Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame’s swinging, surprisingly credible mixture of jazz and American R&B earned him a considerable following in his local U.K., where he obtained three number 1 singles through the ’60s. Popularity performed piano and body organ furthermore to performing, and was affected by famous brands Mose Allison, Booker T. & the MG’s, and Louis Jordan. Early in his profession, he also peppered his repertoire with Jamaican ska and bluebeat music, assisting to popularize that genre in Britain; during his old age, he was mostly of the jazz performers of any stripe to consider an interest within the vanishing artwork of vocalese, and gained very much general respect from jazz critics on both edges from the Atlantic. Popularity was created Clive Powell on June 26, 1943, in Leigh, Lancashire (near Manchester, Britain). He started playing piano at a age group, and performed with many organizations around Manchester as an adolescent, when he was especially fond of Fat Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1959, his family members relocated to London, where in fact the 16 year aged was found out by songwriter Lionel Bart (most widely known for the musical Oliver). Bart required Powell to skill supervisor Larry Parnes, who advertised English rockers like Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, Johnny Mild, and Vince Keen. Powell naturally needed to be renamed aswell, so when Georgie Popularity, he performed piano behind Wilde and Willing before officially signing up for Fury’s support music group, the Blue Flames, in the summertime of 1961. (The Blue Flames also included guitarist Colin Green, saxophonist Mick Eve, bassist Tony Makins, and drummer Crimson Reece.) When Fury allow music group go by the end of the entire year, Popularity became their business lead singer, plus they strike the London membership circuit playing a unique blend of rock and roll, pop, R&B, jazz, and ska. Their budding popularity arrived them a residency on the Western world End jazz membership the Flamingo, and because of the American servicemen who frequented the membership and lent Popularity their information, he uncovered the Hammond B-3 body organ, becoming among the very few English musicians to look at the device in past due 1962. Following that, the Blue Flames became probably one of the most well-known live rings in London. In 1963, they authorized with EMI Columbia, and in early 1964 released their acclaimed debut LP, Tempo and Blues in the Flamingo. It wasn’t a warm seller initially, basically their 1st three singles all flopped, but term of the group was distributing. Finally, in early 1965, Popularity strike the graphs with “Yeh Yeh,” a swinging tune documented by Latin jazz story Mongo Santamaria and provided lyrics by vocalese virtuoso Jon Hendricks of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. “Yeh Yeh” proceeded to go completely to number 1 on the English charts, and Popularity began living up to his stage name (even though song barely skipped the very best 20 in the us). His 1965 LP Popularity finally reached the United kingdom Best 20, and after many even more minor hits, he previously another United kingdom number 1 with “Holiday” in 1966. After yet another LP with the initial Blue Flames, 1966’s Lovely Thing, Popularity split up the music group and recorded single; over the following couple of years, his support rings included drummer Mitch Mitchell (afterwards from the Jimi Hendrix Encounter) as well as the youthful guitarist John McLaughlin (Kilometers Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra). First, Fame’s solo profession was just like effective as before, kicking off with the very best Ten big-band LP Audio Venture (documented with Harry South’s orchestra); because of its achievement, he toured using the famous Count Basie the next year. Several strike singles followed on the next couple of years, including “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde,” which became his third English chart-topper in past due 1967 and, the next year, his just Top Ten strike in the us. But by 1969, his achievement was starting to tail off; expecting to create inroads in to the even more adult-oriented cabaret circuit, Popularity was moving increasingly more into straight-up pop and from his root base. In 1971, he teamed up with onetime Pets organist Alan Cost and documented an record of critically reviled MOR pop, Popularity & Cost; the partnership created a near-Top Ten strike in “Rosetta,” but finished in 1973. Popularity re-formed the Blue Flames with unique guitarist Colin Green in 1974 and attemptedto go back to R&B, but his information for Island captivated little interest. He spent a lot of the ’70s and ’80s producing ends fulfill by carrying out on TV as well as the cabaret circuit, in addition to writing marketing jingles; he also continuing to make information, to small fanfare. In 1989, Popularity played body organ on Vehicle Morrison’s Avalon Sunset record, which grew right into a successful collaboration during the period of the ’90s; Popularity played on most of Morrison’s albums through 1997’s The Curing Video game, received co-billing on Morrison’s 1996 jazz record How Long Provides This Been TAKING PLACE, and even offered a stint as Morrison’s musical movie director. Meanwhile, Fame’s very own solo work through the ’90s received a few of his greatest reviews because the ’60s, you start with 1991’s jazzy Great Kitty Blues, which presented a duet with Morrison on “Moondance.” 1995’s Three Collection Whip presented his sons Tristan and Wayne Powell on acoustic guitar and drums, respectively, and 1996’s The Blues and Me additional enhanced his developing jazz trustworthiness. In 1998, Popularity break up with Morrison to record and tour with previous Rolling Rocks bassist Expenses Wyman’s fresh group the Tempo Kings, contributing body organ and vocals to many albums. In 2000, today agreed upon to Ben Sidran’s Move Jazz label, Popularity released the acclaimed Poet in NY, which set up him as an extraordinary pupil of jazz’s vocalese custom.