G
Grady
Gaines
b: May, 14,
1934, Waskom, TX.
Some of the atomic energy that Little Richard emitted
nightly during the mid-50's must have spilled onto Grady Gaines. As the hardy
tenor sax blaster with Richard's road band, The Upsetters, Gaines all but blew
the reed out of his horn with his galvanic solos. He wails with the same
unquenchable spirit today.
The perpetually ebullient
Louis Jordan was Grady's main sax man while growing up in Houston (in particular
Gaines loved his "Caldonia"). Grady wasn't the only musician in the Gaines
household-brother Roy was an excellent guitarist who supplied the stinging solo
on Bobby Bland's 1955 Duke recording "It's My Life Baby" before leaving to do
his own thing.
Grady was working as a section saxist
at Don Robey's Duke/Peacock Records (soloing like a man possessed on Big Walter
Price's "Pack Fair and Square" and proudly populating the Reed section on
Gatemouth Brown's searing "Dirty Work at the Crosswords") prior to getting a
fateful 1955 call from Little Richard to head up his newly formed
band.
Gaines recorded with the piano-pounding rock
icon only sparingly -that's his storming wail on "Keep A Knockin'" and "Ooh! My
Soul"-but you wouldn't know it from watching Richard's show-stopping appearances
in the films Don't Knock the Rock, The Girl Can't Help It, and Mr. Rock and
Roll. In every flick Gaines is seen on screen, horn-syncing Lee
Allen's sax solos.
After The Upsetters
broke up Grady hit the road with a variety of R&B luminaries,
including Millie Jackson and Curtis Mayfield, before retiring in 1980.
Fortunately, he decided to strap his horn back on in 1985, playing in Houston
until Black Top Records cajoled him into cutting Full Gain, a veritable
Houston blues motherlode, in 1988. Brother Roy Gaines, pianist Teddy
Reynolds, guitarist Clarence Hollimon, and singer Joe Medwick were all involved
in the project. Gaines and his entourage continue to blow up a Texas sized
storm wherever they touch down.
Billy Gibbons
b: 3-04-1950
Along with the late Stevie
Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons is unquestionably one of the finest
blues-rock guitarists to ever emerge from Texas. Born on either March, 4 or
December 16, 1950 (both dates have been given in the past), and raised in
Houston, Texas, Gibbons grew up in a home that favored both classical and
country sounds, but upon discovering Elvis Presley via an appearance on the Ed
Sullivan Show, Gibbons became transfixed by rock n' roll. It wasn't long before
he discovered other early rock n' rollers (Little Richard) as well as bluesmen
(Jimmy Reed) via a local radio station. Soonafter receiving a Gibson Melody
Maker electric guitar and a Fender Champ amp for Christmas in 1963, Gibbons
began emulating his heroes - forming his first band when he was 14 (the Saints).
The guitarist later joined a group around the mid-'60s called the Coachmen, who
specialized in more psychedelic-based sounds, inspired by the likes of Jefferson
Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and the local Texas outfit, Thirteenth Floor Elevators
(led by a young Roky Erickson). Gibbons' band eventually changed their name to
the Moving Sidewalks, issuing a lone album in 1968, Flash, although an early
single, "99th Floor," would later receive attention when included years later on
the Pebbles: Vol. 2 compilation. While the Moving Sidewalks never made a splash
outside of Texas, Gibbons must have been pleased when Jimi Hendrix (with whom
the Sidewalks toured with around this time) began endorsing the guitarist as one
of his favorite new players to the media.
When the Moving Sidewalks
folded in 1969, Gibbons sought to form a more straight ahead, boogie/blues
rock-based band, and after hooking up with a pair of other fellow Texans,
bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard, ZZ Top was born. The power trio
slowly but steadily built up a solid following, largely due to Gibbons' tasty
guitar playing and muscular riffs (especially evidenced on such renowned tracks
as "La Grange" and "Tush"). Over the course of five classic albums over a six
year span (1970's self-titled debut, 1972's Rio Grande Mud, 1973's Tres Hombres,
1975's Fandango, and 1976's Tejas), ZZ Top became one of the country's top rock
bands, before taking a three year break. When they returned, the musical climate
had changed considerably, and ZZ Top opted to change with the times - as a more
modern, electronic sound was merged with their blues rock roots on such albums
as 1979's Deguello and 1981's El Loco. But with the release of 1983's
Eliminator, the new approach came together for the group, while both Gibbons and
Hill happened to come across a gimmick that will be forever associated with the
group - long and stringy beards that grew down to their chests. It didn't hurt
that the group was responsible for some of MTV's most popular video clips of all
time (which always seemed to primarily focus on good looking girls and a snazzy
1933 Ford three door coupe, rather than the bandmembers) - "Give Me All Your
Loving," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs." Gibbons and Hill also became known for
their assortment of matching and outlandish guitars, which were also always on
display in their videos.
But the trio's newly acquired commercial
direction caused some consternation amongst long-time fans, and by the mid-'90s,
new ZZ Top's albums failed to sell as well as their earlier titles had, although
a large and loyal following still flocked to their shows. A long-time vintage
guitar collector, Gibbons owns some of the world's most cherished and rare
guitars, including a particular instrument that he's become synonymous with, a
1959 Sunburst Les Paul Standard (which he dubbed 'Pearly Gates'). In addition to
music, Gibbons supposedly owns several automotive-related patents in his name,
is an avid painter, and collects rare African art and artifacts, amassing so
many that he was forced to store them in a warehouse in Houston. Besides
recording with ZZ Top, Gibbons has been known to go by the alias Justis Walkert
- appearing on recordings by Jeff Healey (Feel This) and the Rainer & Das
Combo (the Texas Tapes). But it's obviously Gibbons' exceptional playing with ZZ
Top that he's best known most for, as the guitarist has influenced a wide
variety of players over the years, including the Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood and
Pantera's Dimebag Darrell, to name but a few. ~ Greg Prato
Lloyd Glenn
b:11-21,1909, San Antonio TX. d:5-25,1985, Los
Angeles Ca.
As an integral behind-the-scene fixture on the L.A. postwar blues scene,
pianist/arranger/A&R man Lloyd Glenn had few equals. His rolling ivories
anchored many of Lowell Fulson's best recordings for Swing Time and Checker, and
he scored his own major hits on Swing Time with the imaginative instrumentals
"Old Shuffle Time Blues" in 1950 and "Chica Boo" the next year. Glenn was
already an experienced musician when he left the Lone Star State for sunny
California in 1942. His early sessions there included backing T-Bone Walker at
the 1947 Capitol date that produced the guitarist's immortal "Call It Stormy
Monday". Glenn recorded for the first time under his own name the same year for
Imperial with his band, The Joymakers, which included guitarist Gene Phillips,
saxist Marshall Royal, and singer Geraldine Carter.
Massively constructed guitarist Tiny Webb introduced Glenn to Swing Time owner
Jack Lauderdale in 1949, inaugurating a five-year stint as A&R man at the
firm for Glenn. After Swing Time's demise, the pianist moved to Aladdin Records,
issuing more catchy instrumentals for Eddie Mesner's firm through 1959. There
was also an isolated session for Imperial in 1962 that produced "Twistville" and
"Young Date". The pianist remained active into the 1990's often touring as Big
Joe Turner's accompanist.
Cal Green
b: 1937, Houston, TX. d: 3-13-1997, Houston,
TX.
Few
blues guitarists can boast the varied resume of Texas native Cal Green. From
blues to doo-wop to jazz, Green has played them all and done each idiom proud in
the process.
Green's idol when he was a teenager was
Lone Star wonder Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. So pervasive was Gate's sway that
Green and his ninth-grade pal Roy Gaines used to stage rock guitar battles
imitating their idols (Gaines was a T-Bone Walker disciple) at various Houston
bars. Cal didn't have to leave the house to find worthy competition, his older
brother Clarence was also an accomplished picker who cut a load of killer
instrumentals (notably 1962's "Red Light") for small Lone Star
diskeries.
Cal Green played on RPM Records releases
by Quinton Kimble and pianist Connie McBooker, but his main claim is as the
guitarist for Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, who roared thru Houston in
1954 looking to replace their just-drafted axeman Arthur Porter, scooped up
teenaged Green, and went on their way.
Green
received plenty of solo space during his Midnighters stint. His stinging guitar
provided a sturdy hook for the group's rocker "Don't Change Your Pretty Ways"
and figured prominently on "Tore Up Over You" (later revived in blistering
fashion by rockabilly giant Sleepy LaBeef ) and "Open Up The Back Door". The
Midnighter's label, Cincinnati-based Federal Records, thought enough of Green's
slashing Texas licks to cut a couple of 45's on him in 1958, the double sided
instrumental "The Big Push"/"Green's Blues", and a pair of vocals, "I Can Hear
My Baby Calling"/"The Search Is All Over".
Clarence
Green
b: 1937, Houston,
TX d: 1997, Houston TX
Though one of the best known of the
modern Texas blues guitarists, Clarence Green is regarded by his peers as one of
the best. Green (not to be confused with the late Clarence 'Candy' Green, a
Texas blues pianist) did session work for Duke Records in the 60's with Junior
Parker, Bobby Bland, and others, and performed with stars from Fats Domino to
Johnny Nash. His own recordings have mostly been for small Houston labels. As
Marcel Vos from Double Trouble Records wrote, "The Clarence Green of today plays
a brand of Texas blues that is mixed with soul, jazz, and funk, not unlike the
music of fellow Texan's such as Roy Gaines, Cornell Dupree, and of course, his
brother, Cal Green.
Guitar
Shorty
b: Sep 8, 1939,
Houston, TX
When he's not doing somersaults, back flips, and standing on his head -
all while playing of course, Guitar Shorty is prone to cutting loose with
savagely slashing licks on his instrument. Live, he's simply amazing - and after
some lean years, his two recent albums for Black Top have proven that all that
energy translates vividly onto tape.
At age 12,
David Kearney was already gigging steadily in Tampa, FL. One night, he was
pearched on the bandstand when he learned that the mysterious "Guitar Shorty"
advertised on the club's marquee was none other than he! His penchant for stage
gymnastics was inspired by the flamboyant Guitar Slim, whose wild antics are
legendary. In 1957, Shorty cut his debut single, "You Don't Treat Me Right", for
Chicago's Cobra Records under Willie Dixon's astute direction. Three superb 45's
in 1959 for tiny Pull Records in Los Angeles (notably "Hard Life") rounded out
Shorty's discovery for quite a while.
During the
60's, he married Jimi Hendrix's stepsister and lived in Seattle, where the rock
guitar god caught Shorty's act whenever he came off the road. Shorty's career
had it's share of ups and downs - once he was reduced to competing on Chuck
Barris' zany "The Gong Show", where he copped first prize for delivering "They
Call Me Guitar Shorty" while balancing on his
noggin.
Los Angeles had long since reclaimed Shorty
by the time things started to blossom anew with the 1991 album My Way On The
Highway for the British JSP logo. From there, Black Top Records signed
Shorty.