Stormy Monday (album)
Encyclopedia
Stormy Monday is the debut album of R&B singer Lou Rawls
, released in 1962 on Capitol Records
. Recorded in two sessions in February 1962, the album features a number of blues
and jazz standards chosen by Rawls and backed by the Les McCann
trio. Stormy Monday was reissued in 1990 by Blue Note records
.
In 1962, when this album was made and when he turned 26, Lou Rawls' rich baritone
was unknown, except to a few gospel music
fans and Hollywood hipsters who caught his act at local night clubs like P.J.'s, The Troubador, Shelley Manne's Manhole or Brother's on Santa Monica and Vine
. A years earlier, Capitol
A&R
man Nick Venet
had heard Rawls at Pandora's Box Coffee Shop, who was playing there for $10 a night plus pizza in late 1959, and signed him to the label. One stillborn single emerged before Lou had the brainstorm to do an album of blues and jazz standards, backed by then up-and comer Les McCann
and his trio, who were performing nearby at The Bit on Sunset Boulevard
. Before his Grammy winning album Love Is a Hurtin' Thing, Stormy Monday was the first of more than 20 other albums Rawls would record on that label in only a decade.
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
, released in 1962 on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. Recorded in two sessions in February 1962, the album features a number of blues
Blues standard
A blues standard is a blues song that is widely known, performed, and recorded by blues artists. The following list identifies blues standards and some of the blues artists that have recorded them...
and jazz standards chosen by Rawls and backed by the Les McCann
Les McCann
Les McCann is an American soul jazz piano player and vocalist whose biggest successes came as a crossover artist into R&B and soul.-Biography:...
trio. Stormy Monday was reissued in 1990 by Blue Note records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
.
History
Excerpt from the album liner notes:In 1962, when this album was made and when he turned 26, Lou Rawls' rich baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
was unknown, except to a few gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
fans and Hollywood hipsters who caught his act at local night clubs like P.J.'s, The Troubador, Shelley Manne's Manhole or Brother's on Santa Monica and Vine
Vine Street
Vine is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north-south from Melrose Avenue up past Hollywood Boulevard. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine was once a symbol of Hollywood itself...
. A years earlier, Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
man Nick Venet
Nick Venet
Nick Venet was an American record producer who began his career at age 19 with World Pacific Jazz...
had heard Rawls at Pandora's Box Coffee Shop, who was playing there for $10 a night plus pizza in late 1959, and signed him to the label. One stillborn single emerged before Lou had the brainstorm to do an album of blues and jazz standards, backed by then up-and comer Les McCann
Les McCann
Les McCann is an American soul jazz piano player and vocalist whose biggest successes came as a crossover artist into R&B and soul.-Biography:...
and his trio, who were performing nearby at The Bit on Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
. Before his Grammy winning album Love Is a Hurtin' Thing, Stormy Monday was the first of more than 20 other albums Rawls would record on that label in only a decade.
Side One
- "(They Call It) Stormy MondayCall It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)"Call It Stormy Monday " is a blues song written by T-Bone Walker and first recorded in 1947. Confusingly, it is also sometimes referred to as "Stormy Monday Blues", although that is the title of a 1942 song by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine...
" (T-Bone WalkerT-Bone WalkerAaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
) – 3:45 - "God Bless the ChildGod Bless the Child (Billie Holiday song)"God Bless the Child" is a song written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. in 1939, first recorded on May 9, 1941 under the Okeh label.Holiday's version of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in...
" (Arthur HerzogArthur Herzog Jr.Arthur Herzog, Jr. was a songwriter most known for work with Billie Holiday. He co-wrote several jazz songs she popularized, including "Don't Explain" and "God Bless the Child".-External links:*[ All Music page]...
, Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
) – 4:30 - "See See RiderSee See RiderThe song is generally regarded as being traditional in origin. Ma Rainey's version became popular during 1925, as "See See Rider Blues." It became one of the most famous of all blues songs, with well over 100 versions. It was recorded by Big Bill Broonzy, Mississippi John Hurt, Lead Belly,...
" (Ma RaineyMa RaineyMa Rainey was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues....
) – 3:11 - "Willow Weep for MeWillow Weep for Me"Willow Weep for Me" is a popular song composed in 1932 by Ann Ronell, who also wrote the lyrics. It is mostly known as a jazz standard, but it was a Top 40 hit for the British duo Chad & Jeremy in 1964.-Notable recordings:...
" (Ann RonellAnn RonellAnn Rosenblatt, known as Ann Ronell was an American composer and lyricist best known for the jazz standard "Willow Weep for Me" .- Biography :...
) – 5:57 - "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" (Andy Razaf, Weldon) – 4:00
Side Two
- "In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)" (Leroy CarrLeroy CarrLeroy Carr was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist, who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. He first became famous for "How Long, How Long Blues" on Vocalion Records in 1928.-Life and...
, Don RayeDon RayeDon Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for...
) – 3:28 - "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-Ness If I Do" (Percy GraingerPercy GraingerGeorge Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
, Robert PrinceRobert Prince (composer)Robert Prince wrote music for two ballets made by Jerome Robbins on his company Ballets USA; NY Export: Opus Jazz and Events , as well as incidental music for the play Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You In The Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad which Robbins directed off-Broadway in 1962...
, Clarence Williams) – 2:45 - "Lost and Lookin'" (Alexander, Louis JordanLouis JordanLouis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
) – 3:12 - "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water" (Eddie MillerEddie Miller (songwriter)Edward Monroe "Eddie" Miller was an American songwriter, in the country music genre.He was born in Camargo, Oklahoma and worked as a locomotive engineer before becoming a songwriter...
) – 3:55 - "Sweet Lover" (McFarland, Wyche) – 3:08
Reissue Tracks
- "Blues Is a Woman" (Rawls) - 2:58
- "A Little Les of Lou's Blues" (Rawls) - 2:23
- "(They Call It) Stormy MondayCall It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)"Call It Stormy Monday " is a blues song written by T-Bone Walker and first recorded in 1947. Confusingly, it is also sometimes referred to as "Stormy Monday Blues", although that is the title of a 1942 song by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine...
(Alternate Take)" (Walker) - 2:58
Musicians
- Lou RawlsLou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
- vocals - Les McCannLes McCannLes McCann is an American soul jazz piano player and vocalist whose biggest successes came as a crossover artist into R&B and soul.-Biography:...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Leroy VinnegarLeroy VinnegarLeroy Vinnegar was an American jazz bassist.Born in Indianapolis, the self-taught Vinnegar established his reputation in Los Angeles during the 1950s and 1960s. His trademark was the rhythmic "walking" bass line, a steady series of ascending or descending notes, and it brought him the nickname...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Ron Jefferson - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional personnel
- Nick VenetNick VenetNick Venet was an American record producer who began his career at age 19 with World Pacific Jazz...
- producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Malcolm Addley - remixing
- Billy VeraBilly VeraBilly Vera is an American singer, actor, writer and music historian.-Life and career:Vera was born in Riverside, California. He began his singing career in 1962 as a member of the Resolutions. He went on to write several songs throughout the early 1960s, writing for the likes of Barbara Lewis,...
- liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...