Rufus Beacham born 16 December 1930

Rufus Beacham (December 16, 1930 - June 1, 1993) was a R&B singer, pianist, songwriter and band leader from Florida. 

Rufus Harris "Beach" Beacham, Jr was born in West Tampa, Florida. He was the son of Rufus Harris Beacham, Sr and Lessie Belle Ransom. Rufus, Sr. had at least eight children: five girls and three boys. There is no information regarding his early life  but the first time Rufus Beacham is mentioned is in May of 1950, but it isn't pretty. He was the leader of a band (possibly called the House Rockers at that time later, it would be the Tampa Toppers). They had just finished playing an engagement at the High Stepper Bar in St. Petersburg (right next door to Tampa). Shortly after midnight, on May 14, they were packing up their instruments, when drummer Arthur L. Johnson, shot and killed fellow band member Herbert Brown. Other known members were Rufus Beacham (leader/piano) and Kenneth Nurse (saxophone). 

After this, nothing is heard of Rufus again until he marries Nesby Evelyn Green in August 1951. Nicknamed "Queenie", she was a beautician at the time, but would soon become the drummer in his band (which, by now, was called the Tampa Toppers). With one further exception, no other members of any Beacham band were ever named. Queenie had a pet ocelot, Baby, who appeared with the band. In the fall of 1951, Rufus hooked up with Bobby Shad, who with his brother Monty were owners of New York's Sittin' In With Records (originally just called "Sittin' In). Bobby went all over the south to record artists and Rufus was recorded in Tampa. His first record was November 1951's "My Baby And Me." It was #1 in Miami, but  it took until May 17 1952 for it to be #10 in Orlando. This was the closest Rufus would ever come to a hit. 

                              

And then, recordings get murky for a while. At an unknown date, in Tampa (probably prior to June 1952), it looks like Rufus' band was merged with Ray Charles' combo for a joint session. There were six songs recorded, credited to Rufus Beacham & His Tampa Toppers, Rufus Beacham Orchestra, Ray Charles with the Rufus Beacham Orchestra. Since both Rufus and Ray were singers/pianists, it's very unclear who did what on which. On June 23, the Fort Lauderdale News reported that Rufus had been fined $10 for speeding. At some point, Rufus and Queenie had relocated from Tampa to the East Coast of Florida and appeared at the Club Lido in Hollywood in July. 

On October 29, 1952 Rufus recorded four songs for King Records with Sonny Thompson's band (all labels credit Sonny Thompson, with a vocal by "Rufus Junior"). King released "Insulated Sugar" in March 1953; Beacham and Thompson copyrighted it on March 30. The next King release, in September 1953, was "My Heart Needs Someone", which was copyrighted on September 23 by Rufus and Sonny. On March 21, 1954, he and his combo played for the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority cocktail party at the Big Savoy Club (probably in Fort Lauderdale). After that, they got an engagements at the Cafe Society Club in Miami and the all-white Birdland in Miami Beach. By this time, Rufus and Queenie were living in the Miami area, where they'd remain for many years. 

On May 11, 1955 Rufus recorded some more songs for King: :"Love Have Mercy" , "My Baby And Me", "Let Me Be", and "What Has Happened To Me". Only his name appears on labels, and all feature his bluesy piano playing. In May and June 1956 Rufus recorded some songs for Henry Stone's Chart label including “Good Woman” and “Don’t Say You love Me.” In March 1957 he appeared solo at the Cotton Club in Miami, along with the Orioles, and the Cab Calloway Quintet. By February 1958 he was performing at the Café Society with his new orchestra. He also had a 5 second sreen appearance in the film “Wind Across The Everglades.” 

In 1960, Rufus had another try at recording, this time for Scepter Records. Throughout the early 60’s he played various clubs as Rufus “Mr. Soul” Beacham & His Orchestra, Queenie Beacham & Her Trio and Rufus Beacham & His Trio and then in 1964 he was convicted of possessing and selling marijuana. It was six years later that Rufus's last recordings were for Tropical Records of Miami as "Rufus 'Mr. Soul' Beacham. " 

Rufus and Nesby were divorced in April 1973. She subsequently married Willie Mosley and he subsequently married Cheryl Robinson. But some people don't learn a lesson easily. The April 16, 1980 Tampa Times reported that there was a round-up of 30 suspected street-level drug dealers. Rufus was charged with delivery of cocaine, but there was no follow-up for the disposition of the case, and Rufus is never heard of again. He died on June 1, 1993 in Tampa General Hospital. His ex-wife Nesby died in 2011. 

(Edited from Marv Golberg’s R&B Notebooks)