Remembering Professor Longhair (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980)
New Orleans is said to be a city where having a party has been elevated from a casual pastime to a way of life. Nobody understood this better than Professor Longhair, one of the pioneers of New Orleans rhythm & blues. His influence can be heard in Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John, among many others. Known for his unique mix of blues, jazz, calypso, ragtime, and zydeco, "Fess" (as he was known) defined and captured the essence of New Orleans in his music.
Born Henry Roeland Byrd in Bogalusa, Louisiana 1918, and raised in New Orleans, Fess started performing at an early age, often dancing down Bourbon Street for tips. In addition to piano, he learned to play guitar and drums in the early 1930s and was in and out of numerous bands. He soon found there were better ways to make money than music. He worked as a cook, then as a boxer, and eventually became a professional card player. It wasn't until the late 1940s that he returned to music.
He went into the army during World War II, and was discharged in 1943. At that point he led a variety of groups, including the Mid Drifs, Professor Longhair and the Four Hairs, and Professor Longhair and His Shuffling Hungarians. He made his recording debut with the latter group in 1949 on the Star Talent label. A year later he had a new group and a new label. The Blues Jumpers recorded for Mercury, which released Bald Head, the only Professor Longhair ever to make the R&B charts, peaking at number five.
Longhair recorded for Atlantic and Federal, and many smaller labels such as Edd, Ron, Rip. Despite recording such classics as Tipitina, Big Chief, and Going To The Mardi Gras, he never received much exposure outside of Louisiana, although his reputation in New Orleans was substantial. With songs like Tipitina, Hey Now, Baby, In The Night, Big Chief, and the great Going To The Mardi Gras, Fess was the reigning king of New Orleans.
"Tipitina" Professor Longhair & The Meters 1974
Even though a New Orleans legend, Fess was forced to support himself by returning to cards and working as a janitor in the mid-1960s. Luckily, he was rediscovered in the early 1970s and performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1971. He played the New Orleans festival every year thereafter until his death. He toured Europe, headlining the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. Paul McCartney flew him to California in 1975 to play an exclusive private party on the Queen Mary. He was an idol to people who were not even born when Bald Head was a hit.
Of his many recordings, however, perhaps his best and most fully realized is Crawfish Fiesta, recorded for Alligator Records in 1979. Bruce Iglauer, president of Alligator Records, continues the story. "I was on the phone with Professor Longhair's manager, and I mentioned that I'd love to record Fess for Alligator. I loved his eccentric, rhumba-blues New Orleans piano style and wild, cracked vocals, and he was one of my favorite musicians. I flew down to New Orleans and listened to the master pound out all his old hits and a slew of Crescent City R&B standards. I made an offer, and, much to my amazement, it was accepted. Surrounded by friends (including Dr. John on guitar) and finding himself in a studio situation where he was completely in charge (maybe for the first time ever), Professor Longhair presented Alligator with perhaps the finest album of his long career and one of the best Alligator ever released."
Don's Tunes
Crawfish Fiesta usually in my Top Three Albums of all time!
A favourite from that album is this
Professor Longhair - I Know There Is Something On Your Mind
I’d been saving this profile since way back so here’s another biog. introduced via Dr John as I have b=banged on about but he rapidly became my main man and no mistake. I have said f=before add nauseam tha Fess featured on a the FIRST music show on the then new Cghannel 4 when they broadcast Piano Players Rarely Play together featured Fess. Tuts Washington and Allen Touusaint . . . duding the filming they lost Fess and filmed his way Nawleans style which was staggering and just posthumously they rebased Crawfish Fiesta as agrranged by his student and main man hisself The Good Doctor John Mac Rebennack!
Henry Roeland "Roy" Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970. His piano style has been described as "instantly recognisable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso".
Music journalist Tony Russell (in his book The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray) wrote that "The vivacious rhumba-rhythmed piano blues and choked singing typical of Fess were too weird to sell millions of records; he had to be content with siring musical offspring who were simple enough to manage that, like Fats Domino or Huey "Piano" Smith. But he is also acknowledged as a father figure by subtler players like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John."
Byrd was born on December 19, 1918, in Bogalusa, Louisiana.[2] His distinctive style of piano playing was influenced by learning to play on an instrument that was missing some keys. He left the city as a baby with his parents, who were most likely fleeing the racial tension surrounding the Bogalusa Massacre.
He began his career in New Orleans in 1948. Mike Tessitore, owner of the Caldonia Club, gave Longhair his stage name. Longhair first recorded in a band called the Shuffling Hungarians in 1949, creating four songs (including the first version of his signature song, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans") for the Star Talent record label. Union problems curtailed their release, but Longhair's next effort for Mercury Records the same year was a winner. Throughout the 1950s, he recorded for Atlantic Records, Federal Records and local labels.
Professor Longhair had only one national commercial hit, "Bald Head", in 1950, under the name Roy Byrd and His Blues Jumpers. He also recorded his favourites, "Tipitina" and "Go to the Mardi Gras". He lacked crossover appeal among white and wide audiences. Yet, he is regarded (and was acknowledged) as being a musician who was highly influential for other prominent musicians, such as Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John.
After suffering a stroke, Professor Longhair recorded "No Buts – No Maybes" in 1957. He re-recorded "Go to the Mardi Gras" in 1959. He first recorded "Big Chief" with its composer, Earl King, in 1964. In the 1960s, Professor Longhair's career faltered. He became a janitor to support himself and fell into a gambling habit.
After a few years during which he disappeared from the music scene, Professor Longhair's musical career finally received "a well deserved renaissance" and wide recognition. He was invited to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1971 and at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973. His album The London Concert showcases work he did on a visit to the United Kingdom. That significant career resurrection saw the recording of the album "Professor Longhair - Live On The Queen Mary", which was recorded on March 24, 1975, during a private party hosted by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney on board the retired RMS Queen Mary.
No comments:
Post a Comment