Bobby Hicks born 21 July 1933

Robert Caldwell Hicks (July 21, 1933 – August 16, 2024) was a Grammy Award-winning American bluegrass fiddler and musician with more than fifty years of experience. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2017. 

Hicks was born in Newton, North Carolina, and first stated playing the fiddle when he was nine years old, several years after learning to play the mandolin and guitar as a boy. His family played traditional mountain music growing up, and he was pulled into it quite naturally. Once his brother tired of Bobby’s mandolin playing and put him out of their band, he dedicated himself fully to fiddling. 

It was after the family moved to Greensboro when he was 12 that Bobby tried his first fiddle contest, placing first in the North Carolina State Championship. He continued on the convention and contest circuit for the next several years, winning his share as he became a fine player. In 1953 his first professional gig came along, playing fiddle for Jim Eanes, where he also got his first taste of recording in Nashville. Not long after he went to work for Benny Jarrell & the Flint Hill Playboys, and country singer Bob Williams. 

L-R: Bill Monroe, Bobby Hicks, Bessie Lee,
Gordon Terry, Jack Cook, Buddy Pennington

But Bobby’s fate was sealed when he was asked to play bass on a run of North Carolina dates with Bill Monroe in ’53. As those shows were being completed, Bill asked him if he wanted the job full time, which meant a move to Nashville. Once he realized what a strong fiddler his young bass man was, Bill moved him to that position. During this time Hicks recorded a number of Monroe gems, Wheel Hoss, Roanoke, and Cheyenne, which remain standards to this day. 

                            Here's "Scotland" from above LP

                                            

The Korean War took Hicks away from music for a two-year hitch in the Army from 1956-58. But he rejoined Monroe upon his return, and recorded several more classic tunes with the band. His fiddle appears on most of the tracks on Bill’s Bluegrass Instrumentals record, released in 1965, though most had been recorded in the late ’50s. There we hear Bobby on Stoney Lonesome, Tall Timber, Brown County Breakdown, Panhandle Country, Big Mon, Scotland, Monroe’s Hornpipe, and the cut of Wheel Hoss he had done in 1953. Many of those were double or triple fiddled alongside Charlie Cline, Gordon Terry, Kenny Baker, and Vassar Clements. 

Following that time with Monroe, Bobby took a job with country star Porter Wagoner, where he remained for a few more years in Nashville. Low pay prompted a move to Las Vegas where he quickly found work with country singer Judy Lynn, who kept him in the band for the next seven years. He also developed and performed his own solo show there in Vegas. But the call of home, and his mother’s poor health, brought him back to Greensboro, where Hicks found ready work with a number of local groups, and teaching private students. His reputation with Monroe also led to studio fiddling opportunities, and he took time to record his solo project, Texas Crapshooter. 

Things changed again in 1981 when Ricky Skaggs, then pursuing a career in country music, asked Bobby to join his touring band. Of course, Skaggs exploded onto the country scene with hit after hit, many of them pulled from the catalog of artists like Jim Eanes, The Stanley Brothers, and Flatt & Scruggs. That same year found Hicks caught up in the excitement over the first recording by the Bluegrass Album Band, with Tony Rice, Doyle Lawson, J.D. Crowe, and Todd Phillips. He was included in the first five records they made together while continuing with Ricky. In the mid and late 1980s, he frequently performed with Bill Monroe on stage and on records. He was inducted into the Fiddlers Hall of Fame in 2002. He appeared as a member of Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys in 2003. The next year, he performed with Hazel Creek. 

In 2004, he said goodbye to Skaggs and the road life, at which point he was 71 years old . He celebrated 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry. Bobby Hicks is a 3 time Grammy winner and 7 time nominee. His discography includes over 10 albums as a leader or co-leader. Bobby continued to perform with a band near his home, now in western North Carolina. He continued to play his fiddle, as well as banjo and guitar, up to the very end. Though he didn’t often show it, Bobby was a fine singer and a top notch banjo picker as well. During Ricky’s country days, Hicks would often be called on to play banjo on songs like Highway 40 Blues and Country Boy. In 2017, he was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. 

Hicks died from complications of heart disease. After suffering a heart attack on August 10, he underwent surgery to install a pacemaker on the 15^th but died the following morning on August 16, 2024, at the age of 91. 

(Edited from article by John Lawless @ Bluegrass Today & Wikipedia)

 

J.E. Mainer born 20 July 1898

J. E. Mainer (July 20, 1898 – June 12, 1971) was an American old time fiddler who followed in the wake of Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers. 

Mainer's Mountaineers, with their leader J.E. Mainer on fiddle, were one of the most popular string bands of the 1930s. They formed an important link between old-time string music and bluegrass, and their musical life exemplified several important aspects of the musical culture of the mountain southeast: the importance of the brother duet, the early link between country music and radio advertising, and the prevalence of turn-of-the-century sentimental song in the repertories of 1930s musicians. 

Joseph Emmett Mainer grew up on a farm in the mountains near Weaverville, North Carolina, United States, and learned to play the banjo and fiddle from an early age. Since Wade, his brother, also was interested in learning to play the banjo, he left that to Wade and concentrated on the fiddle. Soon, Mainer began performing at local country barn dances. He found work at a textile mill in Knoxville, Tennessee, but moved to Concord, North Carolina in 1922 for another work in a mill. 

Mainer's fame as a fiddler rose and sponsored by the Crazy Water Crystals in 1933, he and his newly formed band consisting of J. E. on fiddle, Wade Mainer on banjo, and Zeke Morris on guitar, made their radio debut on WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina, calling themselves J.E. Mainer and his Crazy Mountaineers. The band appeared on several radio stations in the following years until 1935, when they received a recording contract. One of the 14 songs recorded at that session was "Maple on the Hill," a turn-of-the-century sentimental standard originally composed by the African-American Cincinnati janitor-composer Gussie Davis. The song had been introduced to country audiences by both Vernon Dalhart and the Carter Family, but the mournful warmth of J.E.'s fiddle and Wade's banjo made it a country standard. 

                                   

In August the same year, the Mountaineers, with the addition of "Daddy" John Love, recorded for Bluebird Records. Wade Mainer and Zeke Morris temporarily left the band in the early 1936 to form a duo. In the meantime, Ollie Bunn, Howard Bumgardner and Clarence Todd replaced Wade, Zeke and "Daddy" John Love on the next recording session. 

 In the summer of 1936, Wade and Zeke returned to record with "the mountaineers". The next year, in 1937, Wade Mainer formed the "Sons of the Mountaineers". Shortly, a new change of personnel occurred when Leonard "Lester" Stokes and George Morris became members of "the mountaineers" calling themselves "Handsome and Sambo". They added Snuffy Jenkins on banjo on the following recording session. In late 1938, Stokes and Morris were once more replaced by Clyde Moody and Jay Hugh Hall. The band continued to perform on radio stations in both North and South Carolina. The Mountaineers disbanded at the outbreak of World War II, but Mainer continued to record in the late 1940s, together with his sons, Glenn and Curly, for King Records. 

Following WWII, J. E. confined most of his playing to the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia. He recorded in 1946, with a band whose most prominent members were his sons J. E."Curly", Jr. and Glenn, who developed into a quality Bluegrass banjo picker. J. E. Mainer’s Mountaineers had four recording sessions in 1946 that resulted in several singles and two albums.  An enduring original from these sessions was "Run Mountain”. 

In 1962, Chris Strachwitz of the Arhoolie label visited J. E. in Concord and subsequently cut a new album, “The Legendary Family from the Blue Ridge Mountains”. This led to the re-discovery of Mainer’s Mountaineers by a new generation of fans across the U.S. and in the summer of 1963 they appeared at the Berkeley Folk Music Festival, , which introduced Mainer's music to a whole new generation. King reissued some of the Mountaineers recordings (such as Good Ole Mountain Music) in the early '60s, and over the course of that decade Mainer recorded several more albums and made appearances on the radio and at festivals. 

Beginning in 1967, J. E. cut a series of 20 albums for Uncle Jim O’Neal’s Rural Rhythm label, guested on the WWVA Jamboree and played numerous festivals while continuing to live modestly in his country home in Concord. He continued to perform until his death in June 12, 1971. 

Mainer was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame on October 11, 2012.

(Edited from Wikipedia. AllMusic & Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame)

Tiny Hill born 19 July 1906

Harry Lawrence "Tiny" Hill (July 19, 1906 – December 13, 1971) was an American band leader of the big band era. During the height of his career, Hill was billed as "America's Biggest Bandleader" because of his weight of over 365 lb (166 kg). His signature song was "Angry", which he first recorded in 1939 on the Vocalion label. He used sandpaper blocks and a güiro to generate a double shuffle "beat that makes the listener itch to dance". In all, Hill made over 95 recordings on six different labels. 

Hill was born in Sullivan Township, Moultrie County, Illinois. His parents were William Fred Hill (1880–1915) and Osa Crowdson Ault (1890–1982). His parents separated when he was seven years old and he went to live with an aunt. He was active in high school sports and was president of his senior class. He graduated from Sullivan High School in 1924. Hill then attended Illinois State Normal School for two years. Financial difficulties forced him to leave college to go to work. He went to Detroit, where he worked in a produce warehouse. After a series of short term jobs, he ended up driving a team of mules for the Midwest Canning Company in Rochelle, Illinois. 

In 1931 Hill formed his first big band, which was known as the "Fat Man's Band". Hill played the drums with the trio, which played for several years in and around Decatur, Illinois. In 1934 Hill joined the Byron Dunbar band in Decatur as a drummer and vocalist. After a year with Dunbar, Hill left to form his own band, taking many of Dunbar's band members with him. They had their first appearance at the Ingleterra Ballroom in Peoria, Illinois on October 31, 1935. 

Members of Hill's new band were Dick Coffeen and Harold King on trumpets; John Noreuil on trombone, Jim Shielf on piano, and Reightno Corrington on bass. The reed section included Bobby Walters, Bob Kramar and Nook Schreier, who also did arranging. The group's style was Dixieland jazz and hillbilly music. Their theme song was "Dream Girl". By 1937 the band was playing its warm and easy-to-dance-to music three nights a week to packed audiences at the Ingleterra Ballroom. In September 1939, the band was heard over Remote WGN Radio broadcasts from the Melody Mill Ballroom in the Chicago suburb of North Riverside, Illinois. The band played for several years at the Melody Mill and acquired a large following throughout the Midwest. 

                                    

With a line-up including Jack Alexander, Sterling Bose, Bob Anderson, Ralph Richards, Dick Coffeen, Russ Phillips, Bob Kramer, Nick Schreier, Bob Walters, Norman Maxwell, Pat Patterson, Lloyd McCahn, Monte Mountjoy, Rolly Carpenter, Al Larsen, Leroy Hendricks and others, the Tiny Hill Orchestra quickly found themselves prime bookings on the Midwest one-nighter circuit. 

Augmented by vocalists such as Allen De Witt, Bob Freeman, Irwin Bendell and Hill himself, the group's popularity soon extended to Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa, growing steadily throughout the 30s and 40s. Soon the band was playing in ballrooms coast to coast. Hill toured the country for a while and landed on the coast to play four months at the Casino Gardens, Ocean Park, California. He returned to Chicago in 1942. Further appearances included Aragon and Trianon in Chicago and The Rainbow Ballroom in Denver. In 1943, Hill and his orchestra became the summer replacement band on the Lucky Strike Your Hit Parade radio show. Hill was featured on the cover of the September 23, 1944, edition of Billboard magazine. 

In 1945, he was hired as folk music director at Mercury Records. He was featured again on the cover of Billboard magazine on August 4, 1945. He resigned as country A&R man at Mercury in March 1948. Hill and his band continued to enjoy success for many years, well into the 1950s, until the end of the big band era. Hill continued to play in small combos in the Denver-Brighton area, often returning to the Midwest for guest appearances. Hill's band performed in ballrooms across the country and on radio and recording such songs as "Angry", "Sioux City Sue", "Heartaches", "I'll Sail My Ship Alone", "Who's Sorry Now?", "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue", "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover", "Move It On Over", "Mockin' Bird Hill", If You Knew Susie, and "Slow Poke".In 1951 Hill had a hit with a cover of "Hot Rod Race" written by George Wilson. 

In 1956, Hill opened Radio Station KHIL in Brighton, Colorado. He eventually spent less time on the road and more time with his business interests. Undeterred by the decline in the commercial appeal of the big band sound, Hill resolutely remained at the helm of his combo until his death. His final public performance was to a capacity audience in Emden, Illinois, on July 17, 1971. He suffered a fatal heart attack  and died in Denver, Colorado, December 13, 1971. The inscription on his tombstone reads: "Forgotten quickly by many, remembered forever by a few." 

(Edited from Wikipedia)

Sammy Masters born 18 July 1930

Samuel T. Lawmaster (July 18, 1930 – March 8, 2013), known by his stage name Sammy Masters, was an American rockabilly musician. He is perhaps best known for his 1960 hit, "Rockin' Red Wing". 

Born Samuel T. Lawmaster in Sasakwa, Oklahoma, United States, Masters was the son of an oil field worker. He showed skill in music from an early age and was something of a prodigy. At age 12, he debuted on the radio station KTUL in Tulsa with Bob Wills. When he was 16, his family moved to California, and Masters began playing in country groups in the Los Angeles area alongside Spade Cooley and Ole Rasmussen. Lawmaster recorded his first solo single, "Lost Little Nickel in the Big Juke Box" on Cormac Records in 1950, and followed it with "Crazy River". After these were released Masters served in the Korean War in the Army, where he often performed for his fellow soldiers. 

                                    

In 1954, he returned to California and signed with 4-Star Publishing as a songwriter and demo tape recorder. Patsy Cline recorded his "Turn the Cards Slowly" for a minor hit. Interested in furthering his chances at a successful career in rockabilly, Masters recorded "Pink Cadillac" and "Whop-T-Bop" with guitarist Jimmy Bryant and released them on 4-Star in 1956, but neither sold well. Follow-ups "Angel" and "Jodie" were no more successful, even after Masters's touring schedule and television appearances on The Jack Benny Show and Town Hall Party. His contract with 4-Star ended in 1957, and he wrote for American Music for a few years. 

Masters with Jimmy Bryant

“Rockin' Red Wing" was issued on Warner Bros. Records in September 1959 before signing with Lode Records in 1960. Lode re-issued "Rockin' Red Wing" in January that year, which became a regional hit in Los Angeles and eventually reached No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. It gave Masters his only appearance in the UK Singles Chart when it peaked at No. 36 in June 1960. His next single, "Golden Slippers", was released nationally by Dot Records, but it was not a success, and neither was "Pierre the Poodle", his last release before losing his recording contract. 

He became friends with Willie Nelson in 1961, and his song "Who Can I Count On?" became the B-side to Nelson's "Crazy", a multi-platinum smash for Patsy Cline. In the wake of "Crazy"'s success, singers such as Bobby Darin and Wayne Newton covered "Who Can I Count On?". That same year Masters founded his own label, Galahad Records.

While largely a vehicle for other acts, Gallahad was also home to his 1964 gospel LP, May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You, as well as little-heard singles like "Stick Around Joe," "All Alone in San Antone," and "A Big Man Cried." For a time, he and Johnny Horton co-hosted a 15-minute weekly television series on L.A. station KCOP, and during the late '60s and 1970s and increasingly found work in TV production in the following decades.At one point, he was helming six weekly series at the same time, including Jukebox Saturday Night and Country Music Time. 

He finally left the club business around 1976 and eased off to playing weekends at Elks Clubs, Moose Lodges and mobile home clubhouses. He retired from the day job in early 1994, but soon began another part time job delivering automobiles. Buoyed by a resurgence of interest in rockabilly across Europe and Japan, Masters signed to the Dionysus label to cut 1997's Everybody Digs Sammy Masters -- recorded in collaboration with Deke Dickerson and Ray Campi, it was his first new material in over three decades, and was followed by a series of acclaimed live appearances overseas.

Relying mostly on well-worn country standards, he rarely sang “Rockin’ Red Wing.” He released a new rockabilly CD, produced by Deek Dickerson, and appeared at the 1998 Hemsby Festival in England.He continued to do the weekend gigs with a three or four‑piece band until about 2007. 

Sammy Masters died peacefully in his sleep on March 8, 2013, aged 82. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, Top Shelf Oldies & AllMusic)

 

Phyllis Diller born 17 July 1917

Phyllis Ada Diller (July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her eccentric stage persona, self-deprecating humor, wild hair and clothes, and exaggerated, cackling laugh. 

Diller was born Phyllis Ada Driver in Lima, Ohio, the only child of Perry Marcus Driver, an insurance agent, and Frances Ada (née Romshe). She had German and Irish ancestry as the surname "Driver" had been changed from "Treiber" several generations earlier. She was raised Methodist but was a lifelong atheist, even in childhood. Her father and mother were older than most when she was born (55 and 36, respectively) and Diller attended several funerals while growing up. The exposure to death at a young age led her to an early appreciation for life and she later realized that her comedy was a form of therapy.

Diller attended Lima's Central High School, discovering early on she had comic gifts. Later, Diller observed, "I was always a pro— even as a little tiny kid. I was an absolutely perfect, quiet, dedicated student in class. But outside of class, I got my laughs." Diller studied piano for three years at the Sherwood Music Conservatory of Columbia College Chicago, but decided against a career in music after hearing her teachers and mentors play with much more skill than she thought that she would be able to achieve, and transferred to Bluffton College where she studied literature, history, psychology and philosophy.

In 1939, she met Sherwood Diller, the brother of a classmate at Bluffton, and they eloped, marrying in Bluffton on November 4, 1939. Diller did not finish college and was primarily a homemaker, taking care of their five children (a sixth child died in infancy). During World War II, Sherwood worked at the Willow Run B-24 Bomber Plant, in Ypsilanti Charter Township, Michigan. In 1945, Sherwood Diller was transferred to Naval Air Station Alameda Alameda, California, where he was an inspector. Diller began working as the women's editor at a small newspaper, and as an advertising copywriter for an Oakland department store. 

                    Here’s “I Enjoy Being a Girl” from above album.

                                   

In 1952, Diller began working in broadcasting at KROW radio in Oakland, California. In November of that year, she filmed several 15-minute episodes of Phyllis Dillis, the Homely Friendmaker—dressed in a housecoat to offer absurd "advice" to homemakers. The 15-minute series was a Bay Area Radio-Television production, directed for television by ABC's Jim Baker. Diller also worked as a copywriter, later, director of promotion and marketing, at KSFO radio in San Francisco and a vocalist for a music-review TV show called Pop Club, hosted by Don Sherwood.

At age 37, on March 7, 1955, at the North Beach, San Francisco basement club, The Purple Onion, she made her professional stand-up debut. Her cackling laugh, perfect timing, and one-liners about the travails of suburban living struck a chord with audiences. Her initial two-week run, which began in 1955, was extended to almost two years. After taking her act on the road, Diller performed at the Blue Angel in New York City. In the early 1960s she made her first appearance on The Jack Paar Show, which vaulted her to stardom. Comedian Bob Hope was especially drawn to her brand of humour, and she costarred with him in three films and appeared in more than 20 of his TV specials. 

Phyllis with Bob Hope

From 1966 to 1967 Diller headlined her own TV sitcom, The Pruitts of Southampton (also known as The Phyllis Diller Show), as the matriarch of a penniless family struggling to maintain the appearance of wealth. She was a fixture on the small screen, with numerous appearances on talk shows, on the game show Hollywood Squares, and in a recurring role (1999–2004) as Gladys Pope on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. In addition, she was an accomplished cook, best-selling author, and concert pianist who performed with some 100 symphony orchestras in the United States under the pseudonym Dame Illya Dillya. In 1992 Diller was the recipient of the American Comedy Award for Lifetime Achievement. 

Citing advanced age and a lack of "lasting energy," Diller retired from stand-up in 2002. Her final performance was at the Suncoast that year in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the time she stated, "If you can't dance to comedy, forget it. It's music.” Although retired from the stand-up circuit, Diller never fully left the entertainment industry appearing on various TV shows. In 2005 she published her autobiography, Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse.

Diller died at home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on August 20, 2012, at age 95, from heart failure. She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered at sea. 

 (Edited from Wikipedia & Britannica)

 

Bobby Hodge born 16 July 1932

Bobby Hodge (July 16, 1932 - December 3, 2011) was a former Grand Ole Opry and Nashville Recording Artist who recorded several records under various labels mostly in Nashville from around 1958 - 1972 scoring regional hits as well as some reaching national charts. 

The native North Carolinian had come from a poor southern upbringing on the outskirts of Gastonia in that state, but after his grandmother gave him his first guitar, he soon taught himself the basics of picking. Bobby recalls that it was Gene Autry’s Don’t Fence Me In which he first learnt to play and he must have been doing something right – in 1947 he was offered a spot as featured vocalist in a local band fronted by Bill Darnel. Shortly afterwards, 500-watt local station WGNC offered the group a 15-minute segment on Hillbilly Time in Caroline, a show which had featured other stars of the future including Don Gibson and legendary banjo-picker Earl Scruggs. 

Bobby had relocated to the Great Lakes region after finishing up in the army in the early 50s, and he found himself working at a race track in Detroit. After his stint in Michigan, he headed to Stoughton, Wisconsin – a place not usually synonymous with good country music – to visit family.  Whilst in town, he pitched his services to several local radio stations and and in 1951 found work with WKOW presenting a half hour weekly spot. Bobby even hosted a local TV show on an affiliate station in Madison. By now he had adopted the stage name “The Rainbow Ranger” (not to be confused with Hank Snow’s Rainbow Ranch Boys) and persisted at WKOW for several years. His show was definitely a hit with the sponsors, having no less than eight for his show. One of Bobby's influences was the legendary Hank Williams and he often featured Hank's tunes on his show. 

                                   

After having established himself in Wisconsin as a solid honky-tonker through sheer hard work and personal appearances, he was invited to cut his first record in 1958 You’re Another Broken Heart (written by Bobby himself). It was never released, but around the same time he cut his first commercial recording on the Madison-based Rebel label, another self-penned number entitled Gonna Take My Guitar. His recordings feature some of the best studio musicians available at that time including Roy Acuff's Smoky Mountain Boys with Shot Jackson on steel guitar, 'Bashful Brother Oswald' on dobro, Howdy Forrester on fiddle and Melba Montgomery on guitar. 

Bobby & Melba Montgomery

By now his reputation had filtered down to the Nashville establishment and his personal success reached its peak later in 1961 when he was asked by Ott Devine, manager of the Grand Ole Opry to guest on WSM at the famous Ryman Auditorium. He played the hallowed Opry stage several times over the next year or two, rubbing shoulders with legendary country acts including Porter Wagoner, Lefty Frizzell, Webb Pierce, Carl Smith & many others. Three children had arrived to Bobby and wife Mary by that time, however, and they made the decision to leave Music City behind for family life back in Wisconsin. 

Over the next few years, Bobby sporadically recorded for various Midwestern labels, including Rebel Records, Stop Records, Nashville (Starday), Cuca Records, Golden Ring, Volunteer, Prize Records, Stature and Wizard Records. Highlights from that time include Taxi Cab Driver (Bobby was backed here by the same musicians responsible for Dave Dudley’s massive hit Six Days On The Road) and Alligator Man. 

Despite a few trips to Nashville in the late 1960s and subsequent recordings on the Stop label, Bobby Hodge decided to record his last record and move to Tampa Florida in 1972. "I Wish I Could Fall In Love Today" & "You Took Her Off My Hands" garnered him "Single of the Year" from the Florida Country Music Association. From here, he and his wife devoted themselves to the horse racing industry – a longtime love of theirs – however, the Hodges also purchased a few clubs over the next few decades, including Bobby Hodge’s Longhorn in Tampa, which he continued to perform at into the new millennium. He even headed up his own radio show on a 50,000 watt station out of Largo Fl (WRFA). 

Bobby & Betty Hodge

Bobby Hodge passed away from congestive heart failure in Tampa, Florida on December 3, 2011. He was 79. He is survived by several sons and one of them, Richie Hodge, is doing a fine job of keeping his father’s music alive – operating a website dedicated to his material. 

(Edited from If That Ain’t Country - Radio Show Blog)

 

Sadik Hakim born 15 July 1919

Sadik Hakim (born Argonne Forrest Thornton; July 15, 1919 – June 20, 1983) was an American jazz pianist and composer who had a particularly unusual boppish style in the '40s, playing dissonant lines, using repetition to build suspense, and certainly standing out from the many Bud Powell impressionists.

Argonne Forrest Thornton was born in Duluth, Minnesota to Luther and Maceola Williams Thornton. The name Argonne came from the World War I battle. While Argonne attended Washington Junior High School and Central High School, he learned to play music through his grandfather’s lessons, beginning with trumpet but soon switching to piano. Argonne was drawn to jazz, but Grandpa Henry disliked the newly emerging form—he called it “ragtime” and wanted Argonne to strictly play classical music. Argonne had to wait until has grandfather had gone to work before he could listen to his jazz records. 

Argonne left Duluth around 1937 and travelled to Los Angeles to visit his father. He returned to Minnesota and lived in the Twin Cities for a while, and in 1938 he went to Peoria, Illinois, to perform with trumpet player and singer Fats Dudley. By 1940 he relocated to Chicago and found work there playing with Jesse Miller, A. K. Atkinson, and Ike Day. He also met and played with Charlie Parker and performed on radio with Ben Webster. 

                                  Here’s “Body and Soul” from above LP

                                   

In 1944, Webster invited him to New York. There he met up with Parker again and for a time roomed with him in an eight-room Harlem apartment. The apartment attracted musicians like Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and Dexter Gordon; Billie Holiday also lived there for a while. Argonne accompanied Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the legendary 1945 Ko-Ko Jazz Session for Savoy Records. Argonne toured with Lester Young from 1946 to 1948, and was involved in several memorable recordings for Aladdin Records, including the famous “Jumpin’ With Symphony Sid” (which Argonne composed), named for the New York disk jockey Symphony Sid Torin. 

Sadik with James Moody

In 1947, Argonne embraced the Muslim faith and changed his name to Sadik Hakim. He toured with the James Moody Orchestra from 1951 to 1954 and in Buddy Tate’s band from 1956 to 1959. Sadik composed over 80 pieces of music in his life, including (along with Idrees Sulieman) the song “Eronel,” which for a long time was incorrectly credited to Thelonious Monk. The title is the backwards spelling of Lenore, an old girlfriend of Sadik’s. 

In 1961 he made his first record as the lead instrumentalist in East and West of Jazz. In 1966, Sadik moved to Montreal where, except for a tour of Europe in 1972 he stayed for 10 years. In Canada, he recorded two albums for Radio Canada International, London Suite and Sadik Hakim Plays Duke Ellington. He returned to the United States in 1976 and his trio, which consisted of Sadik on piano, Dave LaRocca on bass, and Al Foster on drums, appeared in a concert at the University of Minnesota Duluth on May 26, 1976, as part of the Duluth Public Library’s Celebrate Duluth’s Heritage Bicentennial program. 

Returning to New York, he made several recordings on the Progressive label, including Memories and A Bit of Monk, and toured Japan in 1979-1980 where he played large concert halls before enthusiastic crowds. While there he also played an extended engagement at the Lofe 6 club in Osaka. Back from Japan, Sadik moved into a lower Manhattan apartment and played in local jazz clubs. He died in New York on June 20, 1983, a year after he performed “Round Midnight” at Thelonious Monk’s funeral. He has a daughter, Louize Hakim, who is an apparel designer in Hawaii. 

The most common, and most apt, adjective associated with Sadik Hakim is "unsung."  Although the average jazz fan cannot recognize his name, you’ll find it repeatedly, and unexpectedly, in many of the jazz biographies 

(Edited mainly from bio by David Ouse @ Jazz profiles, Wikipedia &, AllMusic) 

For the article “Reflections of an Era: My Experiences with Bird and Prez by Sadik Hakim” go here;

http://www.anthonyflood.com/hakimreflections.htm