Mel London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mel London | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Melvin London |
| Also known as | Mel |
| Born | April 9, 1932 |
| Origin | Mississippi |
| Died | May 16, 1975 (aged 43) |
| Genre(s) | R&B & Blues |
| Instrument(s) | Composer |
| Years active | 1950's - 1960's |
| Label(s) | Chief Records Age Records Profile Records |
| Associated acts | Junior Wells, Elmore James, Earl Hooker, Magic Sam |
Mel London (1932 - May 16, 1975) born Melvin London, was a producer, songwriter, and composer who was born in 1932 in Mississippi, and died in Chicago in 1975 at the early age of 43.
Starting in 1956, for close to a decade, he ran Chief, Age, Starville, Profile, Bright Star, Mel and other record labels in Chicago. During this time he helped usher in what would become "Chicago Blues". Also during this time he helped to keep the careers of several established artists such as Elmore James, Junior Wells, Magic Sam, and Earl Hooker in the spotlight, and helped launch the career of R&B singer Ricky Allen, all of whom benefited from the writing and production of Mel London.
One of Chicago's most famous independent record labels was Mel London's Chief Records, even despite the fact that it only released about forty singles in ten years. Still, without Chief (and its subsidiaries Profile, Age, All Points and Mel/Mel-Lon) the discographies of such legendary blues artists as Junior Wells, Magic Sam and Earl Hooker would have been considerably smaller.
Mel London was the archetypal R & B entrepreneur. He started his Chief label in early 1957 with his own calypso record, but soon settled down to a steady stream of Rhythm & Blues and Rock 'n' Roll. Junior Wells recorded ten records, accounting for almost a quarter of the imprint's total output. These were considered mediocre, except the few recording when he joined forces with legendary guitarist Earl Hooker. Mel London composed Lillian Offitt's "Will My Men Be Home Tonight" and it was a big seller, with a strong melody and superb slide guitar courtesy of Earl Hooker. Other records that sold well included Junior Wells's "Messin' With The Kid" and Earl Hooker's "Blues In D Natural". There was even a minor Rock 'n' Roll hit by the obscure Tobin Matthews. However most consider Elmore James's recordings and the brilliant Junior Wells & Earl Hooker instrumental "Calling All Blues" as the finest of all of Chief's released recordings. The Chief label discontinued operations in 1961, to be replaced by the short-lived Profile label. Junior Wells had the only two Blues issues on Profile: "Come On In This House" and "Prison Bars All Around Me", which were exceptional records. However the intrepid Mel London bounced back with his new company Age Records, which had about 20-odd releases. R&B singer Ricky Allen enjoyed three of Age's four best sellers, the other being by Big Moose Walker.
