Ruby Wilson born 29 February 1948

Ruby Wilson (February 29, 1948 – August 12, 2016) was an American blues and gospel singer. She was known as "The Queen of Beale Street" as she sang in clubs on Beale Street, Memphis, Tennessee, for over 40 years. She had a successful touring and recording career, and appeared in a number of films. 

Wilson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, the youngest in a family of six children. Her mother was a maid, her father was self-employed, and Wilson grew up picking and chopping cotton - work she later described as hot and unpleasant. Her upbringing was filled with music, from two quite different sources - her mother, a deeply religious woman, only allowed her children to listen to gospel music, as she believed that all other music was "the devil's music". Wilson's mother was the choir director at their family church, and when she was 7 years old Wilson began singing in her mother's choir. On the other hand, Wilson's father loved blues and Wilson listened with him to blues musicians, which had a strong influence on her future career. 

Wilson met B.B. King for the first time when she was 14; King offered to be her godfather, and the two became close. When she was 15 years old, singer Shirley Caesar heard Wilson singing at church and invited her to tour with her as a backing singer with her gospel group The Caravans.. At the end of high school in 1966, Wilson married musician Jessie Moseley. The newlyweds moved to the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, where they played gospel music at churches around the city.  In the early 1970s, Wilson divorced her husband and returned to Texas, where she sang jazz in a small club in the evenings and continued to sing with her church choir on Sunday mornings. By 1972 she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and started working as a kindergarten teacher in the Memphis City School system. 

She also began performing regularly in clubs on Beale Street, including The Peabody, Club Handy and Club Royale, with musicians such as Ray Charles, Isaac Hayes, and the Four Tops. When B.B. King opened his B.B. King's Blues Club, she was given a weekly residency there, and when he later opened a restaurant, Itta Bena, she also became a regular performer there. 

As Wilson's career developed, she toured the United States and internationally, and performed at blues and jazz festivals in Europe, Asia and New Zealand. She performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and for President Clinton and Vice-President Gore, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his son Prince Albert. Wilson also performed on cruise ships and river cruises, and at parties and corporate events. Some of the bands which she performed with were the Hot Cotton Jazz Band, Buck Bubbles Express, the Unknown Band, the King Beez, B. B. King All Stars, Ms. Ruby’s Band and the Detroit People’s Band. 

                                  

Ruby’s recording career  started in 1975 with two singles on T.K. subsidiary Glades, with Number One In Your Heart and the funkier Sky High both still sounding good today. In 1976 she was offered her first record contract, with Malaco Records. Her first album, Ruby Wilson, was released by Malaco in 1981, and she released a further nine albums in her career. Two, Cake Walking Babies (1988) and Outstanding In Their Field (1989) were recorded with the Hot Cotton Jazz Band. In the 1980s, Wilson spent some years living in Los Angeles and performed with Joan Rivers and Sharon Gless. 

In 1992, after 20 years of singing in Beale Street clubs, local TV station WMC-TV gave her the title "Queen Ambassador of Beale Street"; two years later this was amended to "The Queen of Beale Street". Wilson appeared in several films, including The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), The Chamber (1996), Cookie's Fortune (1999) and Black Snake Moan (2006) as well as in television commercials. In 2010, she was inducted into the Black Business Directory's African-American Hall of Fame. 

In 2012, Wilson was offered space to exhibit items from her career, and later that year the Ruby Wilson Museum was opened. It displays memorabilia including awards, outfits and photographs. In 2013, Wilson received a W.C. Handy Heritage Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. Wilson toured the world numerous times. 

Wilson suffered a stroke in 2009, and was unable to speak for four months. She received speech therapy and physical therapy and eventually recovered enough to return to acting and singing. Despite her disability she always looked glamorous and her voice was as strong as ever. She suffered a heart attack in 2016, and after several days in a coma died on August 12, aged 68. Wilson was married four times. Her first husband was a gospel entertainer from Chicago. Her fourth husband was B.B. King's road manager. She was survived by four children, twelve grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Memphis Flyer)

Jesse Fortune born 28 February 1930

Jesse Fortune (February 28, 1930 – August 31, 2009) was an American Chicago blues singer and barber.

Otis Rush

Born in Macon, Mississippi, Fortune was trained as a barber before moving to Chicago, Illinois, in 1952. In Chicago, he worked as a barber during the day and a blues singer at night. Fortune became one of the most popular performers for "heavy duty vocal work" in the Chicago blues scene of the 1950s and 1960s. Hired by the legendary Otis Rush as a special guest feature vocalist for the Otis Rush Band show in 1952, Jesse made his mark on Chicago's tough west side. Keeping in mind that Otis Rush was himself one of the great vocalists in Chicago as well. Other great vocalists like Buddy Guy also hired fortune as a special guest vocalist. 

Willie Dixon

Jesse soon caught the attention of Willie Dixon who was penning tunes for Rush at that time. Dixon told writers and A&R men about Jesse Fortune and how he was "knocked out by his talent and power". Jesse Fortune soon found himself recording for the USA label and had Dixon writing tunes for him. After a meteoric rise to popularity behind the release of the USA sides, Fortune became rightfully disillusioned by the Blues music scene and it dishonesty. He has often said he "never made a dime from his recordings" even though he became a minor star behind them. Almost as fast as he rose to prominence he disappeared from the scene. 

                                   

Blues guitarist Dave Specter said of Fortune, "He was one of the great Chicago blues singers. He had an amazingly powerful voice, kind of in the style of early B.B. King. He had so much presence he almost didn't need a microphone." Fortune's best known recording was "Too Many Cooks," released in 1963. The Robert Cray Band later covered Fortune's "Too Many Cooks." Fortune released a number of records for the USA label, but became disillusioned with the music business. He later said that he "never made a dime from his recordings." 

Bob Koester of Delmark Records, caught Jesse singing at a benefit concert and immediately signed him on the spot. And in 1992, Fortune made a comeback with the release of a new album titled Fortune Tellin' Man. Down Beat Magazine rote, "Fortune's Delmark CD, Fortune Tellin' Man, showcases his gospelly vocal grit; he uses his love for B.B. King's style as a springboard instead of a crutch." And Cadence Magazine wrote, "His voice is expressive yet never sounds strained or labored. He is deeply soulful with a strutting rhythmic style ... that give this material such a freshness not often hear on Blues releases these days. Jesse Fortune's return to recording and gigging is a most welcome event." Fortune operated a barber shop on Chicago's west side in his later years and continued to perform occasionally in Chicago's blues clubs. 

Delmark Records founder Bob Koester recalled Fortune's love of being a barber: "Barbering was his trade and he took more than a little pride in it. He liked running his barbershop." Fortune once "had an opportunity to sing in Europe but turned it down because he didn't want to disappoint his haircut customers." 

In August 2009, Fortune died at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago after collapsing on stage while performing at Gene's Playmate Lounge, a Chicago blues club. An autopsy showed he died of coronary atherosclerosis. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Blues Management Group)

Winifred Atwell born 27 February 1910

Winifred Atwell (27 February 1910 *– 28 February 1983) was a Trinidadian pianist who enjoyed great popularity in Britain and Australia from the 1950s with a series of boogie-woogie and ragtime hits, selling over 20 million records. She was the first black artist to have a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart and as of 2023, remains the only female instrumentalist to do so. 

Una  Winifred Atwell was born in Tunapuna in Trinidad and Tobago. She and her parents lived in Jubilee Street. Her family owned a pharmacy, and she trained as a druggist, and was expected to join the family business, Winifred, however, had played the piano since a young age, and achieved considerable popularity locally. 

She left Trinidad in the early 1940s and travelled to the United States to study with Alexander Borovsky and in 1946 moved to London, where she had gained a place at the Royal Academy of Music. She became the first female pianist to be awarded the Academy's highest grading for musicianship. To support her studies, she played rags at London clubs and theatres. These modest beginnings in variety would one day see her topping the bill at the London Palladium. 

She attracted attention with an unscheduled appearance at the Casino Theatre, where she substituted for an ill star. She caught the eye of entrepreneur Bernard Delfont, who put her on a long-term contract. She released three discs which were well received. The third, "Jezebel," scurried to the top of the best seller lists. It was her fourth disc that catapulted her to huge popularity in the UK. A fiendishly complex arrangement called "Cross Hands Boogie" was released to show her virtuoso rhythmic technique, but it was the "B" side, a 1900s tune written by George Botsford called "Black and White Rag," that was to become a radio standard. 

                                   

Winifred Atwell's husband, former stage comedian Lew Levisohn, was vital in shaping her career as a variety star. The two had met in 1946, and married soon after. They were inseparable up to Levisohn's death in Hong Kong in December 1977; they had no children. He had cannily made the choice, for stage purposes, of her playing first a concert grand, then a beaten up old upright piano. This became famous as Winifred Atwell's "other piano". 

When Winifred Atwell first came to Britain, she initially earned only a few pounds a week. By the mid-fifties, this had shot up to over $10,000. By 1952, her popularity had spread internationally. Her hands were insured with Lloyds of London for a quarter of a million dollars (the policy stipulating that she was never to wash dishes). She signed a record contract with Decca Records, and her sales were soon 30,000 discs a week. She was by far the biggest selling pianist of her time. She is the only holder of two gold and two silver discs for piano music in Britain, and was the first black artist in the UK to sell a million records. 

Atwell with Louis Armstrong

She had her own series in Britain (1956-57) and on Australian television in 1960-1961. Her brilliant career earned her a fortune, and would have extended further to the U.S. but for issues of race. Her breakthrough appearance was to have been on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, but on arrival in America she was confronted with problems of selling the show in the south with a British-sounding black woman. The appearance was never recorded. 

In 1955 Winifred Atwell arrived in Australia and was greeted as an international celebrity. She was paid $5,000 a week (the equivalent of around $50,000 today), making her the highest paid star from a Commonwealth country to visit Australia up to that time. Her enormous popularity in Australia led to her settling in Sydney in the 1970s. She became an Australian citizen two years before her death. 

Winifred Atwell suffered a stroke in 1980. She officially retired on The Mike Walsh Show, then Australia's then highest rating television variety program, in 1981. The only public performances from this point were as organist in her parish church at Narrabean. She categorically stated on the Mike Walsh show that she would retire and not return as a public performer, but that she had an excellent career. Her last TV performance was a medley of Black and White Rag and Twelfth Street rag, before being given a standing ovation and awarded a bouquet. 

In 1983 following a fire that destroyed her Narrabeen home, she suffered a heart attack and died while staying with friends in Seaforth. She is buried beside husband Lew Levisohn in South Gundarimba Private Cemetery in Northern New South Wales, just outside Lismore. 

(Edited from Wikipedia)  *There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her year of birth as 1914, but her gravestone states that she died at the age of 73, suggesting that she was born in 1910.  

 

Dave Pell born 26 February 1925

David Pell (February 26, 1925 – May 7, 2017) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and record producer. He was best known as the leader of The Dave Pell Octet, recording over thirty albums with his band. He was not a familiar name to the casual listener, but he carved himself multiple niches in the West Coast music scene. While Dave was mainly known as a tenor saxophonist, he was a man of many hats, and applied his talents to producing records, taking photographs for album covers, arranging music for large and small ensembles and organizing the Lester Young based group called The Prez Conference.

Dave began entertaining at the age of 5 singing at weddings and bar mitzvahs during the Depression. He joined the New York City Orchestra playing clarinet at age 13. At 15, he was also gigging with Dizzy Gillespie. They played in a jazz band in Boston. Dave credits Gillespie with giving him the direction to make his solos different each time, and to make them “funny.”

He went on to sit in with more than 100 bands including Tommy Dorsey, Tony Pastor, and the Les Brown Band (1947 – 1955). A natural musician, Dave valued great musicianship above all else. He could listen to a musician and mimic their sound note perfect. A series of his albums featured the sounds of such greats as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Harry James. Dave greatly admired Lester Young whose sound and phraseology was always in his mind while he played. It was his greatest joy to be willed Lester Young’s Dolnet sax. Dave played it regularly in concert, much to the delight of audiences. Young's only other known horn is at Rutgers University's Institute of Jazz Studies.

He collaborated with countless top talent, including Benny Goodman, Henry Mancini, Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Doris Day, Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand, and Anita O’Day. In the 1950s, Pell started working the big band sound into smaller groups. The best arrangers worked on charts, including: Marty Paich, Shorty Rodgers, Bill Holman, Jerry Fielding, Wes Hensel, John Mandel, John Williams, and Andre Previn. He booked the best of the Les Brown band, including: Don Fagerquist, Ray Sims, Jack Sperling, Tony Rizzi, Ronny Lang, and Rolly Bundock. The small big band sound and The Dave Pell Octet was born. The clean melodic lines formed the cornerstone of West Coast Jazz.

                                  

In the 50’s he was an innovator of “cover” tunes on the budget Tops label bu hiring some studio players and producing albums featuring Billboard’s top hits. Later, as a label exec, he kept the band booked creating music for new acts as well. He tested the limits of union rules and recorded all the rehearsals. Some takes ended up as tracks on albums. Pell was the recording session leader for the 1965 hit song "No Matter What Shape (Your Stomach's In)", performed by a group of Los Angeles studio musicians attributed as The T-Bones. This band later evolved into the Wrecking Crew.

In the 1960s, Dave’s ear for great music got the attention of record labels. He produced for Liberty, eventually heading the Liberty, Blue Note, and United Artists labels. Among his credits were singles by Gary Lewis & the Playboys.  Dave was also the head of Motown A&R in the early ’70s, producing Tom Clay’s version of “What the World Needs Now.” He produced Sinatra on the Reprise label, Sinatra/Count Basie collaborations, and many others. He produced. Vikki Carr’s “It Must Be Him” which earned her three Grammy nominations.

In the ’70s, Dave continued to produce and play. In the latter part of that decade he went to Gene Norman of Crescendo Records and pitched the idea of taking Lester Young’s solos and harmonizing them with four saxophones. Bill Holman arranged the homage to Lester Young. Dave’s Prez Conference recorded two albums: “Prez Conference with Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison” and “Prez and Joe,” which was nominated for a Grammy in 1980.

In the '80s and '90s, Pell revived his octet for recordings on the Fresh Sound (1984) and Headfirst (1988) labels, and sporadic live dates in the Los Angeles area, including an appearance at the Jazz West Coast festival in 1994. Dave began coordinating music for films. Working with Snuffy Garrett, Dave produced soundtracks for several Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood movies, including the Grammy-nominated “Sharky’s Machine.”

Dave always made music. He would book the Octet whenever he could, including his final gig on March 14, 2017. Dave frequently played with Med Flory and a rhythm combo at restaurants or jazz festivals: no sheet music, just two old pros jamming. In the Johnny Vana Big Band Alumni band, Dave found a music family. From the late ’90s until just before his passing, Dave played first tenor, still pleasing the crowd and swinging. He died on May 7, 2017, age 92.

(Edited from article @ afmLocal47, AllMusic, Jazz Backstory & Wikipedia) 

 

Andrew Brown born 25 February 1937

Andrew Brown (25 February 1937 – 11 December 1985) was a blues guitarist from Chicago. 

Tragically under-recorded until late in his career, Chicago blues guitarist Andrew Brown still had time enough to wax a handful of great singles during the mid-'60s and two '80s albums (unfortunately, both of them were only available as imports) that beautifully showcased his fluid, concise lead guitar and hearty vocals. 

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Andrew discovered he had talent as a guitarist when he was very young. Before leaving Jackson, he had jammed with Joe Dyson’s popular big band, and even played with Charlie Parker! Coming to Chicago, he fell in with his contemporaries Magic Sam and Freddie King, playing West Side taverns. But he also backed soul singer Denise LaSalle and worked in Baby Face Willette’s organ combo. 

As with his friend Magic Sam, the Army snatched up Andrew just as he was really beginning to come into his own musically. He returned home in 1962, a more sober and serious man. He got a job in a steel mill, bought a home in Harvey, and settled down to suburban respectability. His only vice was a penchant for street drag racing, which ended when he flipped an Edsel across a lawn and ended up upside down in the car in someone’s living room. 

                                   

His musical career continued sporadically. He recorded his first single, the classic “You Better Stop” for the U.A. label in 1962, and later 45s for the Four Brothers label, including the outstanding “You Ought To Be Ashamed.” But nothing really happened with his records, and, although he cut as a sideman with Jimmy Johnson and Denise LaSalle, Andrew didn’t get back into the studio until 1973. Then he had to finance the session himself. In half an hour (all the studio time he could afford), Andrew cut four sides, including a superb version of James Davis’ “Blue Monday” which was later released on Brave. As with his earlier singles, the music was aggressive but the record promotion wasn’t, and Andrew resigned himself to a career in the steel mills. 

During the ‘70s, Andrew paid more than his share of dues. First, he suffered a heart attack. Later, he permanently injured his back working as a lifter at the mill, and lay in traction for months. It took years to reach a financial settlement, while the mill had to hire two men to replace him! As a result of his inability to work at heavy labor, Andrew returned to his music with more determination. He gigged in East Chicago, Indiana, in Markham, Illinois, and at South Side jazz clubs like El Panama and All That Jazz. “Big Brown” (as he was known) made his North Side debut at a benefit concert at The Wise Fools Pub. Here, fans were amazed to discover a major blues talent who had been living in obscurity only thirty miles to the south. 

Andrew recorded his first album tracks for Alligator’s Living Chicago Blues series in 1979. The exposure won him a following in Europe, and he went on to record two albums for European labels, Big Brown’s Chicago Blues on Black Magic Records and On The Case on Double Trouble Records, both produced by long-time friend and fan Dick Shurman. 

Andrew died of cancer in 1985, just as he was beginning to receive recognition as a major blues artist. 

(Edited from Alligator Records & Bill Dahl)

Tony Campello born 24 February 1936

Tony Campello* (born 24 February 1936) was one of the first Brazilian rock'n'rollers. He started singing and playing his guitar as soon as he listened to his first Elvis Presley record back in his hometown Taubaté, Sao Paulo. He formed his own band called Ritmos OK and started performing at dances and balls. 

Tony whose real name was Sergio Benelli Campello had a younger sister called Célia who had a golden voice and ended up being more famous than him. She actually became Celly Campello, the Queen of Brazilian Rock selling heaps of records and being at #1 in the charts more than anyone else in Brazilian show business at the time. Celly though had other plans than being a recording artist. She got married in May 1962 and just like Greta Garbo did in 1942,  went into retirement at the age of 22.  

Even though Celly became bigger than himself and everyone else for that matter, Tony never had a chip on his shoulder. On the contrary, he enjoyed his sister's success and usually toured the country with her being part of the band that accompanied her. Tony recorded as much as his sister but never reached the top of the charts.  1961 was a pretty good year for Tony; he hit with 'Você me venceu', a cover of Sedaka's 'You're knocking me out', 'Querida Susie', a cover of Robin Luke's 'Susie darling' and 'Baby face' which had been covered recently by Brenda Lee. 

                                 

In 1961 and 1962, he received the Chico Viola trophy, the second of which was together with his sister Celly. He traveled the next two years to Paraguay and Peru.  It looks like Fate had something special in store for him for in 1963 - less than a year after his sister got married and left the rock scene - Tony Campello reached the top of the charts with  'Boogie do bebê', a cover of Buzz Clifford's 'Babysitting boogie'. 

But by 1964 Tony tried to get into the Italian pop-music boom but with no great success; differently from a few years back, original recordings from Italy were more popular than the Brazilian covers. Times had changed swiftly and the record-buying public was interested in something else. 

Tony's career became erratic after 1964. With the Italian music invasion Odeon thought Tony could capture some of that market but translations were not as successful as they had been up to 1963. 

Tony tried all formulas and dance crazes with no avail. 'Pertinho do mar' was actually a medium-sized hit but it was a bit too little too late. He began to produce albums for the RCA Victor label by artists such as Celly Campello, Os Incredibles, Carlos Gonzaga Chris McClayton (Cristiano) and released on disc, among others, Deny and Dino, Silvinha and Luis Fabiano. As a producer and researcher of country music, he produced almost all of Sérgio Reis' albums since 1967. 

In 1974, he won the Rock 74 award, for the production of the album "Rock das Quebradas". He performed in 1975 at the Igrejinha Nightclub, in São Paulo, where the Cuba Libre shows in Hi-Fi were organized, promoting the return of successful singers from the late 1950s and early 1960s (Pré Jovem Guarda), such as: Celly Campello, Ronnie Cord, Carlos Gonzaga, George Freedman, Baby Santiago and Dan Rockabilly. 

He also produced a series of compilation albums "Luar do Sertão", from the BMG Ariola label (formerly RCA Victor, from 1985). In the 90’s Campello produced several albums by the Jet Blacks. Tony still performs in the countryside of São Paulo. 

(Edited from Carlus Maximus @ Brazilian Rock blog, La Playa Music blog & apple music) (* other sources spell surname as Campelo)

 

Margaret Young born 23 February 1891

Margaret Youngblood (February 23, 1891 – May 3, 1969) better known by her stage name Margaret Young, was an American singer and comedian who was popular in the 1920s. 

Margaret Youngblood was born in Detroit, Michigan. She was one of four daughters of Bernard and Minnie (Walters) Youngblood. Margaret's sisters were Hattie (13 years older than Margaret), Bernadette (2 years older), and Eleanore (4 years younger). 

Young began her professional career in Detroit, Michigan. She sang at theaters, dinner clubs, and on Vaudeville. Her act was frequently seen in New York as well as various other circuits of the day with a repertoire filled with novelty songs and mildly risqué numbers, all delivered in a piping voice that oozed sly innocence. Margaret made her first record, "Oh By Jingo", in 1920 and over the next five years produced a number of hits for RCA Victor and Brunswick including "Lovin' Sam, the Shiek of Alabam'", "Hard Hearted Hannah", and "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans". 

                                     

In the 1920's Margaret Young's sister Eleanore married the great Jazz Age songwriter Richard Whiting. Margaret Young was the aunt of the great jazz vocalist Margaret Whiting and was affectionately known as "Aunt Maggie". Richard Whiting supplied Margaret Young with these hits:  Somebody's Wrong, What Do They Mean By Love,  The Grass Is Always Greener and Ukulele Lady.

Margaret tried to make a comeback in 1949 after years of retirement. She recorded some records for Capitol Records that year. On April 21, 1956, Margaret makes a brief appearance on the CBS Radio Workshop Show "The Record Collectors". The show was hosted by John Dehner and guests included niece Margaret Whiting. 

Margaret Young died on May 3, 1969 in Inglewood, California after a brief illness. She was 78 years old at her death. Margaret is buried alongside her sister Eleanore Whiting (widow of Richard Whiting and mother of Margaret Whiting) at Holy Cross Cemetery in Los Angeles. 

(Edited from jazzage1920s.com., Findagrave & music.apple notes) 

Billy Mo born 22 February 1923

Billy Mo (February 22, 1923 - July 16, 2004) was a jazz trumpeter and pop singer. 

Billy Mo was born Peter Mico Joachim in Trinidad. His parents died when he was about five years old, after which he and his two sisters were sent to an orphanage. In the orphanage, Joachim received music lessons and learned to play the harmonica, and according to other sources, at the age of six, also the trumpet and French horn.  According to a later account, he became a member of an orchestra for the first time when he was seven, and a member of the local police marching band at the age of 14, making him Trinidad's youngest police officer. 

There are different accounts of when and how Joachim came to Great Britain: According to a magazine report from 1967, which is based on an interview with Joachim, he was hired by an officer in the British merchant navy in 1945 for an all-colored dance band.  A statement by Joachim in Spiegel also speaks for 1945, in which he states the length of his stay in London as 11 years (1945–1956) during which he received a scholarship from the Royal Academy of Arts and Music in London. 

The band played for American and British soldiers and performed in nightclubs. The group broke up in November or December 1945 during a tour of France due to internal strife and Joachim returned to England unemployed. Although he continued to be a member of various London bands, he was not able to make a living from his work as a musician. Instead he had to work in restaurants.  From around 1950, Joachim worked with the multi-instrumentalist and arranger Rupert Nurse from Trinidad, who had come to England in 1945. Joachim also appeared with him alongside the Caribbean pianist Winifred Atwell at the Prince of Wales Theater in the show Pardon My French (1953/54). 

According to a later account, he was called “Hot Lips Pete” at the time. Joachim is also said to have performed with the Ivor Curzon band.  In the early 1950s, Joachim finally founded his own orchestra, with which he performed at the River Club, the Stork Club and the Café de Paris.  However, the big breakthrough as a musician failed to materialize. In April 1956, Joachim came to Hamburg via Paris, penniless, and was hired as a trumpet player in the house band of the St. Pauli scene club Blauer Peter. According to Keim's account, he came to Germany “with a small band. 

He also played Dixieland and Rock 'n' Roll in other venues and also began to sing. In 1957 he was discovered by the head of the NDR television orchestra Viktor Reschke and published the two swing titles Buona Sera and Oh Marie by Louis Prima under his new pseudonym “Billy Mo” . In the same year he played (for contractual reasons without naming his name) a trumpet solo in Franz Grothe's Midnight Blues for the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra. With other titles such as Darling, You know ja , Oh, Jennilie and Swing, Methuselah (all 1958), Joachim began to establish himself as “Billy Mo” in the German music business. 

                                    

With the title Das Fräulein Gerda , an oldie first published in 1938, Billy Mo's musical transition to pop and folk music was completed in 1960 . Mo delivered further remakes of hits from the 1920s and 1930s. He achieved his big commercial breakthrough in 1962 with the number one hit I'd rather buy a Tyrolean hat. In 1962/63 the song stayed in the charts for 17 weeks, reached number three on the sales lists and achieved sales of four million marks by 1967. For his success in Germany, Mo received a gold record from his music label.

From then on, the Tyrolean hat became Billy Mo's trademark, which was a must at every public appearance. His later single releases were unable to repeat this success, even though he continued to have a few listings in the German charts. Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi later judged that Billy Mo's "popularity was based on his talent to beat the Germans in their own specialty - humtata music."  Mo's last single re-release appeared in 1970. Musical developments had transcended his musical style and his record sales had plummeted. Nevertheless, Billy Mo continued to tour live and appear on entertainment programs over the next few years with his songs, which had now become “oldies” in their own right. 

Since the 1970s, Mo lived in Wunstorf in Lower Saxony, where he was also involved in the local musical life. At the age of 78 he was still performing in jazz clubs, most recently especially in the Jazz Club Hannover.  After a performance in December 2001, he suffered a stroke. Since then he has been in a vegetative state and was in need of care.  In the summer of 2002, Mo was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon by the Federal President for his services in musical youth work, which was presented to him by the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Sigmar Gabriel. Billy Mo died of heart failure in 2004 at the age of 81. A trumpet and a Tyrolean hat can be seen on his gravestone in Wunstorf-Luthe.

(Edited from Wikipedia)