William
Myles Nobles (August 29, 1924 – October 9, 2005),known as Billy Myles, was an
American R&B songwriter and singer active in the 1950s and 1960s. He is
best known for writing "Tonight, Tonight" recorded by The
Mello-Kings, "(You Were Made for) All My Love" recorded by Jackie
Wilson (1960), and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" recorded by Freddie
King (1960), then Eric Clapton (1970).
Billy
Myles specialised in love ballads (sometimes in the doo-wop style) and 'Uptown
Blues' songs, occasionally co-writing with vocalists such as Jackie Wilson and
Brook Benton. Artists who recorded his songs include Wilson, Benton, Little
Willie John, Freddie King and Gladys Knight. He has over 1170 works registered
with the collecting society BMI.
Billy
Myles recorded singles for labels Ember, Dot and King, though his only chart
hit was "The Joker (That's What They Call Me)", which charted in the
U.S. and Canada (US Pop #25, R&B #13) in 1957. He was working as a staff
songwriter for Al Silver's New York City-based Herald/Ember labels, Silver
thought the song wasn't suitable for doo-wop act The Mello-Kings and issued
Myles' own recording. The success of the single led to Myles appearing on The
Ed Sullivan Show in 1958 (alongside Buddy Holly), and the 1959 UK film Swing
Beat with label mates The Mello-Kings and The Five Satins. Here's the B side to "The Joker"
One wonders just why it was that Billy Myles never became a huge recording star. His voice is pleasant enough, in the same manner as the lead singer for The Platters, but I suppose the record company he worked for, Ember Records, preferred that he keep writing the hit records instead of recording them. That would take too much away from his time with pen and paper.
Blues
guitar maestro Freddie King recorded Myles "Have You Ever Loved A
Woman" in 1960, and King aficionado Eric Clapton covered the track on
Derek and the Dominoes' album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). This
album is highly regarded in Clapton's catalogue and classic rock in general,
with Myles' song, like the title song "Layla", having a biographical
resonance with Clapton's unrequited love for Patti Harrison.
Billy
Myles lived in Greenville, North Carolina and managed his music publishing
company Selbon Music Inc. ('Nobles' spelled backwards) until his death in
October 2005. The music publishing is now managed by his son Steven Myles
Nobles. (Info Wikipedia)
"Heres a video of Billy singing his one hit wonder "The Joker". Quality is poor but it seems it's the only one available at the moment.
1 comment:
For Billy Myles singles (YEP ALL 6 SIDES) go here:
http://www14.zippyshare.com/v/AiWY2APF/file.html
1. The Joker
2. Honey Bee
3. I’m Gonna Walk
4. The Price of Your Love
5. King Of Clowns
6, So In Need Of You
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