ARCHIVES - ENTERTAINMENT

CONTENTS
Former Member of The Platters Passed
Rock N Roll Hall A Shame In 2K2
Bluesman/Musician Gatemouth Brown Passed at 81
Al McKibbon: Be Bop Era Bassman
Jazz Diva Shirley Horn Died at age 71 - October 20, 2005

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Former Member of The Platters Passed

  

Vancouver lost another beloved entertainer when Ray Carroll, passed at his home in Vancouver on April 5th. Carroll was born in Chicago and lived in several North American cities (including L.A., Montreal, Toronto) before settling in Vancouver in the early 80s.

He was a member of the singing group The Platters in the early 50s, and many will remember his performances in the Lower Mainland.

He is survived by his daughter Kimberly and a grandaughter Sarah. A tribute was held at Rossini’s-Kitsilano April 18th.

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Rock N Roll Hall A Shame In 2K2
By Michael Ingram
On March 18, the Class of 2002 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Established in 1986 with a goal of recognizing those stars of the past, the Hall, located in Cleveland, Ohio, has added to the ranks every year since. While the intent is good, the selection process leaves much to be desired.

The criteria for admission is simple enough - for a performer or group to be considered, the first single must have been recorded at least 25 years ago. There are acknowledgments for non-performers and early influences, but the selections that seem to matter most are for those who were onstage, making the music.

This is also an area sparking much controversy. The premise of who gets to decide falls on a panel of “music experts” voting on the worth of act A as opposed to group B. Many black performers and music fans feel the Hall is a self-aggrandizing boy’s club, lost in the misconception of 1970s white rock bands forming the heart of rock & roll. The label of “classic rock” serves as an ultimate insult to singers and players who worked the chitlin’ circuit of nightclubs, halls, and other venues to form a musical foundation many unworthy people profited from and stand on.

To quote no less an authority than the Georgia Peach himself, Little Richard, “Rhythm and blues had a baby - and they called it rock and roll.”


Is Time On Your Side?

Which brings us to a major flaw in the process-the appreciation of the time factor. John Sebastian, lead singer of the Lovin’ Spoonful and a member of the Hall’s class of ‘01, puts it in perspective. “White folks don’t understand the time line,” says Sebastian. “A lot of fans meant well when they said they were glad we (Spoonful) finally got in, but a man like Johnnie Johnson (Chuck Berry’s sideman and a ‘01 alum) should have been in a long time ago. And Johnson got in only after three years of strong lobbying by Keith Richards (Rolling Stones).”

While the Hall has begun to recognize early influences, they are still amiss in sufficiently addressing the era prior to the rise of R&R. It is here among the class of ‘02 where two of the most glaring errors of omission have been committed. Among the list of finalists were three black acts -the Chantels, Dells and Isaac Hayes. Only Isaac Hayes made the cut. Is Hayes a Hall Of Famer? To quote John Shaft, “You damn right.” In my opinion, however, I fervently believe Hayes was elected because more of the “music experts” know he’s the voice of a cartoon character rather than the only musician to win a Grammy and an Oscar in the same year for his signature work, “Shaft.”

With doo-wop being a vital component of rock & roll during its early years, none were more emotive or technically proficient than the Chantels, a girl group from New York City. These young ladies didn’t need a “wall of sound” to accentuate their gifts; their airtight, complex harmonies shone through on rock & roll standards like “Maybe” “Look In My Eyes” and “I Love You So.” While other girl groups gained more fame and fortune, those in the know say the Chantels were the one they paid attention to. Bob Rivers, bass singer with the Coasters and a gentleman I had the pleasure of working with, agrees. “The Chantels gave most guy groups a run for their money when it came to singing - and sounded better a capella than with an accompaniment.”

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But the unkindest cut in the Hall Of Shame roster has to be the snubbing of the Dells, a five-man group from Chicago. To say these gentlemen have lived rock & roll would not be an understatement. The group has support from several fan sites, one that even set up an online ballot that crashed the Hall’s server two years ago. The odds that these five men - Vern Allison, Chuck Barksdale, Johnny Carter, Marvin Junior and Mickey McGill would sing together for 50 years intact is testimony to their harmony and chemistry, succeeding in a business where personnel change at the speed of a bruised ego.

If the Dells never recorded another song after “Oh What A Night,” it would still be more than enough. Film director Robert Townsend used the Dells’ career as the template for his hit film, “The Five Heartbeats.” Seeing artists die with greater frequency (like 2002 HOF member Joey Ramone) did nothing to bring any compassion to these anal-orifices passing themselves off as “experts,” adding further insult to the lack of effort. While I believe the Dells will eventually get in, it would have been a truly class move to admit the group in while all five members are still alive and able to smell the bouquet. If the inevitable should happen before they are inducted, it would serve as another slap in the face to those who created the music these pompous asses use as a crutch to prop up their brittle egos.

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Bluesman/Musician Gatemouth Brown Passed at 81

  

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Grammy award winner, Bluesman and versatile musician died September 10th in Orange, Texas, at the home of his brother from lung cancer and heart disease. He was 81.

A resident of Slidell, Louisiana, he had been forced to evacuate his home because of hurricane Katrina.

Brown was born April 18, 1924 in Vinton, Louisiana and raised in Orange, Texas where his father worked on the railroad and played banjo on the weekends.

Although usually associated with R&B and Blues, Brown was also a musician who played drums, harmonica, fiddle, mandolin and guitar. He was also versatile in his choice of the artists he recorded with - Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Roy Clark, etc. He played hundreds of concert dates including gigs at London’s Royal Albert Hall and in Moscow, Russia. He played on the “chitlin circuit” in the early years of his career and in honky tonks and strip clubs throughout the U.S.

Brown won a Grammy in 1982 for Best Traditional Blues Recording for “Alright Again”.

Outspoken and controversial, he called B.B. King and T-Bone Walker one dimensional and Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland derivative. He was married and divorced three times and leaves three daughters) one from each marriage), a son from another relationship and his brother Bobby.

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Al McKibbon: Be Bop Era Bassman
Jan 1, 1919 - July 29, 2005

  

Al McKibbon, one of the first great string bass players from the be-bop era has died at age 86 of kidney failure at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles.

McKibbon was born in Chicago and grew up in Detroit. His brother encouraged him to learn to play bass and while in high school he began playing in local clubs.

In 1943 he was hired by band leader Luck Millander, moved to New York and subsequently played with leading jazz figures such as Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie.

He developed an interest in Latin Jazz while playing with Dizzy Gillespie and said he felt Cubans were as “close as you could come to African culture and they still practised the roots of our music”.


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Jazz Diva Shirley Horn passed at 71 after a long fight with breast cancer, arthritis and most recently diabetes.

She got her start opening for Miles Davis and had received 8 Grammy nominations. She won in 1988 for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for her tribute recording to Miles Davis, “I Remember Miles”.

In 2003 she won a Jazz at Lincoln Centre Award for Artistic Excellence and in 2005 she was named the NEA Jazzmaster - the nation’s highest honor for jazz composers and musicians.

She is survived by her husband, daughter and several grandchildren.

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