RHYTHM AND BLUES in the Pacific Northwest would require an
entire book to explore. In a complete history we would get to look back at many
great black (and white) singers and musicians from this region. Reviewing the
names of some of these obscure R&B combos and doo-wop groups from earlier
decades certainly evokes images of a bygone era of wonderfully soulful music:
Chuck Moore & the Allstars, Lanny Hunt & the Majestics, Billy Larkin
& the Delegates all worked out of Portland, Oregon in the 1950s and ‘60s.
Meanwhile, Yakima, Washington, had Harper Morrison & the Silvertones, and
Tacoma had the Barons, Skylarks, Parking Meters, Elegants, Willie Washington
& the Titans, and Bobby Shorter & the Innkeepers. Seattle had the Dave
Lewis Combo, Ron Holden & the Playboys, the Don Mallory Combo, Gallahads,
Shades, Mello-aires, Tiny Tony & the Statics, Jimmy Pipkin & the Boss
Five, and James Thomas & His Tomcats, among many others. The Northwest’s
R&B scene also produced a number of artists who have achieved lasting fame
including guitar aces Jimi Hendrix and Robert Cray.
Though certain details surrounding the
national origins of R&B music may have been lost in the mists of
time, its genesis on a regional level here in the Northwest is quite clear: the
very first local rhythm and blues recording of note from Seattle – “Confession Blues”
(Downbeat Records #171) – was cut by the Maxin Trio in a downtown radio
station studio in 1948.
THE MAXIN TRIO: The Maxin Trio – also (inaccurately) noted elsewhere as
the “Maxine” or “Maxim” Trio – held a regular gig throughout 1948 and into ’49
at the Rocking Chair, one of the many afterhours jazz rooms that contributed to
Seattle’s infamous Jackson Street jazz scene in the postwar period. There were
numerous other ensembles comprised of African-American musicians working the
scene, including the Oscar Holden Quintet, the Zak Harris Combo and bands led
by Pops Buford, Joe Gauff, and Roberts “Bumps” Blackwell. But, because they dosed their sets with a
heapin’ helpin’ of downhome blues, the Maxin Trio stood out from the pack of
local cocktail jazzers and became a remarkably influential musical force in the
area. Eventually the trio would cut about 40 tracks for a Los-Angels –based
label including a happy blues that was written for, or about, their friends in
Seattle. It’s title? “Rockin’ Chair Blues.” By ’52 the Maxin Trio’s
pianist/singer R.C. Robinson went solo, signed with Atlantic Records, and
proceeded to cut a string of innovative hits that would essentially redefine
R&B/ Soul music. Those later accomplishments were, of course, made his new
stage name: Ray Charles.
BIG JAY McNEELY: A west coast R&B saxophone honker, Big Jay McNeely,
recorded what remains his most memorable number – the classic “There Is
Something On Your Mind” – in a tiny home studio in Seattle in 1957. Back in
those days very few local radio stations programmed or supported big-beat music
of any type. There was, nevertheless, quite a strong nightclub scene around the
area. Many of the most legendary names in early 1950s rhythm and blues found
work in Portland, Vancouver B.C., and Seattle/Tacoma nightspots.
McNeely’s band occasionally got bookings in
Seattle rooms such as Dave’s 5th Avenue or Birdland for several weeklong
engagements. Prior to one of these stays,
he contacted Tom Ogilvy, a local pop songwriter and recording enthusiast.
Ogilvy quickly arranged to take McNeely’s combo to his friend Joe Boles’
basement studio in West Seattle. The
session produced a number of quality original tunes, but all those present
agreed that releasing any of the songs on Ogilvy’s Seafair label would be
futile given the realities of Northwest radio. So, upon the completion of his gig
in town, McNeely packed up the Master Tapes and hit the road back to Los
Angeles. When he eventually contacted
Hunter Hancock – then L.A.’s top R&B disc jockey – and played him the
tapes, Hancock offered to form a label and release them himself. Helped
immensely by the airplay that Hancock was in the position to provide on his
popular daily show, Huntin’ With Hunter,
the first single “There Is Something On Your Mind,” (Swingin Records 614) was
released on February 17, 1959. The song quickly climbed to the No.5 slot on Billboard magazine’s R&B charts,
becoming one of the top-selling R&B songs of that year.
JOE BOOT and the
FABULOUS WINDS:
Originally formed in the early 1950s as the Southwinds, this
5-man vocal group began by performing strictly gospel-oriented music. Strictly,
that is, until they crossed paths with a red-hot fireball of a rockin’ rhythm
and blues singer named Joe Boot. From that point on, group members would ever
be torn between spirituals and R&B. A compromise was struck and they added
Boot, renamed themselves the Fabulous Winds, and proceeded to work up a mixed
repertoire of tunes. While retaining some of their devout members, the Winds
worked out vocal arrangements for pop standards and eventually some of Boot’s
originals. By 1957 the Winds found themselves at one of Seattle’s pioneering
recording studios, Dimensional Sound. Numerous sessions were held there with
instrumental backing by the Floyd Standifer Orchestra.
Boot seemed to know all
of the top African-American stars who passed through town and on one occasion
in the fall of ’57 none other than Little Richard Penniman stopped by a session at Dimensional and
announced that he had just given up rock ‘n’ roll and returned to
religion. Furthermore, having just
abandoned his international rock tour, Penniman said that he as going to appear down the
street at the Moore Theater to spread the Good Word at a revival show. After a quick prayer with Penniman, the Winds
agreed to appear at that show. But, unlike his sold-out dates in previous
visits to Seattle – including a blistering matinee show at the Eagles
Auditorium that very summer – Penniman’s Moore show was, reportedly, very poorly
attended. Joe Boot and the Fabulous Winds, however, went on to cut what was
most probably the very first rock ‘n’ roll record ever produced in the Pacific
Northwest. Issued by Dimensional’s in-house label, Celestial Records, “Rock and
Roll Radio” / “That’s Tough,” remains an ultra-rare, but essential, regional classic.
[NOTE:
This is a lightly edited version of an essay that was originally published in
the “Pacific Northwest Music Explosion” issue of DISCoveries magazine in
April 1990]
Text copyright © 1990, 2011, Peter Blecha