Ernie Freeman
One of so many interesting behind-the-scenes figures of early rock & roll, pianist and arranger Ernie Freeman played on numerous early rock and R&B sessions in the '50s. He worked on dates for the L.A. indies Specialty, Modern, and Aladdin, as well as white artists such as Duane Eddy, Johnny Burnette, the Crickets, Bobby Vee, and Buddy Knox; his most memorable session appearance was probably on the Platters' "The Great Pretender," to which he contributed the stuttering piano riffs. Freeman also put out many instrumental records of his own, mostly for Imperial, and usually in a generic rocked-up jump R&B sort of style. "Jivin' Around" and "Lost Dreams" were R&B hits for him in 1956, but he got his sole crossover pop smash with a cover of Bill Justis' "Raunchy" in 1957, which made number four.
It was a strange situation: Justis' original hit number two, and a pop-oriented cover by Billy Vaughan also made number ten, leading to an incredible happenstance in December 1957 whereby three versions of "Raunchy" were in the Top Ten at the same time. Freeman's cover copied Justis' fairly closely, and wasn't quite as good; it's almost always Justis' original that is played on oldies radio today. Freeman was unable to make the Top 40 again, although he had minor hits with "Indian Love Call," "Theme from 'The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'," and a cover of Chubby Checker's "The Twist"; he also recorded in the easy listening style under the pseudonym Sir Chauncey, sneaking into the bottom of the Top 100 with "Beautiful Obsession." His own career continued through the 1960s, and he worked with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. at Reprise, winning a Grammy Award in 1966 for the string arrangement on Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night." Freeman won a second Grammy for arranging in 1970 for Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and he continued working until the late '70s. He died from a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles in May 1981; Ernie Freeman was 58 years old.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
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Discografia
13 álbum(ns) • Ordenado por Mais vendidos
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Raunchy - The Best Of
Soul - Lançado por Master Classics Records em 01/03/2011
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Raunchy (Mono Version)
Rock - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs
Jazz - Lançado por CoolNote em 01/01/2000
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Twistin' Time On The Organ
Pop - Lançado por Master Classics Records em 01/04/2011
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Live It Up! - Adventures in Arranging with the Los Angeles Keyboard King
Rock - Lançado por Jasmine Records em 22/10/2021
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The Gee Gee Walk
Pop - Lançado por Old Time Classics em 01/11/2020
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A Boy, A Song, A Guitar
Country - Lançado por Compose Records em 10/12/2018
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Raunchy
Jazz - Lançado por Black Sheep Music em 21/05/2013
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Dumplin's (Billboard Hot 100 - No 75)
R&B - Lançado por Music Manager em 05/11/2020
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John Denver Hore
Country - Lançado por Crownstar Records em 17/02/2006
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Jivin' Around (Billboard Hot 100 - No 7)
Pop - Lançado por Music Manager em 18/12/2020
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Dreaming With Freeman
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Lançado por PnR em 01/01/2000
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