Remembering...Music 2012 (cont.)

Wow, this year we saw many musically-endowed individuals bid adieu to the world.  Some we haven't heard from in years, but they still left a huge print in music history.

Maria Cole

Maria Cole

August 1, 1922 - July 10, 2012

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Maria Hawkins Cole had her own career as a singer before her marriage to legendary singer Nat "King" Cole.  After living in North Carolina as a child, Ms. Cole moved to New York to pursue performing in music.  

Being fortunate enough to perform with Count Basie, she also traveled with the incomparable, music great Duke Ellington, after hearing recordings of her singing, hiring her as a vocalist with his orchestra.  She stayed with him until 1946 when she began soloing at the city’s Club Zanzibar as an opening act for the Mills Brothers.  There she met her king, Nat.

Marie, with Nat "King" Cole, daughters Carol and Natalie

In 1948, the two were married at the famous Abyssinian Baptist in Harlem, NYC, which was officiated by U. S. Representative Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.  Mr. and Mrs. Cole spent years performing worldwide, singing and recording for Capitol Records.  Her husband made history, becoming the first black to have a radio show, as well as the first black host of his own TV show.

The couple became parents of three beautiful girls:  Natalie, Timolin and Casey (twins).

She continued to perform after becoming a widow, appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show, and producing plays, among other projects.

Maria Cole participated in various organizations, even creating the Cole Cancer Foundation, and Nat King Cole Generation Hope.

She was 90 years of age.

R. B. Greaves

R. B. Greaves

November 28, 1943 - September 27, 2012

Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Ronald Bertram Aloysius “R. B.” Greaves III, was a singer, born on the U. S. Air Force Base.   

His debut single “Take a Letter Maria,” released under the name R.B. Greaves, had been recorded by both Tom Jones and Stevie Wonder before the author recorded it himself at the insistence of Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegün, who produced it.

His recorded version of the song stayed in the Billboard chart for 15 weeks, selling a million copies with the gold record on 11 December 1969. By 1970 sales of the record totaled 2.5 million.

In addition, Greaves also recorded various other tunes, including a Top 40 single a year later with “Always Something There to Remind Me.”

He was 68.

Etta James

Etta James

January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012

Born in Los Angeles, California, Jamesetta Hawkins, was best known for the song everyone took a chance at trying to mimic, and noted to be one of the popular songs for weddings.

Etta James was a gospel prodigy, singing in her church choir, and on the radio at the age of 5.  When she turned 12, she moved north to San Francisco, where she formed a trio with her two church friends, and was soon working for bandleader Johnny Otis (who, incidentally, passed on January 19, 2012).

In 1954, along with the Otis band, she moved to Los Angeles to record "The Wallflower" (a tone-down alternative for the provocative title "Roll with Me Henry").  That same year, her name was changed to Etta James (her first name shortened), and her vocal group was dubbed The Peaches (which was also Etta's nickname).  Soon after, James launched her solo career with such hits as "Good Rockin' Daddy" in 1955.

Once signing with Chess Records, Ms. James' career took off like a rocket, recording such top hits, such as "All I Could Do Was Cry," "Trust In Me," and one of the biggest, memorable recordings, "At Last."  She continued pulling out more powerfully-vocalized tunes, such as "Something's Got a Hold On Me" in 1962 and "In The Basement" in 1966.

Ms. James is in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame.  In 2003, she released Let's Roll, which won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.  Her sons, Donto and Sametto James, served as producers on the recording, along with Josh Sklair.  They regrouped for her next effort, Blues to the Bone (2004), supplying Ms. James with her third Grammy Award, in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.

She was 68 years of age.

Jimmy Castor

June 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012

Born in The Bronx, New York, James Walter Castor was known as an incredibly talented musician, songwriter, and innovator, providing cutting-edge approach, during the 1960-70s.  Was instrumental in accomplishing amazing strides for future various genres.

Noted for conceptualizing the familiar phrase:

"What we need to do is go BACK...WAY BACK...BACK INTO TIME!"

Jimmy Castor and the Juniors

Like so many others, Mr. Castor began singing doo-wop on the streets of The Bronx.  He composed song "I Promise to Remember," which he recorded with one of his first groups, Jimmy and The Juniors, in 1956.  The same song later became a huge hit for friend, Frankie Lymon, with the Teenagers.  Castor would handle lead vocals whenever needed as stand-in, and briefly became a member of the group, after Mr. Lymon left to pursue solo career.  Upon graduation, he attended in City College of New York for two years, majoring in accounting, but minoring in music.  

Jimmy Castor

In 1960, Castor began putting his musicianship into focus, mastering the saxophone.  Accompanying artists, like Dave Cortez, assisting in studio on hit "Rinky Dink."  During the 1960s, Castor gained recognition for his version of the Latin soul sound that emerged as Puerto Ricans joined blacks in Upper Manhattan.  1966 brought about a solo hit for Mr. Castor with "Hey Leroy, Your Mama's Callin' You," in which he melody was calypso-inflected, the groove was Latin and the liner notes were bilingual. 

Jimmy Castor Bunch

In 1972, Castor followed through with successfully attempting yet another culture, by forming the funk-infused group, The Jimmy Castor Bunch, in 1972.  Their successful album, It's Just Begun, introduced two top ten chart-busters for several weeks: gold record-status "Troglodyte (Cave Man)," featuring the famous slogan that has been sampled in the rap/hip-hop arena for decades, and the title track, "It's Just Begun," also used as background music for breakdance battle, during movie "Flashdance."

 

As the 1970s continued, Castor set trends with tunes like "The Bertha Butt Boogie," later recording "E-Man Boogie," "King Kong," "Bom Bom," and "Potential."  His solo period, from 1976 until 1988, he had one of his bigger hits in many years with a 1988 revival of "Love Makes a Woman," which paired him with disco diva Joyce Sims.

   

In addition to his music group and solo efforts, Castor had a record label he established, Long Distance. 

Such a tremendous, creative talent, whose rhythmic and melodic ingenuity remains indelible, transcending for generations.  He was 71 years of age.