Jimmy McCracklin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jimmy McCracklin | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | August 13, 1921 |
| Origin |  St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Genre(s) | West Coast blues Jump blues R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Pianist, Vocalist, Songwriter, Composer |
| Years active | 1945 – Present |
| Label(s) | Globe, Swing Time, Imperial, Peacock, Trilon, Modern, Rounder, Classics, Bear Family, Ace, Stax, Minit |
| Website | www.JimmyMccracklin.com |
Jimmy McCracklin (born 13 August 1921, St. Louis Missouri) is an American pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. His style contains West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career that has spanned seven decades, he says he's written almost a thousand songs and has recorded hundreds of them.[1] McCracklin has recorded over 30 albums, and owns four gold records.
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[edit] Biography
McCracklin joined the United States Navy in 1938, he later settle in Richmond, California, and began playing at the local Club Savoy owned by his sister-in-law Willie Mae "Granny" Johnson.[2] The room-length bar served beer and wine, and Granny Johnson served home-cooked meals of greens, ribs, chicken, and other southern cuisine. A house band composed of Bay Area--based musicians alternated with and frequently backed performers such as B.B. King, Charles Brown, and L. C. Robinson. Later in 1963 he would write and record a song "Club Savoy" on his I Just Gotta Know album.
His recorded a debut single for the Globe Records "Miss Mattie Left Me" in 1945, and recorded "Street Loafin' Woman in 1946. McCracklin recorded for a number of labels in Los Angeles and Oakland, prior to touching down with Modern Records in 1949-1950. He formed a group Jimmy McCracklin and His Blues Blasters in 1946, with guitarist Lafayette Thomas who remained with group until the early 1960s.[3]
His popularity increased after appearing on the TV pop Dick Clark's American Bandstand in support of his self written single "The Walk" (1957),[4] a good groove that Checker Records put on the market in 1958. It went Top Ten on both the R&B and pop charts,[5] after more than 10 years of McCracklin selling records in the black community on a series of small labels. Jimmy McCracklin Sings, his first solo album, was released in 1962, the style is of West Coast blues. In 1962, McCracklin recorded "Just Got to Know" for his own Art-Tone label in Oakland, after the record made No. 2 on the R&B charts. For a brief period in the early 1970's Jimmy McCracklin ran the Continental Club in San Francisco, dubbed "the Coliseum of the Oakland blues". He booked major blues acts like T-Bone Walker, Irma Thomas, Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton, and Etta James.[6] In 1967, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas had success with "Tramp", a song credited to McCracklin and Lowell Fulson. Salt-n-Pepa made a hip-hop hit out of the song in 1987. Oakland Blues (1986) is an album arranged/directed by McCracklin, and produced by World Pacific.
McCracklin continued to tour and produce new albums in the 1980s and 1990s.[7] Bob Dylan has cited McCracklin as a favorite.[8] He has played at the legendary San Francisco Blues Festival in '73, '77, '80, 81, '84 and 2007. He was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1990, and the Living Legend and Hall of Fame award at the Bay Area Black Music Awards, in 2007.[9]
[edit] Selected discography
| Year | Title | Genre | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 1951-1954 | West Coast blues | Classics | |
| 2004 | 1948-1951 | West Coast blues | Classics | |
| 2003 | 1945-1948 | West Coast blues | Classics | |
| 2003 | Jumpin Bay Area 1948-1955 | West Coast blues | P-Vine Japan | |
| 1999 | Tell It to the Judge! | West Coast blues | Gunsmoke | |
| 1997 | The Walk: Jimmy McCracklin at His Best | West Coast blues, Soul-Blues | Razor & Tie | |
| 1994 | A Taste of the Blues | West Coast blues | Bullseye Blues | |
| 1992 | The Mercury Recordings | West Coast blues, Soul-Blues | Bear Family | |
| 1991 | Jimmy McCracklin: My Story | West Coast blues | Rounder | |
| 1991 | My Story | West Coast blues | Rounder | |
| 1981 | All His Bluesblasters | West Coast blues | Ace | |
| 1978 | Rockin' Man | West Coast blues | Stax | |
| 1972 | Yesterday Is Gone | West Coast blues | Stax | |
| 1971 | High on the Blues | West Coast blues | Stax | |
| 1969 | Stinger Man | Soul-Blues | Minit | |
| 1968 | Let's Get Together | West Coast blues | Minit | |
| 1966 | New Soul of Jimmy McCracklin | West Coast blues | Imperial | |
| 1966 | My Answer | West Coast blues | Imperial | |
| 1965 | Think | West Coast blues | Imperial | |
| 1965 | Every Night, Every Day | West Coast blues | Imperial | |
| 1963 | My Rockin' Soul | West Coast blues | United | |
| 1963 | I Just Gotta Know | West Coast blues | Imperial | |
| 1962 | Jimmy McCracklin Sings | West Coast blues | Chess |
[edit] References
- ^ Richmond's Jimmy McCracklin, a top-rank bluesman for many years, isn't coming back -- he never left (article dated March 1, 2007)
- ^ Johnson, Marilynn S. The Second Gold Rush: Oakland and the East Bay in World War II, University of California Press, page 139, (1996) - ISBN 0520207017
- ^ Vladimir, Bogdanov. All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues, Backbeat Books, page 384, (2003) - ISBN 0879307366
- ^ Cunningham, Lyn Driggs. Sweet, Hot, and Blue: St. Louis' Musical Heritage, McFarland Pub., page 110, (1989) - ISBN 0899503020
- ^ Billboard: Jimmy McCracklin bio
- ^ Selvin, Joel. San Francisco, the Musical History Tour: A Guide to Over 200 of the Bay Area Most Memorable Music Sites, Chronicle Books, page 138, (1996) - ISBN 0811810070
- ^ Rosen, Steven (July 6, 1988). A Circuit of Festivals Showcases the Blues. New York Times
- ^ Dylan, Bob (April 30, 2006). MUSIC: PLAYLIST; It's All Right, Ma, I'm Only D.J.-ing. New York Times
- ^ Bay Area Black Music Awards (2007)
