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Esquerita was the stage name
Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, musician, and professional wrestling....
 of singer, songwriter and pianist Eskew Reeder Jr. He was born in Greenville
Greenville, South Carolina

Greenville is a mid-sized city located in the upstate of South Carolina. It is the county seat of Greenville County, SC and the principal city in the Greenville-Mauldin, South Carolina-Easley, South Carolina Greenville-Mauldin-Easley metropolitan area ....
, South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
, on November 20, 1935, and died in Harlem
Harlem

Harlem is a Neighbourhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center....
 on October 23, 1986, of AIDS
AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV ....
. He is remembered as an influence on rock and roll pioneer Little Richard
Little Richard

Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman , better known by the stage name Little Richard, is anAmerican singer, songwriter and pianist. He is considered a key figure in the transition from Rhythm and blues to Rock and roll in the 1950s....
, though the extent and nature of Reeder's influence is uncertain.

w Reeder (ne:Steven Quincy Reeder Jr, SQ Jr.) attended Sterling High School in Greenville from 1947 to 1950.






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Esquerita was the stage name
Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, comedians, musician, and professional wrestling....
 of singer, songwriter and pianist Eskew Reeder Jr. He was born in Greenville
Greenville, South Carolina

Greenville is a mid-sized city located in the upstate of South Carolina. It is the county seat of Greenville County, SC and the principal city in the Greenville-Mauldin, South Carolina-Easley, South Carolina Greenville-Mauldin-Easley metropolitan area ....
, South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
, on November 20, 1935, and died in Harlem
Harlem

Harlem is a Neighbourhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center....
 on October 23, 1986, of AIDS
AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV ....
. He is remembered as an influence on rock and roll pioneer Little Richard
Little Richard

Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman , better known by the stage name Little Richard, is anAmerican singer, songwriter and pianist. He is considered a key figure in the transition from Rhythm and blues to Rock and roll in the 1950s....
, though the extent and nature of Reeder's influence is uncertain.

Biography

Eskew Reeder (ne:Steven Quincy Reeder Jr, SQ Jr.) attended Sterling High School in Greenville from 1947 to 1950. Little is known about this manic rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
 player, and he is perhaps best-known as an influence on Little Richard
Little Richard

Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman , better known by the stage name Little Richard, is anAmerican singer, songwriter and pianist. He is considered a key figure in the transition from Rhythm and blues to Rock and roll in the 1950s....
 (Richard Penniman). As Reeder did not record until after Little Richard's initial mid-1950s recordings for RCA and Back Beat labels, it is clear that Esquerita influenced Richard stylistically. Esquerita was known for wearing heavy makeup and two wigs, piling his pompador even higher than Richard's. Early Little Richard recordings were made at WGST Radio Station in Atlanta, and they do not show the style that was to make Little Richard famous. Little Richard had not intended to use the style in his first New Orleans session for Specialty Records
Specialty Records

Specialty Records was an United States record label based in Los Angeles. It was originally launched as Juke Box Records in 1946 in music, but later renamed by its owner Art Rupe when he parted company with a couple of his original partners....
. Taking a break from the session, producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell had gone with Richard to a local cafe, where Richard jumped on a piano and began singing an X-rated version of "Tutti Frutti
Tutti frutti

Tutti frutti may refer to:In food and drink:*Tutti frutti , a confection containing a variety of chopped fruits and/or flavoursIn music:...
", in true Esquerita fashion. Blackwell had been unhappy with the initial songs on the session, and felt that a cleaned-up version of the song with the same style of presentation would be just what his boss Art Rupe was looking for. The rest is history.

Reeder was a self-taught piano player whose roots were in gospel music
Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
. His music career started as a teenager, when he dropped out of high school and joined the gospel group "Heavenly Echoes" based in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
.

His first solo studio recordings came about when Paul Peek
Paul Peek

Paul Edward Peek Jr was an early rockabilly pioneer. Peek was born in High Point, NC was raised in Greenville, SC and performed with Claude Casey and the Sagedusters on WFBC-TV in 1955, later becoming an early member of Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps, sometimes stealing the limelight....
, got him to record some demos at a Greenville radio station (WESC) around 1958. At that time, Peek was a member of the fabled rockabilly group The Blue Caps, led by manic performer Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent

Gene Vincent, real name Vincent Eugene Craddock, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and, especially, rockabilly....
. Peek even co-wrote "The Rock-Around" with Reeder, and Reeder played piano on the 1958 recording that launched the NRC label for National Recording Corporation
National Recording Corporation

Early yearsNational Recording Corporation was incorporated in Atlanta in 1958. Founders were Bill Lowery, at the time the number one Country Music disc jockey and already a successful music publisher, and Boots Woodall, whose band recorded for Capitol, King, and Bullet Records and performed on Atlanta TV....
. From these contacts and Paul Peek's influence with Capitol Records came a record contract; The album Cub Koda
Cub Koda

Michael "Cub" Koda was a rock and roll singer, guitarist, songwriter, disc jockey, music critic, and record compiler.Koda is perhaps best known for writing the song "Smokin' in the Boys' Room." When performed by Koda's group Brownsville Station Band, the song reached #3 in the Billboard charts in 1974, and was later covered by M?tley Cr?e....
 described the results as "some of the most untamed and unabashed sides ever issued by a major label." At this point, Eskew Reeder, Jr. adopted the stage name "Esquerita."

The ensuing years found Reeder cutting several singles with various backing musicians in studios in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the Capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis, Tennessee....
, Dallas, New Orleans and Detroit. Capitol Records released the LP Esquerita in 1959, his only album in the traditional sense (i.e., not a compilation of earlier singles, or re-issue). Some of the musicians he recorded with in this era included Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix

James Marshall Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter whose guitar playing continues to be a considerable influence on rock music....
, Dr. John
Dr. John

Dr. John is the stage name of Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. , a pianist, singer, and songwriter, whose music spans, and often combines, blues, boogie woogie, and rock and roll....
, Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint

File:AllenToussaintFeb07.jpgAllen Toussaint, , is an United States musician, songwriter and record producer.One of the most influential figures in New Orleans R&B, many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through their numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Brickyard Blues", "Get Out Of My L...
, and The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires

The Jordanaires are an United States singing group formed in 1948 in Springfield, Missouri....
 (Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
's backup singers). His best known songs from this time include: "Hey Miss Lucy", "Get Back Baby", "Getting’ Plenty of Lovin’", "Rockin’ the Joint", and "Oh Baby".

In 1968, Reeder changed his name to "The Magnificent Malochi" and signed with Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records

Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by Koch Entertainment....
. Shortly after this, he began to fade from the music scene, and little was known about his whereabouts. According to an interview with Billy Miller
Billy Miller

Billy RoShawn Miller is an American football tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft....
 and Miriam Linna
Miriam Linna

Miriam Linna has run the Brooklyn-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986 with her husband--the producer and singer-songwriter Billy Miller....
 in the ReSearch
Research

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
 book Incredibly Strange Music, Reeder occasionally performed at African-American gay
Gay

The term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree," "happy," or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
 clubs under the name "Fabulash" during the 1970s. He was eventually tracked down by a writer for Kicks Magazine in 1983 or 1984, who found him performing in second-rate New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 clubs. According to an article ("Who Was Esquerita?"} by music historian Johnny Carter
Johnny Carter

Johnny Fred Carter is an American gospel musician and record producer....
 in an international oldies magazine, music maven Bill Lowery (who originated National Recording Corporation
National Recording Corporation

Early yearsNational Recording Corporation was incorporated in Atlanta in 1958. Founders were Bill Lowery, at the time the number one Country Music disc jockey and already a successful music publisher, and Boots Woodall, whose band recorded for Capitol, King, and Bullet Records and performed on Atlanta TV....
 and was involved in the Peek sessions for NRC) was approached by Esquerita on the street in New York in 1985 after a conference at Broadcast Music, Inc. Lowery confirmed that Esquerita was down on his luck and was working as a parking lot attendant but was still as flamboyant as ever. A few months before his death he was seen washing windshields of cars for tips at an intersection in Brooklyn, NY. In this same article, Esquerita's father, Eskew Reeder Sr., said that his son had died of complications brought on by AIDS in 1986. Esquerita's father (who was born on March 25, 1907) died in February 1989 (a little over two years after his son Esquerita's death). Eskew Sr.'s last known residence was Simpsonville, South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
.

Influence

Mick Jones
Mick Jones (The Clash)

Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones was the lead guitarist and a singer of the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and later Big Audio....
 (of The Clash
The Clash

The Clash were an English Rock music band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk rock. Along with punk rock, they experimented with reggae, ska, Dub music, funk, Hip hop music and rockabilly....
) wrote and recorded a song called "Esquerita" with his band Big Audio Dynamite
Big Audio Dynamite

Big Audio Dynamite were a British musical group formed in 1984 by the ex-guitarist and singer of The Clash, Mick Jones . The group were noted for their effective mixture of varied musical styles, incorporating elements of punk rock, dance music, hip-hop, reggae, and funk....
 which appeared on the group's Tighten Up Volume '88 album from 1988. Alternative rock band Lyres
Lyres (band)

Lyres are a Boston-area alternative rock musical group led by Jeff "Monoman" Conolly. Lyres were founded in 1979 following the breakup of DMZ ....
 recorded their own version of Esquerita's song "Gettin' Plenty Lovin'" which was released on Norton Records
Norton Records

Norton Records, a New York City based independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, maintains a focus on primitive, retro rock'n'roll, rockabilly, garage punk, garage rock, lounge music and R&B....
 in 1992.

Esquerita was an influence on zydeco performer Lynn August, who played drums for Esquerita in the early 1960s. At the age of 12, August was playing drums for Fats Junior who happened to be opening a show for Esquerita, who let August play a couple of songs with him. After Esquerita spoke with August's mom, he was hired as Esquerita's drummer and played with Esquerita for three years, mostly around New Orleans. August said that Esquerita was playing an organ with pedals and only carried a drummer because he was such a great entertainer. Esquerita also encouraged August to take up piano. Lynn August later became known for his accordion playing. When Esquerita left New Orleans around 1963, August joined Jay Nelson's band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capital city and the second largest city of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish which contains 430,812 residents....
. August later recorded his own version of Esquerita's song "Undivided Love" which appears on his "Creole Cruiser" album from 1992.

Discography


Solo singles

  • Oh Baby/Please Come Home (Capitol #4007) (1958)
  • Rockin' The Joint/Esquerita And The Voola (Capitol #4058) (1958)
  • Laid Off/Just Another Lie (Capitol #4145) (1959)
  • Hey Miss Lucy/Battie Over Hattie (Capitol #1075) (promo) (1959)
  • Green Door/I Waited Too Long (Minit #648) (1962) (as Eskew Reeder)
  • Never Again/We Had Love (Minit #658) (1962) (as Eskew Reeder)
  • The Flu/Undivided Love (Instant # 3258) (1963) (as Eskew Reeder Jr.)
  • I Woke Up This Morning/I Woke Up This Morning Part Two (Instant #3268) (1963) (as Eskew Reeder Jr.)
  • A Tear/Johnny Little (Everest #2025) (1963) (as Eskew Reeder)
  • Stubborn Old Me (Motown) (about 1964) (unreleased)
  • I Want To Know/Just In Time (Okeh #7239) (1966) (as S. Q. Reeder)
  • Tell The World About You/Two Ton Tessie (Okeh #7254) (1966) (as S. Q. Reeder)
  • Dew Drop Inn/You Better Believe In Me (Cross-Tone #1007) (1967) (as Eskew "Esque-Rita" Reeder)
  • Mama Your Daddy's Come Home/As Time Goes By (Brunswick #55359) (4/1968) (as Magnificent Malochi)
  • Hey Miss Lucy/Hole In My Heart (Capitol #81382) (Germany) (1973)
  • Hey Miss Lucy/Gettin' Plenty Lovin’ (Capitol #C006-81-709) (Old Rock New Roll Volume 5 Series) (France)
  • Dew Drop Inn/Rockin’ The Joint (Norton #014) (1991)


Main albums

  • Esquerita (Capitol #1186) (1959)
  • Vintage Voola (Norton #202) (1997)


Compilations and re-issues

  • Capitol Collectors Series (Capitol) (1990)
  • I Never Danced Nowhere! (Charly #CD-224) (1990)
  • Chart Scrapers (Century CD-10976) (1994)
  • Sock It to Me Baby (Bear Family #BCD-15504) (1994)
  • Believe Me When I Say Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay (Collectables) (1998)
  • Rockin' the Joint (Collectables) (1998)


Piano appearances by Esquerita

  • Didn't It Rain/Your God Is My God (Baton #216) (1955) (The Heavenly Echoes)
  • The Rock Around/Sweet Skinny Jenny (NRC #001) (1957, 1987) (Paul Peek)
  • Mexican Rock 'n' Roll (Instrumental)/Mexicali Baby (Capitol #3884) (2/1958) (The Rio Rockers)
  • Love Is A Many Splendored Thing/Southern Style (Hermitage #776) (1962) (The Eskerettes)
  • I Trusted In You/Southern Style (Hermitage #10545-H-306) (1962) (Willie B.) (backup vocals by The Eskerettes)
  • Good Golly Miss Molly (Vee Jay) (12/1964) (Little Richard)
  • Slippin' And Slidin' (Vee Jay) (12/1964) (Little Richard)
  • The Explosive Little Richard (Okeh #14117) (1/1967) (Little Richard)
  • Stingy Jenny (Brunswick) (6/1968) (Little Richard) (co-wrote)
  • Freedom Blues/Dew Drop Inn (Reprise #0907) (4/1970) (Little Richard) (co-wrote both sides)
  • Greenwood Mississippi (Reprise #942) (1970) (Little Richard) (co-wrote)


Unconfirmed Claims

  • Didn't It Rain Part 1/Didn't It Rain Part 2 (1959?) (The Clovertones & Rev. Willie Green). Enrica 122, reissued on Eagle Records CD, EA-R 90421 (2001), and recently reissued on vinyl (posing as Enrica 122 again) (the Esquerita link appears only on the back of the Eagle CD; there is no mention of him elsewhere)
  • Touch Of The Spirit (Evangelist Rosa Shaw). Rae-Cox 103 (1962), reissued on Eagle Records CD, EA-R 90420 (2001). The original single credits Robert Banks as keyboardist - organ, presumeably - but nothing is mentioned about Esquerita.
  • Hour Of Prayer (Evangelist Rosa Shaw). Rae-Cox 103 (1962), reissued on Eagle Records CD, EA-R 90420 (2001). The claim on the back of the Eagle CD is that Esquerita appears on piano; however, this track (Hour of Prayer) is only vocal -- there is no instrumental backing.
  • Didn't It Rain/I Hear Voices (by Screamin Jay Hawkins) (Norton #127) (2005) (reissue of 2 tracks from the Eagle CDs (EA-R 90420 and EA-R 90421, see above).


External links