Wilbert Harrison
Perceived by casual oldies fans as a two-hit wonder (for his 1959 chart-topper "Kansas City" and a heartwarming "Let's Work Together" a full decade later), Wilbert Harrison actually left behind a varied body of work that blended an intriguing mélange of musical idioms into something quite distinctive.
Country and gospel strains filtered into Wilbert Harrison's consciousness as a youth in North Carolina. When he got out of the Navy in Miami around 1950, he began performing in a calypso-based style. Miami entrepreneur Henry Stone signed Harrison to his Rockin' logo in 1953; his debut single, "This Woman of Mine," utilized the very same melody as his later reading of "Kansas City" (the first rendition of the Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller composition by pianist Little Willie Littlefield came out in 1952, doubtless making an impression). Its flip, a country-tinged "Letter Edged in Black," exhibited Harrison's eclectic mindset.
After moving to Newark, New Jersey, Harrison wandered by the headquarters of Savoy Records one fortuitous day and was snapped up by producer Fred Mendelsohn. Harrison recorded several sessions for Savoy, beginning with a catchy cover of Terry Fell's country tune "Don't Drop It." Top New York sessioneers -- arranger Leroy Kirkland, saxist Buddy Lucas and guitarists Mickey Baker and Kenny Burrell -- backed Harrison on his 1954-1956 Savoy output, but hits weren't forthcoming.
That changed instantly when Harrison waxed his driving "Kansas City" for Harlem entrepreneur Bobby Robinson in 1959. With a barbed-wire guitar solo by Wild Jimmy Spruill igniting Harrison's no-frills piano and clenched vocal, "Kansas City" paced both the R&B and pop charts soon after its issue on Fury Records (not bad for a $40 session). Only one minor problem: Harrison was still technically under contract to Savoy (though label head Herman Lubinsky had literally run him out of his office some years earlier!), leading to all sorts of legal wrangles that finally went Robinson's way. Momentum for any Fury follow-ups had been fatally blunted in the interim, despite fine attempts with "Cheatin' Baby," the sequel "Goodbye Kansas City," and "Let's Stick Together."
Harrison bounced from Neptune to Doc to Constellation to Port to Vest with little in the way of tangible rewards before unexpectedly making a comeback in 1969 with an infectious re-recording of his 1962 "Let's Stick Together" single under the title "Let's Work Together" for Juggy Murray's Sue imprint. The song proved a popular cover item -- Canned Heat revived it shortly thereafter, and Bryan Ferry chimed in with his treatment of the original "Let's Stick Together" later on. Alas, it was an isolated happenstance -- apart from "My Heart Is Yours," a bottom-end chart entry on SSS International in 1971, no more hits were in Wilbert's future. But Harrison soldiered on, sometimes as a one-man band, for years to come.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
Artistas semelhantes
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Kansas City
Rock - Lançado por Sunset Blvd Records em 08/01/2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Let's Work Together / Kansas City (Digital 45)
Soul - Lançado por Essential Media Group em 13/09/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Let's Stick Together / Kansas City Twist
Blues - Lançado por Fury Records em 27/10/1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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4 Hits, vol. 1 (Mono Version)
Wilbert Harrison, Freddy Cannon, Preston Epps
Rock - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kansas City (45 Version)
Soul - Lançado por GCM - Prime em 31/01/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kansas City: The Best of Wilbert Harrison
Rock - Lançado por Sunset Blvd Records em 10/12/2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthology: The Deluxe Collection (Remastered)
R&B - Lançado por Master Tape Records em 14/08/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kansas City
R&B - Lançado por Mojo Workin' em 11/11/2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Horse
R&B - Lançado por X Select Records em 26/06/2015
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Wilbert Harrison
Rock - Lançado por Good Time Records em 15/04/2022
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kansas City / Listen, My Darling
Rock - Lançado por Fury Records em 25/10/1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kansas City: 1953-1962 Sides
Soul - Lançado por Yeah Mama Records em 02/06/2017
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stand by Me (Remastered)
Soul - Lançado por Maestro Entertainment, Corp em 19/05/2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Happy in Love / Calypso Dance
Rock - Lançado por Fury Records em 19/01/1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Blues Masters-Vol. 11
Blues - Lançado por RP-DSP em 02/12/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Kansas City (Mono Version)
Rock - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
4 Hits, vol. 2 (Mono Version)
Wilbert Harrison, Freddy Cannon, The Megatrons
Rock - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Messed Around and Fell in Love
Rock - Lançado por Sunset Blvd Records em 08/01/2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wilbert Harrison
Blues - Lançado por Music Company OMP em 14/07/2008
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo