More UK Sue

  Record producer, song writer, record company executive and music publisher Jerry Crutchfield was born in Paducah, Kentucky, on August 10, 1934 and is well known for his involvement in both country music and gospel music. He is associated with Brenda Lee, Glen Campbell and many other top artistes. His brother Jan Crutchfield (died 2012) was also a song writer.  Jerry Crutchfield was associated with MCA Music Publishing for many years, and had also held executive position at Capitol Records. He was a national trustee for The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Over 150 of his songs were published and recorded.  Mr. Crutchfield died on 11 January, 2022.  Image: BMI. .

  Blues singer Arthur William “Big Boy” Crudup was born in Union Grove, Forest, Mississippi on August 24, 1905 into a family of travelling workers, and returned to Mississippi in 1926. He sang gospel music and blues and had blues tuition from a local blues singer known as Papa Harvey. He launched his career in Clarkestown, Mississippi, and as a member of the Harmonising Four, possibly a gospel group, visited Chicago in 1939. By the late 1940s, after a period of little success, he was signed to the Bluebird label. He is best known as the composer of songs which later became rock and roll classics, including “That’s all right mama”. His recording career spanned several decades but he also worked as a labourer and was frequently in dispute over his royalties. Arthur Crudup died in Nassawadox, Virginia on or around March 28, 1974 from a heart attack and diabetes.  Image: Blues 145

“A little bit hurt” by Julien Covey and The Machine was first released on Island WIP 6009 in July 1967. Julien Covey was one stage name of Robert Cromwell Anson, who was born in Nottingham, England, on 20 October 1940. He is also known as Philip (or Phil) Kinorra, Philamore Lincoln and other names. A member of a musical family, he played drums with Brian Auger, Graham Bond, Alexis Korner and Don Rendell’s bands.  He told the Nottinghamshire Musical Archive that he became interested in drumming as a child, listening to the Jazz Hour with Willis Conover on Voice of America. He had drum lessons from 1953 to 1955. He joined the Royal Air Force around 1958 and attended the RAF Music College in Uxbridge, London. After his national service he became a member of a number of jazz bands. Robert Anson is alive at the time of writing.  Image: Public Domain

  Singer and song writer Donald James Randolph (Don Covay) was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina on 24 March 1936.  In the early 1950s he settled in Washington DC and initially sang in a family gospel quartet. His first break in music occurred in 1957 when he joined the Little Richard Revue.  He started recording soon after but his recording career really started in 1964 when he recorded “Mercy” for the Atlantic distributed Rosemart label. That featured a young guitarist called James Hendrix. Atlantic bought Covay’s contract and in 1965 he recorded “See Saw” at the Stax studios in Memphis. His many published songs include “Chain of Fools” for Aretha Franklin and “Letter full of tears” for Gladys Knight and The Pips. Don Covay died from complications after a stroke in Franklin Square Hospital, New York, on 31 January 2015. He was 78. Image of Don Covay and Jerry Wexler: Stones7

  “Little Joe Cook” was a pseudonym for English rock, blues and soul singer Chris Farlowe (John Henry Deighton), who was born in Islington, North London, on 13 October 1940. In 1957 he joined a skiffle group, The John Henry Skiffle Group, then in 1958 joined the Johnny Burns Rhythm and Blues Quartet. In 1959 he joined The Thunderbirds, who recorded five singles for EMI’s Columbia label. He then made the “Little Joe Cook” recording for Sue before signing with Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate label. Mr Farlowe continues to tour extensively throughout the UK and Europe with band Colosseum, and also with his own band. He also deals in antiques and has a showroom in Islington. He is not the US artist known as Little Joe Cook (1922-2014). Image: Viberate

  Singer, film star and composer James Chambers (Jimmy Cliff) was born in St.James, Jamaica, on 30 July 1944, the second youngest of nine children. He began writing songs while still at Primary School and was fond of listening to a neighbour's sound system. His father took him to Kingston at age 14 and he chose the performing name Jimmy Cliff. He pestered local recording studios to give him a break and finally persuaded Leslie Kong to record him. His first records were not successful but his song "Hurricane Hattie", recorded by Kong, was his first hit single, aged 17. He continued to work with Leslie Kong until Mr Kong died from a heart attack in 1971. In 1972 Cliff starred in the film "The Harder They Come", which was Jamaica's first major commercial film. He continued to receive international success, touring widely, recording with Kool and The Gang and others, even singing background vocals on sessions with The Rolling Stones. In 2007 he performed at the ...