Wednesday 24 March 2021

Don Covay born 24 March 1936


Donald James Randolph (March 24, 1936 – January 31, 2015), better known by the stage name Don Covay, was an American R&B, rock and roll and soul singer and songwriter most active from the 1950s to the 1970s. 

Born Donald Randolph in Orangeburg, South Carolina on March 24, 1938, Covay was the son of a Baptist preacher who died when his son was eight. The family soon after relocated to Washington, D.C., where he and his siblings formed a gospel group dubbed the Cherry Keys; while in middle school, however, some of Covay's classmates convinced him to make the leap to secular music, and in 1953 he joined the Rainbows, a local doo wop group that previously enjoyed a national smash with "Mary Lee." 

The Rainbows

By the time Covay joined the Rainbows the original line-up had long since splintered, and his recorded debut with the group, 1956's "Shirley," was not a hit. He stuck around for one more single, "Minnie," before exiting; contrary to legend, this iteration of the Rainbows did not include either a young Marvin Gaye or Billy Stewart, although both fledgling singers did occasionally fill in for absent personnel during live performances. 

In 1957 he joined Little Richard’s touring show as a singer, warming the crowd up for the main attraction, and made his recording debut, under the name of Pretty Boy, with a song called Bip Bop Bip, produced by Little Richard and released by Atlantic. As his recording career refused to catch fire, Covay increasingly focused on songwriting, partnering with fellow Rainbows alum John Berry to pen a dance tune called "Pony Time" -- recorded by Covay for the Arnold label with backing band the Goodtimers, the resulting 1961 single proved to be his first chart hit, inching to the number 60 spot on the Billboard pop countdown. Within a year, Covay’s ability to write an emotional ballad was evident when Gladys Knight and the Pips took his Letter Full of Tears into the top 20. 


                              

After recording for numerous companies, including Sue, Columbia, Epic, RCA, Big Top and Parkway, it was under the billing of Don Covay and the Goodtimers (with the young Jimi Hendrix on guitar), and on a small label called Rosemart, that he made his first real impact as a solo artist, when his original recording of Mercy, Mercy reached No 35 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. Impressed by its success, Atlantic bought his contract and sent him to Memphis, where he recorded two further dance-floor favourites, See Saw and Sookie Sookie, with the Stax house band the following year. 

However, his songwriting continued to be successful, as he wrote songs for Etta James, Otis Redding, Little Richard (his 1965 hit, "I Don't Know What You Got but It's Got Me"), and notably Aretha Franklin, who had a hit in 1968 with "Chain of Fools", a song Covay had written some fifteen years earlier. Franklin won a Grammy for her performance. Over the years Covay's compositions have been recorded by such varied artists as Gene Vincent, Wanda Jackson, Connie Francis, Steppenwolf, Bobby Womack, the Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, Small Faces, Grant Green, and Peter Wolf, among others.

L-R: Ben E. King, Joe Tex, Don Covay, Wilson Pickett & Solomon Burke. 

Covay organized the Soul Clan, a collective venture with Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, Ben E. King and Arthur Conley, in 1968, but it was relatively unsuccessful. In 1969, he joined former Shirelles guitarist Joe Richardson and blues and folk singer John P. Hammond to form the Jefferson Lemon Blues Band. The band's single "Black Woman" made number 43 on the R&B chart in 1970 and they recorded two albums: The House of Blue Lights and Different Strokes for Different Folks, before splitting up. 

Covay joined Mercury Records in 1972, as an A&R executive, while also starting to record his album Superdude. The album yielded two of his most successful songs, "I Was Checkin' Out, She Was Checkin' In" and "Somebody's Been Enjoying My Home". He followed up with two more successful singles, "It's Better to Have (and Don't Need)" in 1974, his only hit as a performer in the UK, followed by "Rumble in the Jungle", inspired by the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. In the late 1970s, he recorded for Philadelphia International Records but then withdrew from recording for several years, reappearing as a backing singer on the Rolling Stones' 1986 album Dirty Work. 

Covay had a stroke in 1992. The following year, Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Todd Rundgren and others performed on a Covay tribute album, Back to the Streets: Celebrating the Music of Don Covay. He was presented with a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994. He recovered to make further recordings, including the albums Adlib (2000) and Super Bad (2009). 

Donald Covay died after a stroke on January 31, 2015, at the age of 78 at a hospital in Franklin Square New York. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic & The Guardian)

5 comments:

boppinbob said...

For “Don Covay - Rockin' And Doowoppin' ~ The Early Years (2015)” go here;

https://krakenfiles.com/view/e123dc74b3/file.html

1. Shirley (The Rainbows) (2:41)
2. Stay (The Rainbows) (2:55)
3. They Say (The Rainbows) (2:31)
4. Minnie (The Rainbows) (2:24)
5. Bip Bop Bip (Pretty Boy) (1:56)
6. Paper Dollar (Pretty Boy) (2:37)
7. Switchin' in the Kitchen (Pretty Boy & Lee Simms Orch.) (2:28)
8. Rockin' the Mule (Pretty Boy & Lee Simms Orch.) (2:40)
9. Oh My Soul (1:54)
10. Standing in the Doorway (Don "Pretty Boy" Covay) (2:24)
11. I'm Lonely Too (Don "Pretty Boy" Covay) (2:42)
12. Betty Jean (2:23)
13. Believe it or not (2:34)
14. Beauty and the Beast (2:30)
15. Cause I Love You (2:49)
16. Hey There (2:34)
17. I'm Coming Down with the Blues (2:15)
18. Pony Time (Don Covay & The Goodtimers) (2:18)
19. Love Boat (Don Covay & The Goodtimers) (2:11)
20. It's Twistin' Time (The Goodtimers) (2:50)
21. Twistin' Train (The Goodtimers) (2:16)
22. Shake with the Shake (2:10)
23. Every Which a Way (2:36)
24. Hand Jive Workout (Don Covay & The Goodtimers) (2:51)
25. See About Me (Don Covay & The Goodtimers) (2:59)
26. (Where Are You) Now That I Need You (Don Covay & The Goodtimers) (2:48)
27. Teen Life Swag (Don Covay & The Goodtimers) (2:30)
28. The Popeye Waddle (2:31)
29. One Little Boy had Money (2:45)

Don Covay was an original and very influential soul star particularly for a young Michael Jagger (or Mick to his mates). Listen to any Rolling Stones recording, especially the early ones, and then listen to Don Covay and you'll hear all the same tones, nuances, mannerisms and inflections. In fact in these examples of Don's earliest work and as far back as 1958 you'll hear a bit of Jagger. This is the most comprehensive set of his original early singles yet released on CD and showcases his popular Little Richard impersonations which were released under the name 'Pretty Boy'.(Jasmine notes)
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For “Various Artists - Have Mercy! The Songs Of Don Covay” go here:

https://krakenfiles.com/view/edef967593/file.html

1. Wilson Pickett - Three Time Loser (2:21)
2. Aretha Franklin - Chain of Fools (2:45)
3. Solomon Burke - You're Good for Me (2:49)
4. The Staple Singers - This Old Town (People in This Town) (4:39)
5. Little Richard - IDon’t Know What You’ve Got but It's Got Me (4:46)
6. The Graham Bond Organization - Long Tall Shorty (2:22)
7. Wanda Jackson - There's a Party Goin' On (2:03)
8. Chubby Checker - Pony Time (2:28)
9. The Wailers - Mercy Mercy (2:47)
10. Connie Francis - Mr Twister (2:08)
11. Lena Horne - Love Bug (2:12)
12. Ben e King - Don't Drive Me Away (2:12)
13. Mary Ann Fisher - Give (2:20)
14. Billy Fury - Letter Full of Tears (2:30)
15. Jerry Butler - You Can Run (But You Can't Hide) (2:42)
16. Gladys Knight & the Pips - Come See About Me (2:48)
17. Brook Benton with the Dixie Flyers - Shoes (2:55)
18. Tina Britt - Sookie Sookie (3:08)
19. Cliff Bennett & the Rebel Rousers - See Saw (3:28)
20. Dee Clark - Kangaroo Hop (2:18)
21. Gene Vincent - A Big Fat Saturday Night (2:00)
22. Arlene Smith - Mon Cherie Au Revoir (3:12)
23. The Rollers - The Continental Walk (2:20)
24. Etta James - I'm Gonna Take What He's Got (2:34)
25. Joe Tex - She Said Yeah (3:26)
26. Millie Jackson - Watch the One Who Brings You the News (3:15)

During his time as an Atlantic Records artist he supplied material for some of the company's biggest stars, including Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke and Wilson Pickett, all featured here. The set features Covay s best-loved songs Chain Of Fools , Pony Time , See Saw , Letter Full Of Tears , Sookie Sookie etc plus some great lesser-known numbers by Mary Ann Fisher, Lena Horne, Dee Clark and others.

D said...

Thanks BB. Took both, the album and the tribute album.
Cheers mate

Aussie said...

this is nice thank you 4 Don Covay nice upload tks from Aussie

rntcj said...

Hi!

Thanx for these. Cool to hear some early years songs = some "new" hears here.

Cheers!
Ciao! For now.
rntcj

varenna45 said...

HI there,

Thanks a lot for your excellent upload. I've been a great fan of Don Covay from the beginning (yes I am that old...)and appreciate very much your contribution, My dream is that one day someone will release his demoes mother lode. Can you imagine this? All the best and again thank you!