.
Hope it's up to your expectations.
https://krakenfiles.com/view/v7bv5uPDEy/file.html
Fantastic!
Thank you very much!
Hello boppinbob,
The first picture is not Benny Spellman but Lee Dorsey.
Thanks for the good music.
Vince
Thanks Eltoro, Hopefully corrected now.
Now I'm pretty sure, it’s Lloyd Price.
Sorry about that.
Lloyd Price for sure
https://images.app.goo.gl/v3f5au7gG1GmjTEF9
Thanks for the M
music.
Incredible, all those pics of Lloyd Price on line pretending he’s Benny Spellman.
Just try this one. Here is the real Benny Spellman :
https://images.app.goo.gl/L9aGztUSz7zFhaNV8
If you want to be sure, here is a reliable information :
https://www.discogs.com/artist/389744-Benny-Spellman
Thanks
Same reliable information about Lloyd Price
https://www.discogs.com/artist/116703-Lloyd-Price
which shows the picture (second picture when you click on the first one) often used on line pretending he's Benny Spellman...
Hello Eltoro, I have opted for the album cover as posted. Thanks again for your invaluable help. The Spellman / Lloyd Price CD cover I previously used came from Spotify! Also same photo used on many a web page. I am 100% sure this one is OK .....(fingers crossed)
This is not the first or possibly the last time I may use the wrong photo. Talk about fake news there's an epidemic of FAKE VIEWS too... (LOL) Regards, Bob.
Spotify and so on, most of sound websites, they really don't know what they are talking about and they make record covers !!! Real bullshit ! Thank you boppinbob.
Regards,
Vince
BB, sure would like a copy of this hard to find artist.
Would you mine another re-up?
Thanks mate,
Hello Denis, Here's Benny....
https://www.imagenetz.de/doufq
much obliged BB...thanks once more
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