Skip to main content

Kim Fowley

 


Novelty song writer, record producer, publicist, autobiography writer and musician Kim Vincent Fowley was born in Los Angeles, California, on 21 July 1939. He attended the University High School, whose other contemporary pupils included Jan Berry and Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean), (Beach Boy) Bruce Johnston, and Nancy Sinatra. In 1957 he developed polio and was hospitalised. When he was released from hospital he became publicist for band The Sleepwalkers, whose line up included Phil Spector and Sandy Nelson.

He spent some time in the armed forces, but in 1959 he began working in the music industry for Berry Gordy of Motown and the disc jockey/presenter Alan Freed. The first record he produced was “Charge” by The Renegades. His work at this time introduced him to his collaborator Gary S. Paxton and they produced a million selling hit for The Hollywood Argyles, a studio creation.

In the mid 60s he was working for the controversial singer P. J. Proby and was based for a time in London.

Kim Fowley died regarded as a Los Angeles music legend, after a career in music spanning six decades, from cancer of the bladder in Los Angeles on 15 January 2015. After his death there were allegations of a sexual nature against him.

Image: Alamy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Various Artists - The Sue Story Vol. 2 - ILP 933

  ILP 933 - Various Artists - The Sue Story Volume 2 (06.66)  Track Listing: The Hollywood Argyles - Sho' know a lot about love (Paxton, Fowley) | Ron Holden - My babe (Holden) | Thurston Harris - Little bitty pretty one (Day)  | Dee Clark - Hey little girl (Blackwell, Stevenson) | Lee Diamond - Hatti Malatti (Wilbert Smith) | Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs - Stay (Williams) | Shirley and Lee - Let the good times roll (Goodman, Lee) | Richie Valens - La bamba (Traditional arrange by Valens) | Phil Upchurch Combo - You can't sit down parts 1 and 2 (Upchurch, Clark, Muldrow) | Bobby Lewis - Tossin' and turnin'  (Adams, René) | Chris Kenner - I like it like that (Kenner, Toussaint) | Big Bob - Your line was busy (Clowney, Kornegay) | Bobby Freeman - Do you wanna dance (Freeman) | Professor Longhair - Baby let me hold your hand (Byrd) | Ronnie Hawkins - Forty days (Berry) Image: Collection of Martin Whitell.
Post a Comment
Read more

Buster Brown

  Blues and R&B singer Buster Brown was born in Cordele, Georgia on August 15, 1911. His first recordings were non-commercial field recordings made in the 1940s. In 1956 he moved to New York City and began recording with Bobby Robinson. He is mainly famous for his recording “Fannie Mae”, which reached no. 38 in the US Top 100 and No. 1 on the US R&B Chart in 1960. “Sugar Babe”, which appears on ILP 921, “We Sing The Blues”, was a hit in the US, in 1962, reaching # 19 on the R&B chart and # 99 on the pop chart. It is not currently known for sure whether “Buster Brown” was his real name or just his stage name. Buster Brown died in New York City on January 31, 1976. Image: Getty Images
Post a Comment
Read more

Derek Martin

  Derek Martin | Soul Express | 25025 Soul, Jazz, R&B and gospel singer Derek Don Martin (also known as Derek Ray) was born in Detroit, Michegan on 2 July 1938. When he was 17 he was singing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In 1954 he joined the vocal group The Pearls. For some time he has lived in France. “Daddy Rolling Stone” was first recorded in 1953 by Otis Blackwell. Blackwell was a very successful songwriter; as well as this song, he wrote “Fever”, “All shook up” and many other classic rock and roll songs. The record was not the first time that Derek Martin had recorded the song! He first recorded it with The Pearls in 1954, then with Jimmy Ricks & The Raves in 1962. The recording of 1963 was issued on American Sue’s subsidiary label Crackerjack, to avoid allegations of payola, since his other recordings for American Sue usually appeared on the Sue label itself. The Sue UK single’s label suffered from a frequent problem for Island and Sue records: omissions and spe...
Post a Comment
Read more