Chase Webster born 23 December 1938

Chase Webster (born 23 December 1938) is a Country and rockabilly singer and songwriter of whom national chart prominence and recognition alluded him throughout his distinguished career in pop and country stretching from the late 50's to the late 80's.

Surely one of the most inexplicable events in the history of American popular and country music is that Chase Webster is not a household name right across that nation, and indeed abroad. Having said that his output is now highly sought after worldwide if prices on-line are any indication. In terms of being a star, Chase, born Gary Daniel Bruce in Franklin Tennessee, of Scottish and part Cherokee descent, had it all. 

As a child Chase was influenced by his father who was a dancer and musician, favouring blue grass and country, and who bought Chase his first guitar when he was aged ten. Chase learned to play and whilst in high school and working nights in a factory ran the streets of Nashville trying to get a deal. He kept pestering people and finally around 1960, thanks to disc jockey Noel Ball got a deal with Southern Sound records. Out of the recording session came a self-penned song issued around March 1961, Moody River, which soon went to No 1 in the southern charts. 

Regrettably Southern Sound, a little like Sun records in Memphis, did not have the financial and influential clout to take the hit nationally and it was covered by Pat Boone, who had a world-wide major hit with it. Since then it's been covered numerous times, by the likes of Johnny Burnette, Johnny Rivers, Frank Sinatra, several country acts and latterly by John Fogerty. Chase moved on to Dot where he cut at least twelve numbers, ten released and two still 'in the can.' All of the released tracks are highly enjoyable slices of early 60's pop.”Like I've Never Been Gone” from 1962 was also recorded in the UK by Billy Fury where it it became a Number 3 hit. 

                              

Whilst living and working in California and on a night out with Dot and Randy Wood, the head of Dot records, Chase met the sadly quite recently deceased Clint 'Cheyenne' Walker, the childhood hero of so many people worldwide, not least in the UK. Chase made several radio appearances and together with many other live shows was part of two tours organised by the legendary Dick Clark, regrettably never made it onto Bandstand due to lack of a national hit. 

The artists with whom Chase once worked reads like a veritable who's who of American music and Western stars. It included, among many others, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, the mighty Arthur Alexander, Jackie Wilson, Dan 'Hoss' Blocker and 'Little Joe' Landon. Chase once met Elvis, being invited to attend a movie show in a rented theatre in Memphis around 1962/63, and also watched Roy Orbison record. 

A period with the famous Cameo label resulted in two singles, “Where Are You” and “Cry, Cry, Darling,” After which a spell on the Hickory label brought some nice country/pop singles. A move to Showbiz saw five 45's issued. The standard of these recordings is very high and why they failed to really dent the country charts is a mystery. 

There was an excellent county album recorded during the mid 60's, featuring a mixture of songs written by Chase and country classics. Strange Places and Strange Faces, one of four numbers penned by Chase, is an especially standout track. It was recorded to sell at 'gas' stations and gigs, and has appeared on at least two labels. 

A fine baritone voice in the Elvis mould, but distinctive in its own right, the ability to write some great songs, coupled with matinee idol looks; all of which should have guaranteed the great national chart prominence that alluded him throughout his distinguished career in pop and country stretching from the late 50's to the late 80's. 

An anomaly was the release of Twenty Wasted Days on the Country & Western label out of Nashville, and crediting the vocal by Chase as being one Jack Rogers. The final stab at recording came with the 'country-disco' novelty number, Bell Bottomed Trousers, also written by Chase and released on the Battlewood label. 

He then retired to farm just outside his native Franklin, apart from undertaking occasional benefits such as the one for his great friend Del Reeves, host of the highly successful TV country music show Country Carnival on which Chase was resident anchor artist for about two years. 

It would be ideal if the world could enjoy a double CD album of all of Chase's fine body of work, re-mastered, but finding the masters has proved challenging to Chase. As the film clips show he was a class act and his fine body of work is living proof of that. 

(Edited from The Chase Webster Story by Chris Eley.) 

 

Alvin Robinson born 22 December 1937

Alvin "Shine" Robinson (December 22, 1937 – January 25, 1989), sometimes credited as Al Robinson, was an American rhythm and blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, based in New Orleans. His recording of "Something You Got" reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. 

He was born in New Orleans, and by the late 1950s was established as a session musician in the city. In 1961 he recorded for Imperial Records in New Orleans, with "I'm Leaving You Today" betraying his influence by Ray Charles. His management was soon taken over by singer Joe Jones, who had had a hit with "You Talk Too Much" and who won Robinson a recording contract with Tiger Records, a new label set up in New York City by songwriters and record producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. In 1964, he recorded a version of Chris Kenner's song "Something You Got". The song, featuring Robinson's "fantastically bluesy growl", rose to no.52 on the Billboard pop chart.                           

                              

He moved with Leiber and Stoller to their next label, Red Bird Records, and recorded "Down Home Girl", a song written by Leiber with Artie Butler, arranged by Joe Jones, and produced by Leiber and Stoller. Although the record was critically acclaimed, and was regarded by Leiber and Stoller as the best record issued on the Red Bird label, it was not a commercial success, but was covered by the Rolling Stones on their 1965 album The Rolling Stones No. 2.

Alvin with the Dixie Cups

Robinson's later recordings for Red Bird and its subsidiary Blue Cat label, including a reshaped version of "Let The Good Times Roll" arranged by Wardell Quezergue, also failed to reach the charts. Robinson continued to record in his own name and as a session guitarist. He moved to Los Angeles, and recorded "Let Me Down Easy", written by King Curtis, for Atco in 1967. He also began playing with Dr. John, and appeared as a guitarist on the albums Babylon, Dr. John's Gumbo, and Hollywood Be Thy Name, as well as co-writing several album tracks with Dr. John. 

As a solo performer, Robinson recorded for Harold Battiste's A.F.O. and Pulsar labels; one of his recordings for Pulsar, "Sho' Bout To Drive Me Wild", featured contributions from many New Orleans musicians including Battiste, Dr. John, Jessie Hill and King Floyd. He was also credited on Carly Simon's album Playing Possum, and Ringo Starr's Goodnight Vienna. 

Robinson later returned to New Orleans, where he died in 1989 at the age of 51.  (Edited from Wikipedia)

Frank Zappa born 21 December 1940

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, bandleader and producer. He was one of the most prolific musicians of his time, releasing over fifty albums of original material spanning over a thirty-five year career. 

Frank Vincent Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland,  the first of four children to Rose Marie (Colimore) and Francis Vincent Zappa, a Sicilian immigrant. The family moved frequently due to Francis Vincent Zappa's expertise as a chemist and mathematician, contracted with various aspects of the defense industry. 

Young Zappa's exposure to chemicals, such as mustard gas, may have had a profound effect on his health, which was always challenging. He showed early interest in innovation via gadgets but this soon turned to music. Avant-guard composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Edgard Varèse attracted him alongside interest in doo-wop/R&B and modern jazz.  

Zappa (left) with The Mellowtones 1961

The family eventually settled outside of Los Angeles in Zappa's late teens, and he soon took up drum and guitar. His proficiency grew so quickly that by his last year in high school, he was writing, composing and conducting avant-garde arrangements for the school orchestra.

Frank Zappa launched his career as professional musician shortly after high school but income was sporadic; recordings brought in more money than local gigs—his racially diverse band, The Blackouts, bumped up against 1950s racism. There was some scoring of independent films, one commissioned by his high-school English teacher. His earliest recordings date from the mid-1960s, and include collaborations with his school friend Captain Beefheart. 

In 1965 he joined a bar-band called The Soul Giants, quickly dominating its musical direction and rechristening it The Mothers. Their debut album, Freak Out!, launched them as The Mothers of Invention. It was only the second double rock album ever released—a groundbreaking mélange of musical genres both innovative and irreverent. That tone continued with their second album, Absolutely Free, and regular New York shows that were part concert, part free-for-all circus with stuffed animals and vegetables. 

Their reputation established, they gained a European following as well with a memorable appearance with the London Philharmonic. But in 1971, serious setbacks occurred: during a concert in Switzerland, the venue went up in flames—the event was memorialized in Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water." Just one week later, Zappa suffered an on-stage fall that resulted in serious injuries including a crushed larynx and multiple fractures—he was left with a limp, a lowered voice, and back pain for the rest of his life. 

                    

Never fully fitting into the rock genre anyway, partly due to his refusal to embrace its drug culture, he moved toward the formation of new bands with more of a jazz base. The decade of the '70s cultivated his reputation as one of the music industry’s most accomplished and demanding bandleaders. His prolific orchestral output was bisected by an unexpected Top 40 hit, "Valley Girl," performed with his daughter, Moon Unit, which funded more of his less commercially viable musical projects. 

Zappa saw a second run of success in the early eighties with the release of many albums with predominantly comedic rock songs, but later continued to experiment with virtually every style of music through the eighties, and was productive as ever until his death. His output in this later-career period included two albums of strikingly original classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra, an electronic take on 18th-century chamber music, an album of Synclavier compositions, which garnered a Grammy award, a double-CD release of electric guitar instrumental music and a plenitude of official live releases, revisiting fan-favourites as well as showcasing Zappa's talent for reinventing the music of others; his version of Stairway to Heaven becoming a word-of-mouth favourite. 

Outside of playing music, Zappa directed music videos, short films and features, and he became obsessed with the infinite possibilities synthetic music offered because it could accommodate almost most anything he dreamed up. Stints as a guest speaker on social activism emerged after his Senate testimony about censorship in music. 

In 1990, Czechoslovakian President Václav Havel appointed Zappa as his cultural liaison officer, but Pesident George H.W. Bush soon quashed the appointment. Thereafter, Zappa briefly considered running for U.S. president. While the general public's perception was often one of a kook, Zappa was deeply respected as a consummate musician and composer, an innovative filmmaker, and a prolific cross-genre artist. 

His death in Los Angeles, California, on 4th December 1993 came three years after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In 1995, Frank Zappa was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; in 1997, he was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

(Edited from Biography.com.& Wiki @ lastfm.)

Stevie Wright born 20 December 1947

Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015), better known as Stevie Wright (formerly billed as Little Stevie), was an English-born Australian musician and songwriter who has been called Australia's first international pop star. 

Wright was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, but in 1958 his father, Staff Sergeant George Wright, took the family to Melbourne under the Australian government’s assisted migrant scheme. In 1960 they moved to Villawood, near Sydney, and lived near the Villawood Migrant Hostel, a sprawling colony of corrugated iron huts. Wright began getting involved in pop bands in his mid-teens, and performed with the Outlaws and then Chris Langdon & the Langdells, who initially played surf music before falling under the influence of the Beatles. 

While performing at Suzie Wong’s Chinese restaurant, Wright was approached by two future Easybeats, Vanda (born Johannes Hendricus Vandenberg) and Dick Diamonde (real name Dingeman Van der Sluys). Both were immigrants from the Netherlands staying at the migrant hostel, where they were part of a vibrant amateur music scene also frequented by Young, who had arrived from Glasgow in 1963. With Wright aboard, they recruited the Liverpool-born Gordon “Snowy” Fleet to play drums, and it was he who suggested the name Easybeats, a nod to both British beat music and the Beatles. 

The group secured themselves a residency at the Beatle Village club, and it was there that they were spotted by the music publisher and producer Ted Albert. He signed the band to his own Albert Productions and secured a deal with EMI/Parlophone. Their first single, For My Woman (1965), made it to No 33 in the Australian chart, and the follow-up, She’s So Fine, rocketed to No 3. 

                             

Between 1965 and 1969, the Easybeats notched up 14 Top 40 hit singles in Australia, including the EP Easyfever as well as with the Wright/Young composition Sorry, but the huge success of Friday on My Mind marked their peak. 

The single was constructed from a throbbing guitar riff with a vaguely raga-like feel, and the song contrasted the drudgery of the working week with the hedonistic abandon of the weekend. As it erupted into its gloriously melodic verses, Wright sang as though cramming a lifetime of good times into 2 minutes 45 seconds – “gonna have fun in the city, be with my girl she’s so pretty...” The message rang out loud and clear, and the song reached No 1 in Australia, No 6 in the UK, 16 in the US, and the Top 10 in numerous charts around the world. 

Wright became less influential as Vanda and Young became the dominant songwriters (though Wright’s twisting, leaping, shaking stage performances remained uniquely his), but despite their efforts the group’s star waned inexorably. Fleet quit, having tired of being separated from his family, and after a string of decreasingly successful singles, the Easybeats disbanded in 1969. 

Young and Vanda went on to great success as a writing and production team and became closely involved in the early career of Australia’s most successful band AC/DC, Young being the older brother of the band members Angus and Malcolm Young. Wright, meanwhile, tried to launch a solo career, fronting groups including the Stevie Wright Band and Stevie Wright & the Allstars. 

In 1972 he gave an acclaimed performance in the role of Simon Zealotes in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, but began taking heroin while working on the show. In 1974 he enjoyed his biggest solo success with the three-part single Evie, an 11-minute work written by Vanda and Young which gave him a No 1 hit. Its parent album, Hard Road, reached No 2 on the Australian charts, and Evie (Part 1) was covered by Rod Stewart on his album Smiler. 

Heroin addiction prompted Wright to try the controversial drug-induced deep sleep and electroconvulsive therapy treatment, which left him with serious mental health problems. His performing and writing were subsequently erratic, though he emerged from further rehab treatment in 1979 to perform Evie for a 100,000-strong crowd on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. In 1986, he joined a brief Easybeats reunion tour, and undertook some solo work with his own band over the next couple of years. In 2005 he was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame with the Easybeats, and he made his final live performance in 2009. 

Wright retired and lived on the South Coast of New South Wales. In 2013 he was hospitalised after suffering a seizure and found to be suffering liver, kidney, lung and stomach disorders. He told The Daily Telegraph he had been sober for more than 25 years and completed his methadone program a decade beforehand. 

He died on 27 December 2015 at Moruya Hospital of pneumonia. His funeral was held at St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney on 8 January 2016.  He told The Daily Telegraph he had been sober for more than 25 years and completed his methadone program a decade beforehand.  (Edited mainly from article by Adam Sweeting @ The Guardian & Wikipedia)

Frankie Crocker born 18 December 1937

Frankie "Hollywood" Crocker (December 18, 1937 – October 21, 2000) "the Chief Rocker" was one of the greatest personality D.J.'s who helped to break stereotypes throughout the radio broadcasting industry. His artistic vision made a deep mark in the world of radio. Crocker¹s genius as Program Director at WBLS-FM and WLIB-AM in the early 70's, led him to shape an innovative and influential radio format that would become known as progressive R&B. 

According to popeducation.org, Crocker began his career in Buffalo at the AM Soul powerhouse WUFO (also the home to future greats Gerry Bledsoe, Eddie O'Jay, Herb Hamlett, Gary Byrd and Chucky T) before moving to Manhattan, where he first worked for Soul station WWRL and later top-40 WMCA in 1969. He then worked for WBLS as program director, taking that station to the top of the ratings during the late 1970s and pioneering the radio format now known as urban contemporary. 

On the air Crocker was, as New York Daily News writer David Hinckley explained “the radio equivalent to Muhammad Ali.” He called himself “The Chief Rocker,” and “The Eighth Wonder of the World."

And Frankie's ego knew no bounds. At the height of his fabulosity he could be seen squiring Jayne Kennedy, walking his matching Afghan hounds,  appearing in "Cleopatra Jones," taking on-air bubble baths with model Beverly Johnson, leading his own disco orchestra, and commanding local record labels to subsidize his live remotes from Cannes and fetch his fried chicken. But there was no disputing that Frankie was King of the New York airwaves. As he himself put it, "when Frankie Crocker isn't on your radio, your radio isn't really on." 

When Studio 54 was at the height of its popularity, Crocker once rode in through the front entrance on a white stallion. He signed off the air each night to the tune "Moody's Mood for Love" by vocalese crooner King Pleasure. Crocker, a native of Buffalo, coined the phrase "urban contemporary" in the 1970s, a label for the eclectic mix of songs that he played. 

He'd been the program director at WWRL and felt held back by what he considered to be the narrow perspective of the station. He quit and was twice re-hired by the station management; "He knew how to attract attention," the chairman of Inner City Broadcasting, Hal Jackson was the owner of WBLS and once said, "We called him Hollywood." 

                              

In late 1976 Crocker brought the Heart & Soul Orchestra over to the Casablanca label and arranged the disco-styled tracks for their new look. Most of their Casablanca tracks are disco cover versions of older tunes, for example by Cole Porter. Noteably, however, they covered Cerrone's "Love in C minor", and also "Midnite Lady". These are featured on their second, self titled album. The previous Casablanca double-album features the disco-tastic track "Poinciana".

By 1979 he was shuttling between the west and east coast, with programming duties at KUTE in L.A. which featured R&B before a format change instituted there and on the east coast at WBLS which he called "Disco and More", relying on his expertise at "finding the music". Speaking to Radio Report magazine, an industry periodical, Crocker said, "There is nothing I won't play if I hear it and like it and feel it will go for my market". 

WBLS-FM broke Blondie, Madonna, Shannon, D Train, all Arthur Baker records, The System, Colonel Abrams, Alicia Myers and supermodel Grace Jones. He made, "Love is the Message" by MFSB NYC's unofficial anthem on the radio. WBLS airplay made "Ain't No Stoppin Us Now" by McFadden and Whitehead a favourite cookout, church, wedding and graduation song. "The Magnificent Seven" by the Clash became a hot song in the Black Community. He gave America exposure to an obscure genre called "Reggae" and a little known Jamaican rocker named Bob Marley. Fatback Band front man Bill Curtis credited Crocker with breaking the group in New York. 

Crocker was the master of ceremonies of shows at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and was one of the first VJs on VH-1, the cable music video channel, in addition to hosting the TV series Solid Gold and NBC's Friday Night Videos. As an actor, Crocker appeared in five films, including Cleopatra Jones (1973), Five on the Black Hand Side (1973), and Darktown Strutters (Get Down and Boogie) (1975). 

Frankie Crocker was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2000 and the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2005. In October 2000, Crocker went into a Miami area hospital for several weeks. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and kept the illness a secret from his friends and even from his mother. He died at North Miami Beach, Florida, on October 21, 2000. His friend and former boss Bob Law, a onetime program director of WWRL, said of Crocker, "He encompassed all of the urban sophistication. He appreciated the culture, the whole urban experience, and he wove it together. That's missing now, even in black radio." 

A true pioneer of his trade, Crocker may have predicted the impact of his accomplishments when on the album, The Best of Frankie Crocker, he proclaimed: “…before me there were none; after me there shall be no more.” 

(Edited from Wikipedia, WNYC, wmfu & encyclopedia.com)

Art Neville born 17 December 1937

Arthur Lanon Neville Jr. (December 17, 1937 – July 22, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist from New Orleans. 

Neville was a staple of the New Orleans music scene for over five decades. He was the founder of the funk band The Meters whose musical style set the tone of New Orleans funk, a co-founder of the rock-soul-jazz band The Neville Brothers, and he later formed the spinoff group The Funky Meters. He performed on many recordings by notable artists from New Orleans and elsewhere, including Labelle (on "Lady Marmalade"), Paul McCartney, Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John and Professor Longhair. He was the recipient of three Grammy awards. 

Neville grew up in New Orleans. He was the son of Amelia (Landry) and Arthur Neville Sr. He started on piano and performed with his brothers at an early age. He was influenced by the R&B styles of James Booker, Bill Doggett, Booker T. Jones, Lloyd Glenn and Professor Longhair. In high school he joined and later led The Hawketts. In 1954 the band recorded "Mardi Gras Mambo" with Neville on vocals. The song gained popularity and became a New Orleans carnival anthem. The band toured with Larry Williams. Neville cut some nice solo singles for Specialty during the late '50s, notably "Cha Dooky-Doo," as well as contributing two choruses of storming piano to Jerry Byrne's 1958 classic "Lights Out."  

                             

Neville performed regularly in New Orleans, joined the U.S. Navy in 1958, and returned to music in 1962. When Art returned from duty, he rejoined his old group The Hawketts. Shortly thereafter, Allen Toussaint and Joe Banashak approached Art to join them in recording 'All These Things.' By 1966, he was touring with brother Aaron in support of the hit single, 'Tell It Like It Is.' After that tour, Art formed Art Neville and the Neville Sounds. 

The band included his brothers Aaron and Cyril, as well as George Porter, Leo Nocentelli, and Ziggy Modeliste. Shortly after, Aaron and Cyril left the group to form their own band. The remaining four members continued playing at the Nitecap and the Ivanhoe nightclubs. The band backed many notable artists such as Lee Dorsey, Betty Harris and The Pointer Sisters. The band had a strong sense of groove and unlike traditional groups each instrument was free to lead and go anywhere musically. Over time the band's style came to represent New Orleans funk. 

In the late 1960s the band changed its name to The Meters and released three instrumental albums. Early on, compositions were through live improvisation; however, this changed in the early 1970s. The band gained notoriety in the rock music community including with musicians Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer and The Rolling Stones. The group released five more albums and disbanded in late 1970s due to financial, managerial and artistic factors. The band's musical style emphasized rhythm over melody and had a lasting impact on upcoming musical styles such as hip-hop as well as jam bands including Phish, Galactic and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

In 1978 Neville and his brothers Cyril, Aaron and Charles formed The Neville Brothers. Previously, the brothers had worked on The Wild Tchoupitoulas album. The group's debut album, titled The Neville Brothers, was released in 1978. In 1981 music critic Stephen Holden wrote: the Neville Brothers' style of soul music combines "funk, doo-wop, reggae and salsa under the banner of New Orleans rhythm and blues". The group released several albums throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Fiyo on the Bayou and Yellow Moon, and an album in 2004. During this period, Neville performed several shows with the original Meters bandmates including a 1989 reunion at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Following that performance, Neville, Porter, Nocentelli and Russell Batiste formed The Funky Meters. The lineup changed in 1994 with Brian Stoltz replacing Nocentelli on guitar. Neville performed concurrently with both The Neville Brothers and The Funky Meters. 

In a 1995 interview, Neville spoke about the joy of live improvisation. He said "The best part, to me, is when the rhythm just evolves into some other stuff." Neville received a Grammy in 1989 with The Neville Brothers for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. He received a Grammy in 1996 with various artists for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in "SRV Shuffle", a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was nominated for a Grammy in 1999 in category Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 as a member of The Meters. 

Art Neville in 2017

Neville retired from music in December 2018. He died in New Orleans at the age of 81 on July 22, 2019, after years of declining health. The Recording Academy and Louisiana governor John B. Edwards released statements in recognition of Neville's contributions to New Orleans music. 

(Edited mainly from Wikipedia)