Roy James Brown was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&BRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer,
songwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and
musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, who had an influence on the early development of
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
music. His "
Good Rocking Tonight"Good Rocking Tonight" was originally a jump blues song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown and was covered by many other recording artists. The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!"...
" was covered by
Wynonie HarrisWynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
,
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
,
Ricky NelsonEric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
,
Jerry Lee LewisJerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
,
Pat BooneCharles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
, and the rock group
MontroseMontrose was a California-based hard rock band. The band originally featured Ronnie Montrose on guitar and future solo artist and former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar...
. In addition, his melismatical pleading, vocal style influenced B.B. King,
Bobby BlandRobert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
,
Jackie WilsonJack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
and
Little RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
.
Career
Brown was born in
New OrleansNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
,
LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As with many R&B singers, he started singing gospel music in the church. His mother was an accomplished singer and church organist. After a move to
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
some time in the 1940s, and a brief period spent as a professional
boxerBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in the
welterweightWelterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
category, he won a singing contest in 1945 at the Million Dollar Theater
coveringIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
"There's No You", originally recorded by
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
. In 1946, Brown moved to
Galveston, TexasGalveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, where he sang in Joe Coleman's group performing mostly songs from the Hit Parade, in a
clubA nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
called the Club Granada. His numbers included a song he wrote entitled "
Good Rocking Tonight"Good Rocking Tonight" was originally a jump blues song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown and was covered by many other recording artists. The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!"...
". After being rejected by the Armed Forces because of flat feet, he secured his first major job in a Shreveport, Louisiana club singing mostly pop ballads such as "
Stardust"Stardust" is an American popular song composed in 1927 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics added in 1929 by Mitchell Parish. Originally titled "Star Dust", Carmichael first recorded the song at the Gennett Records studio in Richmond, Indiana...
" and "
Blue HawaiiBlue Hawaii is a popular song written by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger for the 1937 Paramount Pictures film Waikiki Wedding, starring Bing Crosby and Shirley Ross...
." The owner of Bill Riley's Palace Park hired him, as Brown told a
Blues UnlimitedBlues Unlimited was a British monthly music magazine dealing with all aspects of blues music. Co-founded in 1963 by Simon A...
interviewer, because of his appeal as "a Negro who sounds white." It was at the Palace Park that Brown started developing a blues repertoire, learning contemporary R&B tunes such as "Jelly Jelly" (recorded by
Billy EckstineWilliam Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
). He returned to New Orleans in 1947, where he performed at The Dew Drop Inn.
Brown was a big fan of blues singer
Wynonie HarrisWynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
, and Brown tried but failed to interest Harris in listening to "Good Rocking Tonight." Dejected, Brown approached another blues singer,
Cecil GantCecil Gant was an American blues singer and pianist.-Biography:Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Gant worked local clubs through the mid 1930s up until the Second World War, when he enlisted in the United States Army. Though his piano was blues-based, vocally he was a crooner of considerable...
. Brown introduced his song, and Gant had Brown to sing it over the telephone to the president of
De Luxe RecordsDe Luxe Records was a Linden, New Jersey, United States based record label formed in 1944 by brothers David and Jules Braun. The label flourished in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1947, Syd Nathan, the founder and owner of King Records, purchased a majority interest in De Luxe. In 1949, Nathan moved the...
, Jules Braun, reportedly at 4:00 in the morning. Brown was signed to a recording contract immediately. Brown recorded the song in a
jump bluesJump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
style with a swing beat. It was released in 1948 and reached #13 on the
USThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
BillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&BHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. Ironically, Wynonie Harris covered it and hit the top of Billboard's R&B chart later in 1948. Presley also covered the song for
Sun RecordsSun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
in 1954; later re-released on RCA Victor when his
recording contractA recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
was sold to that
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in 1956.
Brown continued to make his mark on the R&B charts, scoring 14 hits from mid-1948 to late 1951 with De Luxe, including "
Hard Luck Blues"Hard Luck Blues" is a 1950 song by Roy Brown and His Mighty-Mighty Men. The single, backed by The Griffin Brothers Orchestra, was the most successful on Brown's career, reaching the number-one spot on the R&B chart....
" (his biggest seller in 1950), "Love Don't Love Nobody", "Rockin' at Midnight," "Boogie at Midnight," "Miss Fanny Brown," and "Cadillac Baby", making him the undisputed king of R&B for those three years.
After his popularity peaked, Brown began to experience a lull in his career. Doo-wop was quickly gaining strides as the standard sound of R&B in the early to mid 1950s. The decline of his fortunes coincided with his successfully winning a
lawsuitA lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
against
King RecordsKing Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
for unpaid
royaltiesRoyalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
in 1952, one of the few
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
musicians to do so in the 1950s. This has led some, such as author
Nick ToschesNick Tosches is an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet of Albanian and Italian descent.- Life :After different odd-jobs, Tosches started writing with poetry and rock-'n'-roll magazines, including Creem, Fusion, and Rolling Stone.Tosches' second book, a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis...
(in his book
Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll, which contained a chapter on Brown) to believe that Brown may have been
blacklistA blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
ed. Brown's misfortunes also included prison time for tax evasion. When his popularity ebbed in the rock and roll era, he tried
teenAdolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
-slanted songs like "School Bell Rock", but had little success and subsequently went into semi-retirement.
Brown had a brief comeback through
Imperial RecordsImperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.- The independent and Liberty Records years :...
in 1957. Work with
Dave BartholomewDave Bartholomew is a musician, band leader, composer and arranger, prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century...
, Brown returned to the charts with the original version of "
Let the Four Winds BlowLet the Four Winds Blow was Tenpole Tudor's second album and the follow-up to Eddie, Old Bob, Dick and Gary. Despite featuring the minor hit "Throwing My Baby Out With the Bath Water" the album and the follow-up single both failed to chart...
" (co-written by
Fats DominoAntoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
), which would become a hit later for Domino.
He returned to King Records where his popularity ground down to a low by 1959, but he sporadically managed to find work and do some recording through the 1960s, making appearances where ever he was wanted. To supplement his income, Brown sold the rights to "Good Rocking Tonight." He also worked as an
encyclopediaAn encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
salesA sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
man.
In 1970, Brown closed
The Johnny OtisJohnny Otis is an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and impresario.He is commonly referred to as The Godfather Of Rhythm And Blues.-Personal life:Otis, the son of Alexander...
Show at the
Monterey Jazz FestivalThe Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest consecutively running jazz festivals. It debuted on October 3, 1958 and was founded by San Francisco jazz radio broadcaster Jimmy Lyons.-History:...
. As a result of the crowd's positive reaction, he recorded "Love for Sale", which became a
hitA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
for
Mercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
.
In the late 1970s a
compilationA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
albumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
of his old work brought about a minor revival of interest. In 1978 he had a successful tour in
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
following the releases of
Laughing But Crying and
Good Rocking TonightGood Rocking Tonight is a compilation album by the blues musician Roy Brown.Released by Route 66 Records in 1978 in mono as KIX-6, and is a follow-up to an earlier release titled Laughing But Crying . This album's subtitle is "Legendary Recordings, Vol 2 "...
. Shortly before his death he performed at the Whisky A Go-Go in
West Hollywood, CaliforniaWest Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
and headlined the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1981.
Brown died of a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, at Pacoima Lutheran Memorial Hospital, near his home in the San Fernando Valley on May 25, 1981. He was 55 years old. The Reverend Johnny Otis conducted the funeral. He was posthumously inducted into the
Blues Hall of FameThe Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
the same year.
In 2008, two of his songs, "Butcher Pete Pt. 1" and "Mighty, Mighty Man" were included in the video game,
Fallout 3Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
.
Chart singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart Positions |
| US Pop The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
US
R&BHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
|
| 1948 |
"Good Rocking Tonight "Good Rocking Tonight" was originally a jump blues song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown and was covered by many other recording artists. The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!"...
" |
- |
11 |
| "'Long About Midnight" |
- |
1 |
| 1949 |
"Rainy Weather Blues" / "'Fore Day In The Morning" |
- |
5 / 6 |
| "Rockin' at Midnight" |
- |
2 |
| "Miss Fanny Brown" |
- |
8 |
| "Please Don't Go (Come Back Baby)" |
- |
9 |
| "Boogie At Midnight" |
- |
3 |
| 1950 |
"Hard Luck Blues "Hard Luck Blues" is a 1950 song by Roy Brown and His Mighty-Mighty Men. The single, backed by The Griffin Brothers Orchestra, was the most successful on Brown's career, reaching the number-one spot on the R&B chart....
" |
- |
1 |
| "Love Don't Love Nobody" |
- |
2 |
| "Cadillac Baby" / "'Long About Sundown" |
- |
6 / 8 |
| 1951 |
"Big Town" |
- |
8 |
| "Bar Room Blues" |
- |
6 |
| 1957 |
"Party Doll "Party Doll" is a 1957 rockabilly song written by Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen. It was performed by Buddy Knox with the Rhythm Orchids and became a hit on the Roulette label....
" |
89 |
13 |
| "Let The Four Winds Blow Let The Four Winds Blow may refer to*Let the Four Winds Blow, an album by Tenpole Tudor*"Let the Four Winds Blow ", a song by Tenpole Tudor, from the album of the same name...
" |
29 |
5 |
Complete singles discography
- DeLuxe 1093 Good Rocking Tonight/Lolly Pop Mama 1947
- DeLuxe 1098 Special Lesson No. 1/Woman's A Wonderful Thing
- DeLuxe 1107 Roy Brown Boogie/Please Don't Go
- DeLuxe 1128 Mighty, Mighty Man/Miss Fanny Brown
- DeLuxe 1154 Long About Midnight/Whose Hat Is That
- DeLuxe 1166 All My Love Belongs To You/Ebony Rhapsody (with Ethel Morris)
- DeLuxe 3093 Good Rocking Tonight/Lolly Pop Mama 1950
- DeLuxe 3098 Special Lesson No. 1/Woman's A Wonderful Thing 1950
- DeLuxe 3107 Roy Brown's Boogie/Please Don't Go 1950
- DeLuxe 3128 Mighty Mighty Man/Miss Fanny Brown 1950
- DeLuxe 3154 'Long About Midnight/Whose Hat Is That 1950
- DeLuxe 3166 All My Love Belongs To You/Ebony Rhapsody 1950 (with Ethel Morris)
- DeLuxe 3189 Roy Brown Boogie/Miss Fanny Brown Returns 1950
- DeLuxe 3198 Rainy Weather Blues/'Fore Day In The Morning 1950
- DeLuxe 3212 Rockin' At Midnight/Judgement Day Blues 1950
- King 4602 Travelin' Man/Hurry Hurry Baby 1953
- King 4609 Grandpa Stole My Baby/Money Can't Buy Love 1953
- King 4627 Gamblin' Man/Mr. Hound Dogs In Town 1953
- King 4637 Old Age Boogie/Part 1 Old Age Boogie - Part 2 1953
- King 4654 Crazy Crazy Women/Laughing But Crying 1953
- King 4669 Caldonia's Wedding Day/A Fool In Love 1953
- King 4684 Letter From Home/Midnight Lover Man 1953
- King 4689 Everything's All Right/Lonesome Lover 1954
- King 4704 Trouble At Midnight/Bootlegging Baby 1954
- King 4715 Up Jumped The Devil/This Is My Last Goodbye 1954
- King 4722 No Love At All/Don't Let It Rain 1954
- King 4731 Ain't It A Shame/Gal From Kokomo 1954
- King 4743 Worried Life Blues/Black Diamond 1954
- King 4761 Fannie Brown Got Married/Queen Of Diamonds 1955
- King 4816 Shake 'Em Up Baby/Letter To Baby 1955
- King 4834 My Little Angel Child/She's Gone Too Long 1955
- King 5178 La-Dee-Dah-Dee/Melinda 1959
- King 5207 I Never Had It So Good/Rinky Dinky Doo 1959
- King 5218 Hard Luck Blues/Good Looking And Forty 1959
- King 5247 School Bell Rock/Ain't No Rocking No More 1959
- King 5333 Ain't Got No Blues Today/Adorable One 1960
- King 5521 Mighty Mighty Man/Good Man Blues 1961
- Imperial 5422 Everybody/Saturday Night 1957
- Imperial 5427 Party Doll/I'm Sticking With You 1957
- Imperial 5439 Let The Four Winds Blow/Diddy-Y-Diddy-O 1957
- Imperial 5455 I'm Convicted Of Love/I'm Ready To Play 1957
- Imperial 5469 Tick Of The Clock/Slow Down Little Eva 1957
- Imperial 5489 Ain't Gonna Do It/Sail On Little Girl 1958
- Imperial 5510 Hip Shakin' Baby/Be My Love Tonight 1958
- Imperial 5969 Let The Four Winds Blow/Diddy-Yi-Diddy-Yo 1963
Albums
- Laughing But Crying — late 1970s
- Good Rocking Tonight
Good Rocking Tonight is a compilation album by the blues musician Roy Brown.Released by Route 66 Records in 1978 in mono as KIX-6, and is a follow-up to an earlier release titled Laughing But Crying . This album's subtitle is "Legendary Recordings, Vol 2 "...
— 1978
- We Came to Party
We Came to Party is an album recorded by the R&B performer Roy Brown. Published by Friendship Records of Hollywood, California RB-701.- Track listing :#"We Came to Party" — 4:48#"Good Rockin' No. 2" — 3:19...
— 1978
See also
External links