Howard Tate (August 13, 1939 – December 2, 2011) was an
American soul singer and songwriter.
The sublime tenor voice of the American soul singer
Howard Tate, who has died aged 72, lit up a string of immaculate recordings in
the late 1960s, including "Ain't Nobody Home" and "Get It While
You Can," the latter of which became a hit for singer Janis Joplin. After
struggling with drug addiction and falling out of the music business, Tate
mounted a warmly-received comeback in 2001.
Tate was born in Eberton, a small town near Macon,
Georgia, and raised in Philadelphia. His father was a Baptist minister who
encouraged his son to sing in church. At the age of 10 he formed a gospel trio
with his cousins. A visiting gospel group, the Gainors, were so impressed by
Tate's singing that they invited him to join. They performed at churches all
over the Philadelphia area and, in 1955, a Mercury Records scout signed the
group, on the condition they recorded doo-wop. The resulting 45s did not enjoy
any real success and, in 1960, Tate leapt at the offer to be a vocalist for the
pianist and organist Bill Doggett, who had scored a huge US hit in 1956 with
Honky Tonk.
Tate stayed with Doggett for three years before returning
to Philadelphia. There, he found that the Gainors had changed their name to
Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters and scored a huge hit with Cry Baby (1963), a
stunning slice of emotionally laden, orchestrated soul music written and
produced by the supremely gifted Jerry Ragovoy.
Ragovoy heard a recording of Tate, and encouraged him to
move to New York. His first single, Half a Man, appeared on Ragovoy's Utopia
label and failed to chart. Ragovoy dug deeper, signing Tate to Verve Records
and providing him with strong songs at their next recording session in November
1964. "Ain't Nobody Home" hit No 12 on the R&B charts and Tate went from
mixing mortar on a building site to joining Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett, two
of the hottest soul stars then working, on coast-to-coast tours.
Tate scored a moderate hit on the R&B charts with
Look at Granny Run Run (1966), yet his third single, Get It While You Can
(1967), was a flop. Many listeners, including Joplin, acknowledged the
recording as a masterpiece. Tate would later blame Verve, a jazz label, for
failing to understand how to market R&B.
Stop, another magnificent Ragovoy-Tate pairing, was a
minor hit in 1968 and was later recorded by Jimi Hendrix but Tate, frustrated
by his lack of success, split from Ragovoy. In 1970 he recorded an album,
Howard Tate's Reaction, for Turntable, but found out that the label was a front
for the mafia.
Reuniting with Ragovoy, he signed to Atlantic Records and
cut the album Howard Tate (1972). Atlantic also failed to provide Tate with a
breakthrough and he and Ragovoy left for Epic, where they recorded one single.
After that failed to chart, Tate was consigned to working the chitlin' circuit
– black nightclubs across the US south – where each night he would be one of
several singers. By 1980 he had left the music business altogether and a few
years later was a homeless drug addict.
In 1994 he experienced a religious conversion that helped
him clean up. He became a preacher, working with homeless addicts, unaware that
soul fans were searching for him and that his classic Verve recordings had been
reissued on CD. The DJ Phil Casden had long been begging listeners for
information on Tate and in 2000, the veteran R&B musician Ron Kennedy was
able to put them in touch. Casden announced to the world that Tate was alive
and helped him win the royalties from his Verve days.
Ragovoy then got in contact, suggesting that he and Tate
should work together again. The resulting album, Rediscovered (2003), won Tate
critical garlands and plenty of work – a memorable concert at Madame JoJo's in
London found him singing with remarkable range and power.
2010 saw a release of a limited vinyl only,
direct-to-disc live recording from Blue Heaven Studios, with Tate and his
touring quartet performing songs from his catalogue.
On December 2, 2011, Tate died from complications of
multiple myeloma and leukaemia, aged 72.
For “Howard Tate – Get it While You Can” go here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www41.zippyshare.com/v/2340599/file.html
1. Howard Tate - Ain't Nobody Home (2:29)
2. Howard Tate - Part-Time Love (3:35)
3. Howard Tate - Glad I Knew Better (2:17)
4. Howard Tate - How Blue Can You Get (2:34)
5. Howard Tate - Stop (2:48)
6. Howard Tate - Get It While You Can (2:47)
7. Howard Tate - Baby, I Love You (2:27)
8. Howard Tate - I Learned It All The Hard Way (2:42)
9. Howard Tate - Sweet Love Child (2:17)
10. Howard Tate - Everyday I Have The Blues (2:01)
11. Howard Tate - How Come My Bulldog Don't Bark (2:53)
12. Howard Tate - Look At Granny Run Run (2:17)
13. Howard Tate - Half A Man (2:44)
14. Howard Tate - Shoot 'Em All Down (2:41)
15. Howard Tate - Give Me Some Courage (2:14)
16. Howard Tate - Night Owl (2:15)
17. Howard Tate - I'm Your Servant (2:15)
A big thank you to FredO @ The Rockin’ bandit blog for original link.