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Biography
Infobox musical artist|name = Professor Longhair|image =|caption =|image_size =|background = solo_singer|birth_name = Henry Roeland Byrd|alias = Fess|birth_date = birth date|1918|12|19|mf=y|birth_place = Bogalusa, Louisiana|Bogalusa , Louisiana |death_date = death date and age|1980|1|30|1918|12|19|mf=y|death_place = New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans , Louisiana |origin = New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans , Louisiana |instrument = Human voice|Vocals , piano |genre = New Orleans blues , New Orleans R& B , Louisiana blues |occupation = Musician , songwriter |years_active = 1948& ndash;1980|label =|associated_acts =|current_members =|past_members =|notable_instruments = Professor Longhair (December 19, 1918& nbsp;– January 30, 1980; born Henry Roeland Byrd , also known as Roy "Bald Head" Byrd and as Fess ) was a New Orleans blues singing|singer and pianist . Professor Longhair is noteworthy for having been active in two distinct periods, both in the heyday of early rhythm and blues , and in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival .
The Music journalism|journalist Tony Russell, in his book The Blues& nbsp;– From Robert Johnson (musician)|Robert Johnson to Robert Cray , stated "The vivacious rhumba - rhythm ed piano blues and choked singing typical of Fess were too weird to sell millions of gramophone record|records ; he had to be content with siring musical offspring who were simple enough to manage that, like Fats Domino or Huey "Piano" Smith . But he is also acknowledged as a father figure by subtler players like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John ."cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues& nbsp;— From Robert Johnson (musician)|Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | edition= | publisher=Carlton Books Limited | location= Dubai | pages= 157 | isbn= 1-85868-255-X cite web|url= http://www.history-of-rock.com/indx.html |title=Introduction |publisher=www.history-of-rock.com |accessdate=June 23, 2008 |last= |first=
Biography
Professor Longhair was born on December 19, 1918 in Bogalusa, Louisiana|Bogalusa , Louisiana . He made a living as a street hustler until he started to play piano seriously in his thirties. He taught himself how to play on a piano with missing keys so his style became distinct.
He began his career in New Orleans in 1948, earning a concert|gig at the Caldonia Club, where the owner, Mike Tessitore, bestowed Longhair with his stage name (due to Byrd's shaggy hairstyle|coiffure ). Longhair first sound recording and reproduction|recorded in 1949, creating four song s (including the first version of his signature song , "Mardi Gras in New Orleans," complete with whistled intro) for the Dallas, Texas|Dallas , Texas based Star Talent record label|label . His band was called the Shuffling Hungarians, for reasons lost to time. Trades Union|Union problems curtailed their release, but Longhair's next effort for Mercury Records the same year was a winner. Throughout the 1950s, he recorded for Atlantic Records , Federal Records and other, local, record label|labels . Professor Longhair had only one national commercial hit record|hit , "Bald Head" in 1950, credited to Roy Byrd & His Blues Jumpers. He also recorded his pet numbers "Tipitina", " Big Chief " and "Go to the Mardi Gras". However, he lacked the early Crossover (music)|crossover appeal of Fats Domino for white people|white audiences.
After recuperating from a minor stroke , Professor Longhair came back in 1957 with "No Buts - No Maybes." He revived his "Go to the Mardi Gras" in 1959; this is the version that surfaces every year at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
In the 1960s Professor Longhair's career faltered. He became a janitor to support himself, and fell into a gambling habit.cite book| last = Oliver (ed.)| first = Paul| title = The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blues| publisher = Blackwell Publisher| year = 1989| location = Cambridge, MA| pages = 280–281| isbn =0-631-18301-9
He appeared at the 1971 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to restore his standing, and played at the 1973 Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival . His recorded live set, Live on the Queen Mary (1978) came from a party given by Paul McCartney|Paul and Linda McCartney . His single visit to the United Kingdom|UK , in 1978, was commemorated by The London Concert .
By the 1980s his albums, such as Crawfish Fiesta on Alligator Records|Alligator and New Orleans Piano for Atlantic Records|Atlantic , had become readily available across America. He appeared on the PBS series Soundstage (with Dr. John, Earl King , and The Meters ) and co-starred in the film documentary Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together . The latter became a memorial tribute when Longhair died in his sleep from a myocardial infarction|heart attack in the middle of filming.cite web |first= |last= |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p99303/biography|pure_url=yes |title=Biography by Bill Dahl |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=May 28, 2009cite book| last = Oliver (ed.)| first = Paul| title = The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blues| publisher = Blackwell Publisher | year = 1989| location = Cambridge, MA| pages = 280–281| isbn =0-631-18301-9 Footage from his funeral was included.
In 1981 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame . He was awarded a posthumous Grammy Award|Grammy for his early recordings released as House Party New Orleans Style, and in 1992 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php? id=10450 Allaboutjazz.com - accessed May 2009
The B side of the 1985 Paul McCartney single 'Spies Like Us', entitled 'My Carnival', credited to Paul McCartney & Wings (band)|Wings , was recorded in New Orleans and dedicated to Professor Longhair.
Fess's song " Tipitina " is covered by Hugh Laurie on the 2011 CD album " Let Them Talk ". Laurie is a long-time fan, having used Fess's "Go to the Mardi Gras" as the theme for the pilot episode of A Bit of Fry & Laurie .
Incorporating Afro-Cuban elements into the New Orleans sound
In the 1940s Professor Longhair was playing with Caribbean musicians, listening a lot to Perez Prado 's mambo (music)|mambo records, and absorbing and experimenting with it all.Palmer, Robert (1979: 14). ''A Tale of Two Cities: Memphis Rock and New Orleans Roll. Brooklyn. He was especially enamored with Cuban music. Longhair's style was known locally as rumba-boogie .Stewart, Alexander (2000: 298). "Funky Drummer: New Orleans, James Brown and the Rhythmic Transformation of American Popular Music." Popular Music , v. 19, n. 3. Oct., 2000), p. 293-318. Alexander Stewart states that Longhair was a key figure bridging the worlds of boogiewoogie and the new style of rhythm and blues."Stewart (2000: 297). In his composition "Misery," Professor Longhair plays a habanera (music)|habanera -like figure in his left hand. The deft use of triplets in the right hand is a characteristic of Longhair's style.
Tresillo (rhythm)|Tresillo , the habanera, and related African-based single- cell (music)|celled figures have long been heard in the left hand part of piano compositions by New Orleans musicians, for example— Louis Moreau Gottschalk ("Souvenirs From Havana" 1859), and Jelly Roll Morton ("The Crave" 1910). One of Longhair's great contributions was the adaptation of Afro-Cuban two-celled, clave (rhythm)|clave -based patterns in New Orleans blues. Michael Campbell states: "Rhythm and blues influenced by Afro-Cuban music first surfaced in New Orleans. Professor Longhair’s influence was . . . far reaching. In several of his early recordings, Professor Longhair blended Afro-Cuban rhythms with rhythm and blues. The most explicit is 'Longhair’s Blues Rhumba,' where he overlays a straightforward blues with a clave rhythm." Campbell, Michael, and James Brody (2007: 83). Rock and Roll: An Introduction . Schirmer. ISBN-10: 0534642950 The guajeo -like piano part for the rumba-boogie "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" (1949), employs the clave (rhythm)|2-3 clave onbeat/offbeat motif.Kevin Moore: "There are two common ways that the three-side of clave is expressed in Cuban popular music. The first to come into regular use, which David Peñalosa calls 'clave motif,' is based on the decorated version of the three-side of the clave rhythm. By the 1940s there was a trend toward the use of what Peñalosa calls the 'offbeat/onbeat motif.' Today, the offbeat/onbeat motif method is much more common." Moore (2011). Understanding Clave and Clave Changes p. 32. Santa Cruz, CA: Moore Music/Timba.com. ISBN-10: 1466462302 The 2-3 clave time-line is written above the piano excerpt for reference.
According to Dr. John (Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr.), the Professor "put funk into music . . . Longhair's thing had a direct bearing I'd say on a large portion of the funk music that evolved in New Orleans."Dr. John quoted by Stewart (2000: 297). This is the syncopated, but straight subdivision feel of Cuban music (as opposed to Swing (jazz performance style)|swung subdivisions). Alexander Stewart states that the popular feel was passed along from "New Orleans—through James Brown 's music, to the popular music of the 1970s," adding: "The singular style of rhythm & blues that emerged from New Orleans in the years after World War II played an important role in the development of funk . In a related development, the underlying rhythms of American popular music underwent a basic, yet generally unacknowledged transition from triplet or shuffle feel to even or straight eighth notes.Stewart (2000: 293). Concerning funk motifs, Stewart states: "This model, it should be noted, is different from a bell pattern|time line (such as clave and tresillo) in that it is not an exact pattern, but more of a loose organizing principle."Stewart (2000: 306).
Discography
New Orleans Piano (1973)
''Rock 'N' Roll Gumbo (1974)
Live on the Queen Mary (1978)
Crawfish Fiesta (1980)
The Last Mardi Gras (1982)
Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together (1982)& nbsp;– award-winning 76-minute documentary film featuring Professor Longhair, Tuts Washington , and Allen Toussaint
House Party New Orleans Style (1987)
Fess: The Professor Longhair Anthology (1993)
''Fess' Gumbo (1996)
Ball the Wall & nbsp;– a live album of solo piano playing
The London Concert & nbsp;– a live album with Alfred "Uganda" Roberts (2005 re-release)
''Collector's Choice & nbsp;– a greatest hits album
Quotation
quote|Black or white, local or out-of-town, they all had Longhair's music in common. Just that mambo-rhumba boogie thing.| Allen Toussaintcite book| first= Paul | last= Du Noyer | year= 2003 | title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music | edition= 1st | publisher= Flame Tree Publishing | location= Fulham, London | pages= 161 | isbn= 1-904041-96-5
References
reflist
External links
http://rockhall.com/inductees/professor-longhair/ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
http://www.myspace.com/professorlonghair1 Professor Longhair At Myspace
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi? page=gr& GRid=2703 Henry Roeland Byrd at Find-A-Grave
Persondata | NAME = Professor Longhair | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = December 19, 1918 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Bogalusa, Louisiana|Bogalusa , Louisiana | DATE OF DEATH = January 30, 1980 | PLACE OF DEATH = New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans , Louisiana DEFAULTSORT:Professor Longhair Category:1918 births Category:1980 deaths Category:People from Bogalusa, Louisiana Category:African American musicians Category:American blues singers Category:American male singers Category:American pianists Category:American blues pianists Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:American buskers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:R& B musicians from New Orleans Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Blues musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana
