PERCY
MAYFIELD West Coast blues master
(Nouvel article remanié et complété)
Venu de Louisiane (il est né à Minden le 12 août 1920) à
Los Angeles via Houston en 1942, Percy démontre ses talents de compositeur
avant de réussir à devenir un des favoris des jeunes Noirs grâce à son
apparence physique et sa voix de velours. Il est un subtil baryton qui abaisse
curieusement les notes, répète fréquemment la dernière ligne du couplet,
insinue plus qu'il ne clame, crée en quelques secondes un climat de tristesse
amère qui enveloppe l'auditeur. Il a été très influencé par les sermons de
l'église de son enfance. Ses compositions, prêches laïcs, soulignent de façon
moralisatrice les faiblesses humaines, les ravages de l'alcool et de
l'adultère. Ses textes sont très élaborés avec un sens aigu de la chute finale
et un humour en demi-teintes, parfois ravageur. En 1952, il est victime d'un
accident de la route qui le défigure et change aussi substantiellement le
timbre de sa voix. Dès lors, Mayfield continue à enregistrer sous son nom mais
ne se produit plus en public et se consacre surtout à la composition.
Peu avant sa mort (le 11 août 1984 à Los Angeles), pressé
par des admirateurs du monde entier, notamment européens, Percy Mayfield est
revenu sur scène. Et, malgré les ans et son apparence physique, tête cabossée, œil
exorbité, sa voix prenante, sa présence scénique, son charisme a impressionné
ceux qui ont eu la chance de le voir.
Nous avons désormais réussi à regrouper la totalité de la
forte œuvre qu'il a gravée entre 1946 et 1969. Merci à tous ceux qui ont aidé à
rassembler ces titres, dont certains n'ont jamais été réédités: Jeannot L.,
Steve Wisner, Kempen, Xyros, Gyro, KingCake, Dr Hepcat, Klaus...
Gérard
HERZHAFT
Revised and completed post & discography
Percy Mayfield,
between blues, R&B and even doo-wop or pop, is a major name of the post war
popular music. His influence on the emerging West Coast blues scene and then
beyond has been considerable and several of his songs (his own compositions)
have become standards, played by dozens of artists to these days (Please send me someone to love, Strange
things happening, I need your love so bad, Memory pain (It serves you right to
suffer), My mind is trying to leave me; Highway is like a woman....). Percy
has also been hired by Ray Charles to write some of his great hits during the
mid-60's: Hit the road, Jack, Danger
zone, But on the other hand, Tell me how do you feel.
Born
in Minden (Louisiana )
on 12 August 1920, Percy came to Los Angeles in
1942 through a short stay in Houston .
He demonstrated quickly his great abilities to write and arrange a moving song
in a few hours. In 1946, he started to record under his own name, becoming a
major artist with his subtle, insinuating, suave baritone voice who can create
in a few words a sad, tragic and deeply moving atmosphere. His better compositions
– strongly influenced by the Gospel church of his childhood – are very often some
kinds of secular sermons which emphasize the human weaknesses and passions from
the ravages of the alcohol or the love cheatings, sometimes with more than a
touch of bitterness and a wry humour.
In
1952, he had a terrible car accident who left him disfigured and changed the
timber of his voice. From then, he almost stopped to perform on stage but he still
continue to record and write songs for himself as well as many R&B artists.
A few years before his death from a stroke (11 August 1984 in Los Angeles ), Percy Mayfield, under the pressure
of his fans all over the world, agreed to make a come back, performing again on
festivals and concerts. His physical appearance with his deformed face then
seemed to add even something further to his stage charisma and all those who
had the opportunity to watch him then were very strongly impressed.
We
have been able to gather by now everything Percy has recorded under his name
between 1946 and 1969 with several tracks having never been reissued. Thanks a
lot for their help to Jeannot L., Steve Wisner, Kempen, Xyros, Gyro, King Cake,
Dr Hepcat, Klaus...
Gérard
HERZHAFT
Wow Gérard. What a great job again. Thank you for these complete studio recordings. WAAUUUWWW!
RépondreSupprimerMucho thanks for all the effort from everyone involved in getting this out to us...
RépondreSupprimerwow!!! merci encore et encore !
RépondreSupprimeramazing - a complete discography of P. Mayfield! much appreciated!
RépondreSupprimerOutstanding Gerard. I have the previous edition, and this updated complete edition is a most welcomed addition to my collection. I'm so glad I'm now back in Thailand with unlimited download so I can grab these 6 CDs without worrying about data limitations. Many thanks to you and all involved.
RépondreSupprimerThanks a lot! Important contribution. I just noted that #65 'Monkey song' is missing in file MAYFP2...
RépondreSupprimerOops! Here is the new correct link for Percy Mayfield CD2:
Supprimerhttps://www44.zippyshare.com/v/J1to9MjG/file.html
A wonderful project, much appreciated, thanks for all your hard work. I believe track 65 is missing, CD 2 finishes at 64, and CD 3 starts at 66. Could you post 65 please ?
RépondreSupprimerOOps! Here is the new correct link for Percy Mayfield CD2:
Supprimerhttps://www44.zippyshare.com/v/J1to9MjG/file.html
Thank You So Much !
RépondreSupprimerVoici désormais la totalité des enregistrements studios de Percy Mayfield/ Here are the complete studio recordings of the great Percy Mayfield.
RépondreSupprimerCD1: https://www119.zippyshare.com/v/s4bpwKAS/file.html
CD2: https://www44.zippyshare.com/v/J1to9MjG/file.html
CD3: https://www119.zippyshare.com/v/vmWPvwHt/file.html
CD4: https://www119.zippyshare.com/v/DUIAOQQ4/file.html
CD5: https://www119.zippyshare.com/v/ay12NKht/file.html
CD6: https://www119.zippyshare.com/v/jyjtw3n8/file.html
OK?(et n'oubliez pas de laisser un commentaire)
OK? (and don't forget to leave a comment)
Impressionnant! Comme Percy aurait dit, "I ain't lyin'!"
SupprimerGerard:
RépondreSupprimerThank you so much for sharing this. I've been a Percy Mayfield fan and know how hard it is to find his recordings - thanks also to all those who helped out. A real treasure.
Many thanks for this marvelous post. I was hoping some day I would be able to listen to the whole story. Well, this is it!
RépondreSupprimerSuperb Gerard. What an effort! Thank you very much.
RépondreSupprimermerci pour le partage
RépondreSupprimerMany thanks for this superb collection Gerard.
RépondreSupprimerBW
Many thanks for correcting CD 2, Gerard.
RépondreSupprimerUn grand merci Gérard pour ce généreux partage. Beaucoup de plaisir à l'écoute de ce merveilleux artiste. Un must !!
RépondreSupprimerMucho thanks Gerard...My iPod loves it...
RépondreSupprimerThank you for your effort and generosity.
RépondreSupprimerThank you for this wonderful set. You put a lot of work into your site, and the music and documentation are much appreciated.
RépondreSupprimerThank you so much for sharing this comprehense compilation! Much appreciated!
RépondreSupprimerThank you so much for putting this together!
RépondreSupprimerMany thanks, Gerard. I've been gathering Mayfield's work together for years, but still had a few gaps to fill. Not any more! Nice to have the Timeless LP, which I had never heard before.
RépondreSupprimerJust spotted this post but Zippys deleted it already! Got a lot of his stuff...thought I had it all, but this shows I don't. I know its a mammoth task to reupload but any chance? Here's hoping. Cheers
RépondreSupprimerDavid
I understand, David. But it seems that as soon as I upload a file, zippy deletes it without any warning no reason... Add a lot of problems that I face with the new google regulations (blogspot is part of google) and I must say that by now I don't have the time nor the courage to re-upload thos mammoth files! Maybe later on when/if I find an issue to solve all the problems I'm facing with this blog
Supprimerplease reup
RépondreSupprimerSalut, Y a-t-il une chance d'avoir une réédition de cette merveilleuse collection ? Sur Mega par exemple ? Je peux offrir une partie de mon espace là-bas si nécessaire.
RépondreSupprimer