Wynonie Harris
No blues shouter embodied the rollicking good times that he sang of quite like raucous shouter Wynonie Harris. "Mr. Blues," as he was not-so-humbly known, joyously related risque tales of sex, booze, and endless parties in his trademark raspy voice over some of the jumpingest horn-powered combos of the postwar era.
Those wanton ways eventually caught up with Harris, but not before he scored a raft of R&B smashes from 1946 to 1952. He was already a seasoned dancer, drummer, and singer when he left Omaha for L.A. in 1940 (his main influences being Big Joe Turner and Jimmy Rushing). He found plenty of work singing and appearing as an emcee on Central Avenue, the bustling Black nightlife strip. Harris' reputation was spreading fast -- he was appearing in Chicago at the Rhumboogie Club in 1944 when bandleader Lucky Millinder hired him as his band's new singer. With Millinder's orchestra in brassy support, Harris made his debut on shellac by boisterously delivering "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" that same year for Decca. By the time it hit in mid-1945, Harris was long gone from Millinder's organization and back in L.A.
The shouter debuted on wax under his own name in July of 1945 at an L.A. date for Philo with backing from drummer Johnny Otis, saxist Teddy Edwards, and trumpeter Howard McGhee. A month later, he signed on with Apollo Records, an association that provided him with two huge hits in 1946: "Wynonie's Blues" (with saxist Illinois Jacquet's combo) and "Playful Baby." Harris' own waxings were squarely in the emerging jump blues style then sweeping the West Coast. After scattered dates for Hamp-Tone, Bullet, and Aladdin (where he dueled it out with his idol Big Joe on a two-sided "Battle of the Blues"), Harris joined the star-studded roster of Cincinnati's King Records in 1947. There his sales really soared.
Few records made a stronger seismic impact than Harris' 1948 chart-topper "Good Rockin' Tonight." Ironically, Harris shooed away its composer, Roy Brown, when he first tried to hand it to the singer; only when Brown's original version took off did Wynonie cover the romping number. With Hal "Cornbread" Singer on wailing tenor sax and a rocking, socking backbeat, the record provided an easily followed blueprint for the imminent rise of rock & roll a few years later (and gave Elvis Presley something to place on the A-side of his second Sun single).
After that, Harris was rarely absent from the R&B charts for the next four years, his offerings growing more boldly suggestive all the time. "Grandma Plays the Numbers," "All She Wants to Do Is Rock," "I Want My Fanny Brown," "Sittin' on It All the Time," "I Like My Baby's Pudding," "Good Morning Judge," "Bloodshot Eyes" (a country tune that was first released on "King" by Hank Penny), and "Lovin' Machine" were only a portion of the ribald hits Harris scored into 1952 (13 in all) -- and then his personal hit parade stopped dead. It certainly wasn't Harris' fault -- his King output rocked as hard as ever under Henry Glover's supervision -- but changing tastes among fickle consumers accelerated Wynonie Harris' sobering fall from favor.
Sides for Atco in 1956, King in 1957, and Roulette in 1960 only hinted at the raunchy glory of a few short years earlier. The touring slowed accordingly. In 1963, his chauffeur-driven Cadillacs and lavish New York home a distant memory, Harris moved back to L.A., scraping up low-paying local gigs whenever he could. Chess gave him a three-song session in 1964, but sat on the promising results. Throat cancer silenced him for good in 1969, ending the life of a bigger-than-life R&B pioneer whose ego matched his tremendous talent.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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Good Morning Judge
Jazz - Released by Supreme Media on Jan 2, 2013
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Time Songs Imagination
Jazz - Released by Time Songs Imagination Music Rec on Apr 11, 2021
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Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well (Billboard Hot 100 - No 7)
Lucky Millinder And His Orchestra, Wynonie Harris, The Congregation
Jazz - Released by Music Manager on Dec 3, 2020
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Wynonie Harris - Platinum Selection
R&B - Released by Retro Music Box on Jul 30, 2020
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Sensational Flight Call
Jazz - Released by Sensational Flight Call Recording on Feb 12, 2021
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Playful Baby Baby
Jazz - Released by Redwood Records on Apr 14, 2014
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The Great Masterpieces Maker
Jazz - Released by Great Masterpieces Maker Recordings Ltd on Mar 12, 2021
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Wynonie's Blues
Jazz - Released by Supreme Sounds on May 2, 2014
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I Feel That Old Age Coming On
Blues - Released by Redwood Records on Mar 17, 2014
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Daylights Nightlights Best Songs
Jazz - Released by Daylights Nightlights Recordz TM on Jan 22, 2021
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Keep on Churnin'
Pop - Released by Black Sheep Music on Aug 13, 2013
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Lovin' Machine
Pop - Released by Black Sheep Music on Aug 16, 2013
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Good Rockin' Tonight
Blues - Released by Redwood Records on Mar 21, 2014
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Riding Where Sunshine
Jazz - Released by Riding Where Sunshine Records on Dec 4, 2021
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Wild Mood Best Tracks
Jazz - Released by Wild Mood Best Tracks Recordings on Sep 12, 2021
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I Like My Baby's Pudding
Pop - Released by Black Sheep Music on Aug 16, 2013
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City Bouncing Uptown
Jazz - Released by City Bouncing Uptown Muzik on Aug 14, 2021
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Good Morning Judge
Jazz - Released by Firefly Entertainment on Jan 2, 2013
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Everybody's Boogie
Jazz - Released by Redwood Records on Apr 29, 2014
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My Magic Christmas Songs
Jazz - Released by Happy Holidays Recordings on Dec 7, 2020
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Deep in My Music
Jazz - Released by Deep In My Music Recordings TM on Jul 11, 2021
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