Noble "Thin Man" Watts

Instrumentalist, arranger, saxophonist and band leader Noble “Thin Man” Watts was born in DeLand, Florida on February 17, 1926. In his youth he studied violin and trumpet before switching to the saxophone. At Florida’s A&M College he played in the marching band with Cannonball Adderley. On leaving College he was in demand, playing in the bands of Lionel Hampton, Dinah Washington, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry, among others.

He is mentioned in the 2012 book “The One – The Life and Music of James Brown” as being a major influence on funk music and especially James Brown.

Mr. Watts died from pneumonia and emphysema in DeLand, Florida on August 24, 2004.

Image: Getty Images

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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.

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

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...

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