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mardi 25 juin 2024

ROY GAINES/ Early Recordings

 

 

ROY GAINES / Early Recordings

 

        


Roy Gaines was born 12 August 1937 in Waskom (Texas) from a large family of three sisters and five brothers, including his elder Grady Gaines who will become the saxophonist and showman that everybody knows. The family moved to Houston when Roy was six years old and Roy followed the musical path of Grady, learning at an early age piano and guitar thanks to Clarence Hollomon, a neighbour who will also become a top notched Texas bluesman. Roy was also under the influence of Guitar Slim, Gatemouth Brown and T-Bone Walker whom he met and get encouragements from. Roy began to perform on clubs and venues with Grady's band when still a young teenager. His guitar skills gave him quickly a strong reputation and he was soon billed as "Roy Gaines, the 14-year old sensation".

         Two years later, Roy moved to Los Angeles to live with his elder sister and try his luck on the fledgling Southern California blues scene. He soon managed to play and tour with Roy Milton's band. While touring extensively with Milton, Roy got musical lessons from saxophonist Jackie Kelso who taught Roy how to read and write music and arrangements. Roy got back to Houston to record as a session guitarist for Don Robey behind Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Big Mama Thornton and others. While playing in Dallas, Roy Gaines was contacted by a New York City agent who was in need for an accomplished jazz/blues guitarist to back Joe Morris' band for a tour including Big Joe Turner. He then became associated during almost three years with Chuck Willis when the singer was climbing up to stardom. Roy is on many Wills' records and hits and was the open act for Wills during their subsequent tours that saw Wills making a crossover from R&B to pop with more and more white audiences.


         When Wills died suddenly in 1958, Roy who had settled in New York City became easily an in-demand session guitarist for the main labels whether blues, R&B, pop, jazz or whatever: Mel Waldron, Coleman Hawkins, Bennie Moten, Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing, Little Willie John, Mickey Baker & Sylvia Vanderpool, Brownie Mc Ghee and even Billie Holiday! Roy managed to cut many records on his own for several labels like Chart, Groove, DeLuxe, RCA, Del Fi, CuBeAr, Uni waxing blues, R&B, Rock'n'Roll (the frantic Skippy is a sissie) and even Country Music (Roy said he was always an Hank Williams' fan playing most of his repertoire, and he was managed for a while by Hank's widow Audrey!).

         At the end of the 1950's, Roy went back to Los Angeles recording with his former boss and friend Roy Milton, the Jazz Crusaders and under his name before being drafted by Uncle Sam in 1962. Based in Monterey, Roy took more music lessons from several musicians including Woody Herman. When he was discharged from the Army, Roy became a most sought after session man, recording with Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Ted Taylor etc... He was also constantly on tour with Joe Tex, Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte, Diana Ross... And Roy also was hired by famous bandleader Quincy Jones to record the soundtrack of several movies (Bob & Carroll & Ted & Alice). In 1985, Roy will also act and play in Spielberg's Color Purple!

        


In 1975, Roy toured France with organist Milt Buckner recording behind Milt (a fantastic version of Green Onions) and his first whole album for the Black & Blue French label (Superman).. He then toured several times in Europe, recording more albums while operating a complex in Los Angeles' Crenshaw district that housed a nightclub, restaurant and a recording studio! During the 1990's and early 2000's Roy recorded more great albums before passing away on 11 August 2021.

         This post gathers almost all Roy Gaines' early recordings under his name. Thanks a lot to Alan H. and mostly Rusty for their great help in gathering those tracks.

    Most of this article comes from Lee Hildebrand's work published in Living Blues 227.

                                   Gérard HERZHAFT

18 commentaires:

  1. ROY GAINES/ Early Recordings

    https://mega.nz/file/jNpw0YgK#5Ij2nDi1iMuRsno9mF103mFGgB-mszAmeZVOW-Bd5M4

    OK?

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    1. Strangely, I'm getting this "This URL is corrupt or deformed. The link you are trying to access does not exist." Is there a new link? I'm using this link as above. https://mega.nz/file/jNpw0YgK-5Ij2nDi1iMuRsno9mF103mGgB-mszAme-VOW-Bd5M4

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    2. The link you are using us not the link above. Past and copy the good link

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    3. It works now. Thanks!

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  2. TYVM Gerard - I'm looking forward to listening to your work.

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  3. Merci Gérard ! Un grand merci pour ces partages.

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  4. Gerard, thanks for sharing this. Speaking of Lee Hildebrand, the first time I saw Roy perform live, I was residing in Oakland at the time. Lee and I were there together. Lee and I kept looking at each other in awe of Roy. I wanted to throw my guitar away that night. Roy was one of a kind.

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    1. Thanks to you for your great help with this post. I saw Roy Gaines several time in France while he was touring with Roy Milton and Carrie Smith an another tie with Gene "Mighty Flea" Connors. A great guitarist.

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  5. Merci Gérard! Cette compile, je la voyais venir! On découvre un musicien éclectique qui couvre de multiples styles

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  6. Hi all blues fans,
    The Blues records discography said that missing tittle I'll come back to you is issued Deluxe 6132.
    Deluxe 6132 to contain You're right, I'm left/Stolen moments, not I'll come back to you.
    I didn't find anything with matrix number M7130 but I'm sure it ain't Roy Gaines title.
    The Blues Discography have many of those kind of wrong informations.
    It is impossible to make a perfect discography.
    I will send an information if I will find who is the artist of that song.
    If someone know that, please let us know.

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    1. My discography says it is an alternate flip side!

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  7. Rock and roll schallplattenforum.de pages have one discography where it is an alternative flip side.
    Then I found one advertisement Living blues #221, Mr Dick Shurman want to buy it.
    Try to find some picture of that single, all of the pictures what I find was You're right/Stolen moments.
    All of the collectors who I know, never saw that single with alternative side.
    Maybe I must to take a contact to Dick Shurman if he found that record.

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  8. @ Anonyme,
    Nice to see someone commenting on the discographies. I agree with the comments about Blues Discography – it was done in a hurry, with little care taken and too much guesswork.
    Anyway, on 7 March 1957 Roy cut 4 titles – two were released on 6132 and the other two including “Come Back To You” it is M 7130 remain unissued. Probably someone just put an extra ditto (“) in.
    For your next task you might try to identify who the Roy of “Roy & Gloria” is; it certainly isn’t Roy Gaines. Whoever was compiling the discography obviously noted that the sessions were in New York, for DeLuxe and chronologically close and came up with the wrong answer. I do know the answer and it is on the web in at least two places.
    There is/are also some thing(s) wrong with the last couple of sessions but I haven’t got to the bottom of them yet.

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    1. Thanks to all for the comments about the discography. I use mostly last edition of Blues Discography by Les Fancourt and McGrath and the previous volumes even the first by Mike Leadbitter. Sometimes also I use additonal discographies from various blues magazines (B&R, Juke blues, Soul Bag mostly). It must be said a discography is a very hard task to do, sources being sometimes scarce and wrong and very often few help from the record companies who should hold the vaults.

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  9. Very nice work on this artist Gerard and I agree it's not easy to do this.
    The liner notes of Ace CDCHD 1051 (King Rock 'n' Roll Vol 2) states that the "Roy" of Roy & Gloria is not our man, Roy Gaines. The liner notes can be read on 45cat.

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  10. I am late, but my thanks are big!

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