The Crusaders

Music Home >> Music Genres >> Urban/R&B Music



< < < < < > > > > > More Info on The Crusaders Similar Urban/R&B Music Search Artistopia

Biography

The Crusaders are an United States|American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz , Pop music|pop and Soul music|soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group (some live and compilations), 19 of which were recorded under the name " The Jazz Crusaders " (1961–1970).

History

In 1960, following the demise of a few short-lived Houston, Texas|Houston -based groups called The Swingsters and the Nite Hawks , Piano|pianist Joe Sample , Drum kit|drummer Stix Hooper , Saxophone|saxophonist Wilton Felder and Trombone|trombonist Wayne Henderson (musician)|Wayne Henderson relocated to Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles, CA . After changing their name to "The Jazz Crusaders," the group signed with Pacific Jazz Records , where they would remain throughout the 1960s. Employing a two-manned front-line horn section ( trombone and tenor saxophone ), the group's sound was rooted in hard bop , with an emphasis on Rhythm and blues|R& B and soul.

The group shortened their name to "The Crusaders" in 1971, and adopted a jazz-funk style. They also incorporated the bass guitar|electric bass and electric guitar into their music. Bass guitarist Robert "Pops" Popwell and guitarist Larry Carlton joined the band, and featured on the group's albums throughout most of the 1970s. With this new style came increased crossover appeal, and the group's recordings started to appear on the Billboard magazine|Billboard pop charts. The height of the group's commercial success came with 1979's Street Life (The Crusaders album)|Street Life , which peaked at #18 on the pop album charts and the title track from the album made the Top 10 on the R& B chart and #36 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

In 1975, following the release of their 28th album (their ninth as "The Crusaders"), Henderson left the group to pursue a full-time career as a record producer|producer . His departure created a void, permanently changing the character of the group. Another founding member, Hooper, left the group in 1983, thus signaling the end to the group's most popular period. Three more albums were recorded in the mid-1980s; however by the 1990s, "The Crusaders", for the most part, had disbanded, with a comprehensive discography behind them.

In 1991, The Crusaders (with Sample and Felder the only original members present) released Healing the Wounds . The album peaked at #1 on the Top Contemporary Jazz chart and #174 on the Billboard 200 . The group did not release any more albums during the decade, as Sample focused on a solo career.

Henderson, who had left the group in 1975, revived the "Jazz Crusaders" moniker (despite Sample's objections) for 1995's Happy Again . The lineup for Happy Again included founding member Wilton Felder and former Crusaders guitarist Larry Carlton. The new Jazz Crusaders released a series of recordings in the late 1990s, but the music bore little resemblance to the acoustic, hard bop style of the original group.

In 2003, founding members Sample, Felder and Hooper revived The Crusaders and released Rural Renewal . Ray Parker Jr. and Eric Clapton played guitar on the album. That same year, the Henderson-led Jazz Crusaders released Soul Axess .

In April 2010, Joe Sample announced a reunion tour with Wayne Henderson and Wilton Felder (but not Stix Hooper) - the first reunion of these founding members of the Jazz Crusaders since 1974. Concert dates in Oakland and Long Island have been promoted online, with a full 2010 tour schedule expected to be released shortly.

Discography

Albums as The Jazz Crusaders

Year	Title	Type	Label	Label-Nr
1961	Freedom Sound	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-27
1962	''Lookin' Ahead	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-43
1962	The Jazz Crusaders at the Lighthouse	Live	Pacific Jazz	ST-57
1963	Tough Talk	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-68
1963	Heat Wave	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-76
1963	Jazz Waltz (w. Les McCann)	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-81
1964	''Stretchin' Out	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-83
1965	The Thing	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-87
1965	Chile Con Soul	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-20092
1966	''Live at the Lighthouse '66	Live	Pacific Jazz	ST-20098
1966	Talk That Talk	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-20106
1966	The Festival Album	Live	Pacific Jazz	ST-20115
1967	Uh Huh	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-20124
1968	''Lighthouse '68	Live	Pacific Jazz	ST-20131
1968	Powerhouse	Studio	Pacific Jazz	ST-20136
1969	''Lighthouse '69	Live	Pacific Jazz	ST-20165
1970	Give Peace a Chance	Studio	Liberty	LST-11005
1970	Old Socks, New Shoes	Studio	Chisa	CS-804

Compilations as The Jazz Crusaders

Year	Title	Label	Label-Nr
1969	The Best of the Jazz Crusaders	World Pacific	ST-20175
1973	Tough Talk	Blue Note	BN-LA170-G2
1975	The Young Rabbits	Blue Note	BN-LA530-H2
1980	Live Sides	Blue Note	LT-1046
1993	The Best Of	Pacific Jazz	CDP 077778928324
2005	The Pacific Jazz Quintet Studio Sessions	Mosaic	MD6-230

Albums as The Jazz Crusaders (Wayne Henderson & Wilton Felder)

Year	Title	Type	Label	Label-Nr
1995	Happy Again	Studio	Sin-Drome	9950322
1996	Louisiana Hot Sauce	Studio	Sin-Drome	SD-8924
1998	''Breakin' Da Rulz!	Studio	Indigo Blue	4634170792
2000	Power of Our Music - The Endangered Species ''Cookin' Live, Wild In South Africa	Live	Indigo Blue	1144790972
2003	Soul Axess	Studio	True Life Jazz
2006	Alive in South Africa	Live (Reissue)	True Life Jazz

Albums as The Crusaders

Year	Title	Type	Label	Label-Nr
1971	Pass the Plate	Studio	Chisa	CS-813
1972	Hollywood	Studio	MoWest	MW-118L
1972	1	Studio	Blue Thumb	BTS-6001
1973	The 2nd Crusade	Studio	Blue Thumb	BTS-7000
1973	Unsung Heroes	Studio	Blue Thumb	BTS-6007
1974	Scratch	Live	Blue Thumb	BTS-6010
1974	Southern Comfort	Studio	Blue Thumb	BTSY-9002
1975	Chain Reaction	Studio	Blue Thumb	BTSD-6022
1976	Those Southern Knights	Studio	Blue Thumb	BTSD-6024
1977	Free as the Wind	Studio	Blue Thumb
1978	Images	Studio	Blue Thumb	BA-6030
1979	Street Life	Studio	MCA
1980	Rhapsody and Blues	Studio	MCA	MCAD-1662
1981	Ongaku Kai - Live in Japan	Live	Crusaders	CRP-16002
1981	Standing Tall	Studio	MCA	5254
1982	Royal Jam	Live	MCA	2-9017
1984	Ghetto Blaster	Studio	MCA
1986	The Good and the Bad Times	Studio	MCA	5781
1988	Life in the Modern World	Studio	MCA	42168
1991	Healing the Wounds	Studio	GRP	GRD-9638
2003	Rural Renewal	Studio	PRA/ Verve
2004	Live in Japan 2003 (only released in Japan)	Live	PRA	VACM-1252

Compilations as The Crusaders

Year	Title	Label	Label-Nr
1973	At Their Best	Motown	M-796V1
1976	The Best of the Crusaders	ABC Blue Thumb	BTSY-6027
1987	The Vocal Album	MCA	42057
1988	Sample a Decade	Connoisseur	VSOP-LP131 (UK)
1990	16 Original World Hits	MCA	2292-56787-2 LZ (Germany)
1992	The Golden Years	GRP	GRD-3-5007
1994	Best of Best	MCA	MVCZ-15020 (Japan)
1994	And Beyond...	Music Collection	MCCD-163 (UK)
1994	Best	Pickwick	PWKS-4231 (UK)
1995	The Ultimate Compilation	Nectar	NTRCD035 (UK)
1995	The Greatest Crusade	Calibre	CLBCD-5501 (UK)
1995	The Ultimate	Castle	CCS-CD-420 (UK)
1995	Soul Shadows	Connoisseur	VSOP-CD-212 (UK)
1996	The Best of the Crusaders	MCA	MCBD-19528 (UK)
1996	Way Back Home	Blue Thumb	BTD-4-700
1998	Priceless Jazz Collection	GRP	GRD-9892
2000	''The Crusaders' Finest Hour	Verve	543762-2 (Germany)
2003	Groove Crusade	Blue Thumb	0731458994428 (UK)
2007	Gold	Hip-O / Verve	B0008268-02

Singles as The Nite Hawks

Year	Title	From album	Label	Label-Nr
1959	Chicken Grabber / Big Top	(only on 45)	Del-Fi	4122

Singles as The Night Hawks

Year	Title	From album	Label	Label-Nr
1961	Bunny Ride / Sweetie Lester	(only on 45)	Pacific Jazz	X-352

Singles as The Jazz Crusaders

Year	Title	From album	Label	Label-Nr
1962	''Tonight / Sinnin' Sam	Lookin' Ahead	Pacific Jazz	X-340
1962	The Young Rabbits / Song of India	Lookin' Ahead	Pacific Jazz	X-342
1962	Congolese Sermon / Weather Beat	(only on 45)	Pacific Jazz	X-357
1963	No Name Samba / Tough Talk	Tough Talk	World Pacific	X-371
1963	Turkish Black / Boopie	Tough Talk	World Pacific	X-388
1963	Spanish Castles / Bluesette	Jazz Waltz (w. Les McCann)	World Pacific	406
1964	Heat Wave / On Broadway	Heat Wave	World Pacific	401
1964	I Remember Tomorrow / Long John	Stretchin' Out	World Pacific	412
1965	Tough Talk / The Thing	The Thing	World Pacific	77800
1965	Aqua Dulce / Soul Bourgeoisie	Chile Con Soul	World Pacific	77806
1966	Scratch / Uptight	Talk That Talk	Pacific Jazz	88125
1968	Ooga-Boo-Ga-Loo / Eleanor Rigby	Lighthouse '68	Pacific Jazz	88144
1968	Hey Jude / Love and Peace	Powerhouse	Pacific Jazz	88146
1969	Get Back / Willie and Laura Mae Jones	Lighthouse '69	Word Pacific Jazz	88153
1970	Way Back Home / Jackson	Old Socks, New Shoes	Chisa	C-8010

Singles as The Crusaders

Year	Title	From album	Label	Label-Nr
1971	Pass the Plate / Greasy Spoon	Pass the Plate	Chisa	C-8013
1972	''Spanish Harlem / Papa Hooper's Barrelhouse Groove	Hollywood	MoWest	MW-5025F
1972	Mosadi / Put It Where You Want It	1	Blue Thumb	BTA-208
1972	''So Far Away / That's How I Feel	1	Blue Thumb	BTA-217
1973	''Don't Let It Get You Down / Journey from Within	Second Crusade	Blue Thumb	BTA-225
1973	''That's How I Feel / Take It or Leave It	1	Blue Thumb	BTA-232
1974	''Lay It on the Line / Let's Boogie	Unsung Heroes	Blue Thumb	BTA-245
1974	Scratch / Way Back Home	Scratch	Blue Thumb	BTA-249
1974	Stomp and Buck Dance / A Ballad for Joe (Louis)	Southern Comfort	ABC Blue Thumb	BTA-261
1975	Creole / I Felt The Love	Chain Reaction	ABC Blue Thumb	BTA-267
1976	''Keep That Same Old Feeling / Til' the Sun Shines	Those Southern Knights	ABC Blue Thumb	BTA-269
1976	And Then There Was the Blues / Feeling Funky	Those Southern Knights	ABC Blue Thumb	BTA-270
1977	Feel It / The Way We Was	Free As The Wind	ABC Blue Thumb	BT-272
1977	Free as the Wind / The Way We Was	Free as the Wind	ABC Blue Thumb	BTA-273
1978	Covert Action / Bajou Bottoms	Images	ABC Blue Thumb	BT-278
1979	Street Life / The Hustler	Street Life	MCA	41052
1980	Soul Shadows / Sweet Gentle Love	Rhapsody & Blues	MCA	41295
1981	''I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today / Standing Tall	Standing Tall	MCA	51177
1981	''This Old World's Too Funky for Me / Standing Tall	Standing Tall	MCA	51222
1984	New Moves / Dead End	Ghetto Blaster	MCA	52365
1986	The Way It Goes / Good Times	The Good and Bad Times	MCA	52966
1988	A.C. (Alternating Currents) / Mullholland Nights	Life in the Modern World	MCA	53330

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: The Crusaders

The Crusaders Photo by: www.70disco.com


1. Bill Withers 2. Minnie Riperton

Urban/R&B Music Artists