Posted on 06/11/2009 11:52:54 AM PDT by a fool in paradise
Guitar legend Huey Long, the last surviving member of the original Ink Spots, died June 10 in Houston at the age of 105.
Long was born in Sealy, Texas.
He worked various jobs in the Houston area until he got his big break playing banjo in the Frank Davis Louisiana Jazz Band.
In 1936, Bill Kenny, the leader of the Ink Spots, talked Long into leaving the jazz trio joining the Ink Spots.
...He moved back to Houston in the 90s, having written and arranged more than 80 songs.
Long is survived by his daughter, Houston resident Anita Long, and two sons who live in California.
Anita Long set up an Ink Spots museum in Houston, honoring her dad’s achievements.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
(Excerpt) Read more at khou.com ...
He was much better than that other Huey Long.
Long is survived by his daughter, Houston resident Anita Long, and two sons who live in California.
Prayers to the family during this time of grieving. It sucks to lose a parent no matter the age. I know someone that lost her mother when the daughter was 75 years old and she said, “It hurt everyday”.
I was confused there for a minute.
RIP for them both.
did he leave his manstep down?
Too cool, 105! God bless The Long family.
from the All Music biography by Eugene Chadbourne:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gjfexq8jldse
By the mid-’20s he was featured on such in Frank Davis’ Louisiana Jazz Band and Dee Johnson’s Merrymakers. Long moved to Chicago in 1926, beginning a freelance period in which he was involved with a long list of bandleaders, Willie Hightower and Mack Swain among them. Chicago was one musical scene in which a heavier rhythm section sound dictated a switch from banjo to guitar.
Long’s recordings follow this pattern from the early ‘30s, continuing in the ensuing decade with better-known leaders such as Fletcher Henderson and Earl Hines. His company in the Hines outfit included some of the jazz genre’s most noted dignitaries, including Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was also involved with musicians who were more interested in rocking than swinging, playing in 1933 with Jesse Stone, who would later write the hit “Shake, Rattle and Roll.” Mastering these diverse influences and polishing his formal musical skills, Long by the end of the decade was assistant arranger and conductor for concert bands as well as swing big bands.
He had his own three-piece combo together in 1944, enjoying a long residency at the Three Deuces Cafe on 52nd Street in New York City. This was where he was approached by Bill Kenny, on the prowl for a guitarist to replace Charlie Fuqua in the Ink Spots. Actually, since it was the Ink Spots, the history is actually a bit more complicated...
I don’t want to set the world on fire,
I just want to start,
A flame in your heart.
In my heart I have but one desire,
And that one is you,
No other will do.
I’ve lost all ambition, for worldly acclaim,
You’re the only one I’m thinking of,
And on your admission, that you feel the same,
..........
“FALLOUT 3”, 2008
I remember being with someone who was in her late fifties when her mom and dad both died. She said, “That makes me an orphan!” Didn’t understand it then, now that I’m in my fifties, I think I do.
He also went to the Korean War with the USO to entertain the troops. His birthday was celebrated locally annually by Korean War veterans who recognized his contribution.
Ink Spots group were all black performers, big stars of records, radio and films. Number one hit was If I Didnt Care. Thought Police would not let them use that Ink Spots group name today!
Yep. I have heard people say that too. Frightening to even fathom.
This is not meant to hijack this thread, but for what it’s worth I can think of no bigger, America-hating leftist operating on fringes of popular music than Eugene Chadbourne.
He lived a long life
He resides on the fringes of unpopular Americana music.
And the Chumbawumba anarchists hate America more and yet were THE go to band for movie music one year with Tubthumpin’.
Sounds like you know who he is. He may be an accomplished picker but the stuff I’ve heard is pretty much unlistenable. He sure is prolific, however.
And I agree that he is a sour liberal. But it isn’t evident in all of his songs.
And his biography didn’t hurl Huey Long into the Ink Spots 8 years earlier (like KHOUs).
There is a band from Madison, WI called Noahjohn that I like a lot. They did this album with Chadbourne. It's pretty good. Some interesting cover songs.
Another talented musician, taken from us far too early.
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