R&B'S VERY FINEST, THEN AND NOW.Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer To come up with a discography dis·cog·ra·phy n. Examination of the intervertebral disk space using x-rays after injection of contrast media into the disk. for prolific r&b session guitarist Mickey Baker Mickey (McHouston) "Guitar" Baker (born October 15 1925 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American guitarist. He was half of the pop duo Mickey & Sylvia, who had a hit with "Love Is Strange" in 1957. He is listed in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. is an impossible task. Baker played on hundreds of records during the '50s and '60s and was featured on such multimillion-sellers as ``Tweedle Dee'' and ``Jim Dandy'' by LaVerne Baker and ``Will You Love Me Tomorrow'' by the Shirelles. In fact, virtually every r&b hit of the period on the Atlantic, Savoy and King labels had Baker on guitar. ``If we had thought any differently to what we thought in those days, we wouldn't have made the records,'' Baker said. ``Because what we did was give a lot of talent away free. Record sessions in those days paid $41.35. You'd be so proud to be on a record.'' Baker, who formed the hitmaking duo Mickey & Sylvia in 1956, paid his dues long ago, but attention from the music industry was a long time coming. That changed Thursday when the Rhythm and Blues Foundation The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music. The idea for the Foundation came in 1987 during discussions about royalties with entertainer Ruth Brown, presented its 10th annual Pioneer Awards to Baker, '60s soul man Garnet Mimms Garnet Mimms (born Garrett Mimms 16 November 1933 in Ashland, West Virginia) is an American singer influential in soul music and rhythm and blues. Mimms grew up in Philadelphia, where he sang in gospel music groups such as the Evening Stars, the Harmonizing Four, and , Motown singer Brenda Holloway, session singer and soloist Dee Dee Warwick Dee Dee Warwick (b. September 25 1945, Newark, New Jersey as Delia Mae Warrick) is an African-American soul singer. Following the example of her elder sister, Dionne Warwick, she changed her surname from Warrick to Warwick in the early 1960s. , ``Drowning in the Sea of Love'' singer Joe Simon, the Manhattans and others. The awards ceremony and performances took place at the Sony Studios with Smokey Robinson as host. Bluesman John Lee Hooker, now in his 50th year of recording, received a lifetime achievement award. A new legacy award was presented to the late Sam Cooke and was accepted by his son. Unlike Wednesday's Grammy Awards Grammy Awards Annual awards given by the Recording Academy (officially the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences). The first Grammies (the name is a dimunitive of “gramophone”) were given in 1958. , which offers a golden trophy and TV recognition, the r&b foundation awards money - $15,000 for individuals and $20,000 for groups. Some recipients were tearful, some stoic, but all were touched. ``I'm amazed,'' said Warwick, whose family includes sister Dionne, aunt Cissy Houston Cissy Houston (born Emily Drinkard on September 30, 1933) is a gospel and soul singer. She led a successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist. and cousin Whitney Houston. ``It surprised me totally. And I'm very appreciative. There are so many things I thought would never be rediscovered.'' Last year, the foundation compiled a 26-part radio series on r&b set to run on National Public Radio later this year. The organization also ensures music pioneers who forged careers from the '40s through the '60s have what they need after being left with little money due to low royalty rates and notoriously exploitive contracts. The foundation, which began 10 years ago with a $1.5 million grant from Atlantic Records  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. and a $450,000 grant from Time Warner, helped pay
medical and funeral expenses for New Orleans For New Orleans: A Benefit For The Musicians' Village Habitat For Humanity is an American benefit double-disc CD, with tracks from Minnesota artists, and national artists. soul-blues singer Johnny
Adams Johnny Adams (Laten John Adams, 5 January 1932 - 14 September 1998) was an American blues singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was known as "The Tan Canary" for the amazing range of his singing voice and his gospel influenced style. , one of this year's honorees.
As a busy player on r&b and jump blues This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since June 2007. Jump blues is a type of up-tempo blues music influenced by big band sound. sessions, Baker was making an average of $500 a week in the early '50s, a time, he recalled, when ``a hamburger was 10 cents, a telephone call was a nickel, the subway was a nickel. It was like a fortune.'' The others saluted included members of the Drifters, hitmakers Ashford & Simpson, songwriters David Porter David Porter can mean:
Baker cited the racial climate in the United States in the late '50s and early '60s for prompting his permanent move to France. ``I was in Illinois, and no hotel would take me,'' Baker remembered with hurt in his voice some 40 years later. ``I had to sleep in a flophouse flop·house n. A cheap rundown hotel or boarding house. Noun 1. flophouse - a cheap lodging house dosshouse lodging house, rooming house - a house where rooms are rented . I had $5,000 in my pocket after a Mickey & Sylvia date. I just said, `What in the hell does it mean to live in a country like this and make this kind of money, and you can't even find a hotel?' That was before Martin Luther King had his dream.'' The Rhythm and Blues Foundation has not only lobbied to upgrade the royalty rate on classic soul and blues reissues, but it also provides grants to needy individuals. ``Those record sessions in those days were happenings, like a basketball game that suddenly clicks,'' Baker said. ``There was talent there that'll never be seen again. But we didn't get credit - nobody thought that way then.'' Chart-topping soul man Simon, however, tells a different story. He co-owned the Spring label and participated in profits from not only his own hits, including ``The Chokin' Kind,'' ``Step by Step'' and ``Power of Love,'' but his company's sales. ``I was very quiet about it because there was so much prejudice years ago,'' recalled Simon, who is today an evangelist who sings gospel. ``In those days, you weren't supposed to be a singer if you were a songwriter or an executive if you were an artist.'' Watts-bred Holloway, whose Tamla-Motown hits included ``Every Little Bit Hurts'' and ``When I'm Gone,'' described herself as ``floating on air'' the day of the awards ceremony. ``I'm ecstatic, I'm thrilled, I'm in heaven,'' she said, adding that she was never bitter about the lack of recognition she received. ``When I think about how far I've come as a black American, and then as a female and just as a human being, to be an American and dream a dream ... I don't ever want to forget where I came from because I will not know how far I've come in this life.'' CAPTION(S): 8 Photos Photo: (1--2) Dee Dee Warwick Evan Yee/Daily News (3--4) Mickey Baker (5--6) Brenda Holloway (7--8) Joe Simon |
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