Soul Artists Had It Tough

[Roburt]

Most soul artists back in the day survived by playing gigs on the chitlin circuit. That had to earn money from live gigs as (unless they gained hit records) they rarely made good money from their recording work. Life on the road was tough. The singer(s) and their backing musicians would squeeze into a station wagon and head from gig to gig. If these were in the south then racism reared it's ugly head and they were restricted in where they could eat & stay. Then there was the grind of getting (late at night) from gig to gig. Many road accidents occurred with the singer or the musicians being injured or even killed (in May 68, 3 members of the Impressions backing band + 2 other performers were killed in an auto crash in Winder, Ga). Another pitfall was the promoter clearing off without paying the artists. This didn't just happen in backwoods venues in out of the way locations on shows organised by hoodlum promoters and was a regular event. The likes of Chuck Berry & Wilson Pickett were well known for not going on stage until the performance fee had been handed over.

One well known occurrence happened in December 64 in Los Angeles at the famous Hollywood Palladium (a venue so established that the Laurence Welk TV Show was staged there for many years in the 60's). On that night, a few of the artists actually performed (Aretha Franklin, Gloria Lynn) but by the time Bobby Bland was due on stage, the promoter had disappeared taking the cash taken on the door with them. Bobby refused to perform and the crowd went mad & smashed the venue up ..... see attached newspaper piece ...........

 

    

[Roburt]

Of course Bobby had been hooked up with Don Robey as his booking agent (Buffalo Booking) and record label owner (Duke). Bobby had started out in Memphis around 1952 where his early career was overseen by Sunbeam Mitchell and WDIA's David Mattis. In fact it was Mattis who started Duke Records and cut Bland's first sides at WDIA's studio. However, Mattis knew little about running a record label, so Robey offered to help out for a portion of the record label. Before long, Robey eased Mattis out of the picture and transferred Duke Records to Houston (where he ran his Peacock Record company from).

So no doubt, Bobby Bland had to fight his corner to get his full due from Robey for both his recording work & much of the fees paid direct to the booking agency for his live work.    

Bobby Bland had played a gig in Miami just a few weeks before the LA gig, presumably he had been paid for his work that night ...............

 

[Roburt]

Don Robey obviously had a big say in the gigs his artists undertook. He must have placed a couple of his artists together on tours, the promoter taking the 'secondary singer' in order to secure the main man he was after. Peacock Records Al 'TNT' Braggs seemed to tour almost exclusively on the same bill as Bobby Bland for 3 or so years from the early to mid 60's. No doubt the 2 guys must have got on well together or the arrangement wouldn't have worked, but I bet Robey got a good deal out of the situation. A show in DC both guys played in 62 .............

 

[Roburt]

Another gig the pairing undertook in 1962. This time it was in early September on Carr's Beach in Annapolis .........

 

[Roburt]

A picture of both Bobby Bland & Al TNT Braggs, with an inset of them on stage together .....

 

[Roburt]

Anyone know when Al went out on his own ?

No doubt it was by 1966 when his "Earthquake" 45 had escaped (in June) & started to take off. The track escaped on a Vocalion 45 in July 66 and then again on Action in October 68. When did his Vocalion EP get released ?

Al had certainly gone out alone by November 1966 as this Baltimore gig line-up illustrates ....  

 

[Dave Moore]

Here's a link to what is probably the definitive book on the history of The Chitlin' Circuit. Don Robey's massive contribution to it's development as an outlet for black music is also portrayed in good depth. Some of the anecdotes about the early days are real wild west stuff.  Great book and highly recommended to SS members with an interest in this stuff.

Regards,

Dave

 

https://www.amazon.com/The-Chitlin-Circuit-Road-Rock/dp/0393342948

[Roburt]

As well as being ripped off by record companies, booking agents & promoters, as mentioned earlier, touring singers / musicians risked their lives travelling from gig to gig. Many times, it would be late at night after an exhausting show that they would have to drive many miles to the location of their next gig. As well as being tired, the weather also came into play with icy roads & snow being experienced in the winter months.

  One major loss in an auto accident was Billy Stewart. He had played UK gigs in June 1966 and was due to play London's Saville Theatre in January 67 but that show went ahead without him (Edwin Starr taking his place on the bill). He did return here to tour in December 68 / January 69, this time playing venues such as the Attic, Doncaster and the Twisted Wheel (11th January). On that tour his backing band was Ellison's Hog Line, an outfit that included a guy who would go on to be a member of the Glitter Band. Just over a year after he returned to the States, he was killed in an car crash.

Billy Stewart was killed in an auto accident on Saturday January 17^th 1970, he was 32 years old. The bodies of  Billy Stewart and three of his band members had been pulled from Stewart's new black Ford Thunderbird which had plunged off Interstate 95 into the Neuse River, 3 miles south of Smithfield. They had played a show at Brown's Chicken and Barbecue House in Rocky Mount the night before and were en route to Columbia, S.C., to do a television show. Richmond L. Sanders ran Sanders Funeral Home on E. Market Street in Smithfield. Back then there was no rescue squad in Johnston County, and black funeral homes would be called to pick up black victims in emergency situations. Fire trucks, tow trucks attended and passing motorists had pulled over but it was a bad accident with the car ending up in the river underwater. Once back at the funeral home Sanders put Stewart's diamond rings on the singer's fingers and dressed him in a nice suit before placing the body in a casket. The body was placed on show in the funeral home and lots of people came to view it before the body was taken by train back to Washington, D.C. Six members of the band survived the crash, Billy Stewart was the driver of the car at the time of the crash.

In what can only be seen as fate catching up with Billy, his fatal auto crash followed a similar incident that had occurred less than 18 months earlier in which members of his backing band had been killed.   

 

Edited February 6, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

The 2nd post on this thread featured an ad for a 1964 show at the Island Club in Miami. Also on the bill with Bobby Bland & Al 'TNT' Braggs was Eloise Hester.

Eloise had been a member of the Ikettes prior to going solo and had recorded with the group. I guess she might also have been signed up to Robey's Buffalo Booking Agency (anyone know if she was ?). She undertook gigs with her backing band Black Mafia three months earlier at the Rose Room. I assume this was the venue in Beaumont Texas that a lot of Houston based artists played.

 

Edited February 6, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Don Robey got his start in the music biz via his Bronze Peacock Club in Houston. From there he had the booking agency (to get fees by securing chitlin circuit gigs for his artists in venues across the south). Most venues & just about all black bars had juke boxes installed, so it made sense to start a record company & press up 45's. These were then sold to the venues on the circuit & helped get extra gigs for his acts (the live act selling records in the towns they played & their 45's on local juke boxes getting them more live work). Robey built up a major list of chitlin venues across a wide area. He booked his acts into clubs in an area bounded by Houston, Tulsa, St. Louis, Memphis, Atlanta, Charleston, Miami, New Orleans & back to Houston via Galveston.

When the record biz and booking agency became so profitable, he shut his club down and moved the record company & booking agency business into the place.

   

Edited February 6, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Robey would book his blues, R & B, soul and gospel acts into the clubs across his ' territory' that he had built up dealings with. He would keep many venues supplied with a regular supply of live acts thus keeping their owners happy & fees rolling in to his agency. If a group wanted to get paid & keep working it had to fulfil the bookings Robey secured for them. Should a group be taking some time off or have a booking elsewhere, it wasn't unknown for Buffalo Booking to send out an imitation outfit to undertake the additional gig.

[Roburt]

Another trick Robey used on a regular basis was to reward his acts for their recording work by buying them a new car & new stage suits. The cost of these items were then charged to their royalties account. The fact that the acts needed cars & decent stage clothes to fulfil their live tour bookings (on which Robey took a good commission) was of course just a co-incidence !!!   

[Peter99]

16 hours ago, Roburt said:

Most soul artists back in the day survived by playing gigs on the chitlin circuit. That had to earn money from live gigs as (unless they gained hit records) they rarely made good money from their recording work. Life on the road was tough. The singer(s) and their backing musicians would squeeze into a station wagon and head from gig to gig. If these were in the south then racism reared it's ugly head and they were restricted in where they could eat & stay. Then there was the grind of getting (late at night) from gig to gig. Many road accidents occurred with the singer or the musicians being injured or even killed (in May 68, 3 members of the Impressions backing band + 2 other performers were killed in an auto crash in Winder, Ga). Another pitfall was the promoter clearing off without paying the artists. This didn't just happen in backwoods venues in out of the way locations on shows organised by hoodlum promoters and was a regular event. The likes of Chuck Berry & Wilson Pickett were well known for not going on stage until the performance fee had been handed over.

One well known occurrence happened in December 64 in Los Angeles at the famous Hollywood Palladium (a venue so established that the Laurence Welk TV Show was staged there for many years in the 60's). On that night, a few of the artists actually performed (Aretha Franklin, Gloria Lynn) but by the time Bobby Bland was due on stage, the promoter had disappeared taking the cash taken on the door with them. Bobby refused to perform and the crowd went mad & smashed the venue up ..... see attached newspaper piece ...........

 

    

Great stuff Roburt.

Thanks.

Peter

[Peter99]

15 hours ago, Roburt said:

Anyone know when Al went out on his own ?

No doubt it was by 1966 when his "Earthquake" 45 had escaped (in June) & started to take off. The track escaped on a Vocalion 45 in July 66 and then again on Action in October 68. When did his Vocalion EP get released ?

Al had certainly gone out alone by November 1966 as this Baltimore gig line-up illustrates ....  

 

Wow! What a line up.

 

[Roburt]

BTW, the 3 members of the Impressions backing band killed in a car accident in May 1968 (see post 1 of this thread) were Lenny Brown (bass - age 26), Billy Griffin (drums - age 23) & Joseph Thomas (guitar - age 26). Who knows what they could have gone on to achieve had they not been on the road that night.

[Roburt]

Bessie Smith was killed in a car accident way back in 1937 & organist / singer Earl Grant died in a car crash in 1970 as he was driving his Rolls Royce from LA to Juarez, Mexico to fulfil a booking down there.

It seems that Jerry Butler was very lucky back in 1961/62 as he had survived 3 car crashes in 5 months up to March 62. One of them was just outside Beaumont Texas in January, so no doubt the venue he was heading to / from was one on Don Robey's circuit of clubs in that area.   

 

[Roburt]

A picture lifted from the 'World Record Price -- UK Sue 45' thread ............

It shows the address that Buffalo Booking worked out of before they moved into the Bronze Peacock Club building .....

 

[Roburt]

Three male singers & 3 female singers who were signed to deals with Don Robey ......

Spent some time with Carl Carlton when he was at the Cleggy Weekender but I never thought to ask him if he was signed up with Buffalo Booking Agency when he had his deal with Backbeat Records. 

Edited February 10, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Beaumont, Texas was definitely part of Don Robey's territory. A piece here from a local publication about the chitlin circuit in the town back in the day ...

https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Beaumont-s-Effie-s-Go-Go-brought-in-Chitlin-2268102.php

Also I'm posting a record tips report (dated November 68) from programme director (William Boy Brown) at Beaumont's black radio stn KJET.

 

Edited February 14, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

This ad shows just how Don Robey had expanded Buffalo Booking between 1956 & 1964 ....... The inset on the left hand side shows the agencies roster of artists in 1956.

The main ad shows SOME of it's roster in 1964 (mind you, he had soon lost B B King from his line-up) .............

 

BTW, watched a documentary on a Florida PBS TV stn last night ....   B B King -- American Masters. It had a bit on his time in Memphis and him touring on the chitlin circuit. However over 50% of the prog featured input from the UK (interviews with UK musies & shots from live shows here). Still a good prog to catch when no doubt it eventually surfaces on BBC4 in the future.  

Edited February 14, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

A PIECE OFF THE NET by Bay area musician LARRY VANN ..............

.... We played the Oakland clubs. We were able to get our feet wet with great R&B acts such as The Whispers, The Ballads, Marvin Holmes and the Uptights. We gained a lot of ground. It was a great time to learn and be on the scene – getting our feet wet with great R&B acts, the great talent in the area.

We played the big rooms in the area. One was the Continental Club in Oakland - they brought James Brown, Bobby Bland, Charles Brown; another was The Sportsman Club, one of the premier Black clubs in Oakland. Some of the artists they brought were Jerry Butler, The Impressions, and Major Lance. And history tells us that Billy Holiday also played there, but that was before my time, but still very interesting information. Another premier club in Oakland was the Showcase. Some of the artists they brought were Johnny Talbot and Johnny Hartsman. These were all premier “cats” in the area we had to gauge ourselves from and learn from. It was an important time in my musical growth.

In 1966 or ’67 I went on my first tour – it was with The Whispers. We were part of a “review”. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was able to be on the “Chitlin’ Circuit” right before it ended. Many of the clubs in the circuit unfortunately closed. At that time it was an incredible circuit. You could see some of the biggest names. While out on that tour, I met: Buddy Miles in Omaha, Nebraska at the Paul B. Allen Showcase; Sam and Dave – we opened for them in Buffalo, New York at the Dellwood Dance Hall. We almost starved a week before they came because something went wrong with the booking and we were there one week before they arrived, in the dead of winter. I also met Dyke of Dyke and the Blazers who did “Funky Broadway” down in Phoenix where he lived. He used to always come see us all the time when I was with The Whispers. This was an incredible tour for me, a big, big journey for me in my career. I learned and grew a lot, I learned a lot about life .......

Edited February 28, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Found a report that members of Gladys Knight & the Pips were injured in a highway crash near Fairfax, Va while touring (January 1962). No detail on whether they had to cancel any proposed gigs.     

[Roburt]

Car crashes, none payment for performing, poor hotels & food .... but all are only minor matters when compared with collapsing on stage & having ongoing health problems (or even dying).

We all know that Jackie Wilson collapsed on stage (a stroke) & never recovered from the incident.

But I never realised that Marv Johnson went the same way in 93 .......... PLUS a reminder of happier times for him ....

 

Edited March 4, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

More on the pitfalls of touring back in the 60's, this bit from Motowner Willie Tyler ........

I guess people still tour like that, but I don't think the venues are as far away now as they were in those days. We would be driving forever. We'd be driving through the Appalachians, driving down the mountains and they'd be icy, icy roads. The driver would have to go very, very slow. We had two drivers and we'd be driving at night. We'd always drive through the night and get to the hotel in the morning. Check in, rest up, shower, go to the venue, come back, check out and then drive again to the next one. It was a grueling schedule. 

I remember we were working a place called the Carter Barron in Washington DC. It was a big venue and the acoustics were really bad. Sound was bouncing all over the place during the sound-check and I thought, "Wow, this is going to be really difficult for me." I'm the only talking act and it was a Saturday night with the potential for a rowdy audience. So I wondered how I was going to get through it. When we got there... we all felt this... there was something about the place... it was not a good feeling. So, the show started and the leader of the band for the Motortown Revue was Choker Campbell. He was onstage, this large stage. When the show started we all still had this feeling. "There's something strange here." The Contours opened. If the Contours were on a given tour they always opened. Martha and the Vandellas were on second. Martha is singing and then all of a sudden way up in the balcony - four shots went off. And as soon as the four shots went off we knew they were shots. Choker Campbell took one look at the band and stopped them. Didn't look at the audience. He grabbed all his sheet music, the band grabbed theirs and walked off the stage - as did Martha and everyone else. That was it. Show over. When something like that happens - you can't follow that.

[Roburt]

Another pitfall of touring back in the day ............ falling ill. If this happened in the south, most hospitals wouldn't treat black artists.

Luckily (!?!?!) for Maxine Brown she fell ill in Detroit ......... 

Edited March 9, 2016 by Roburt

[Roburt]

Another car crash victim in 1962 ..........

[Roburt]

Stevie Wonder hitting trouble (literally) on the road in 73 .........

[Roburt]

Jumping back to the 1st post of this thread & the riot at the Hollywood Palladium .... here's another report on it (from a mag published a few weeks later) ....

[Robbk]

On 2/9/2016 at 13:20, Roburt said:

Three male singers & 3 female singers who were signed to deals with Don Robey ......

Spent some time with Carl Carlton when he was at the Cleggy Weekender but I never thought to ask him if he was signed up with Buffalo Booking Agency when he had his deal with Backbeat Records. 

I'd be surprised if Carl Carlton used Buffalo Booking, as he lived in Detroit, and most of the artists on Buffalo's roster lived in Houston, or, at least, Texas.  Even Buddy Guy and Otis Rush, who lived in Chicago, spent a LOT of time in The South, on The Chittlin' Circuit, and visiting family in The Delta area (not so far from Houston).  I think Carlton and the other Detroit artists on Duke, Peacock and Sure Shot, came from production/lease deals with Detroit producers like Robert West, Andre Williams, Joe Hunter and others ( Carl Carlton, Bobby Williams, Jeanette Williams, Buddy Lamp, The Lamp Sisters).  I assume they all lived in Detroit.  They did do some of their recording in Houston.  But, I think it would have been impractical for them to be represented by a firm so far away, unless they spent a lot of time on The Chittlin' Circuit in The Deep South, as The Blues singers.

[Roburt]

Robb, I bet Robey & his female partner (who ran Buffalo Booking) got some of those Detroit based artists work on their 'southern venue circuit' AND if they did, Buffalo would definitely have taken their cut of the fees.

Buffalo kept a whole string of clubs / venues (across 6/7 southern states) supplied with live acts on a constant basis ........ so I see no reason why they didn't include those Detroit artists in that work. The juke-boxes in those same venues was always stocked with new Duke / Peacock / Sureshot 45's and if one of those 45's became a popular spin, then the bar / club would be asking about a visit from the artist themselves.

[Roburt]

Another cautionary tale from life on the road .... again in Detroit ............ CHUCK JACKSON the victim .........

[Robbk]

5 hours ago, Roburt said:

Another cautionary tale from life on the road .... again in Detroit ............ CHUCK JACKSON the victim .........

Wow!  I wonder what Chuck did to that lady?  It's better to live by The Golden Rule and act like a saint.  You never know with whom you are really dealing with until you cross them.

[Robbk]

6 hours ago, Roburt said:

Robb, I bet Robey & his female partner (who ran Buffalo Booking) got some of those Detroit based artists work on their 'southern venue circuit' AND if they did, Buffalo would definitely have taken their cut of the fees.

Buffalo kept a whole string of clubs / venues (across 6/7 southern states) supplied with live acts on a constant basis ........ so I see no reason why they didn't include those Detroit artists in that work. The juke-boxes in those same venues was always stocked with new Duke / Peacock / Sureshot 45's and if one of those 45's became a popular spin, then the bar / club would be asking about a visit from the artist themselves.

This makes a lot of sense.  I don't see why these artists' Detroit-based managers wouldn't have taken advantage of Robey's connections.  It would have been in their own interest, as well as their clients'.

[Roburt]

52 minutes ago, RobbK said:

Wow!  I wonder what Chuck did to that lady?  It's better to live by The Golden Rule and act like a saint.  You never know with whom you are really dealing with until you cross them.

I guess Chuck had been 'Slippin' Around' (or was that Art Freeman ?).

[Roburt]

On 3/20/2016 at 06:57, RobbK said:

I'd be surprised if Carl Carlton used Buffalo Booking, as he lived in Detroit, and most of the artists on Buffalo's roster lived in Houston, or, at least, Texas.  Even Buddy Guy and Otis Rush, who lived in Chicago, spent a LOT of time in The South, on The Chittlin' Circuit, and visiting family in The Delta area (not so far from Houston).  I think Carlton and the other Detroit artists on Duke, Peacock and Sure Shot, came from production/lease deals with Detroit producers like Robert West, Andre Williams, Joe Hunter and others ( Carl Carlton, Bobby Williams, Jeanette Williams, Buddy Lamp, The Lamp Sisters).  I assume they all lived in Detroit.  They did do some of their recording in Houston.  But, I think it would have been impractical for them to be represented by a firm so far away, unless they spent a lot of time on The Chittlin' Circuit in The Deep South, as The Blues singers.

Robb, I came across this on an old computer memory stick when lookin' for sumat else (always the way when I'm looking thru my record boxes as well) ... still this shows that by 1970 Carl carlton was represented by Detroit based management ........