Percy Mayfield

Percy Mayfield

born on 12/8/1920 in Minden, LA, United States

died on 11/8/1984 in Los Angeles, CA, United States

Percy Mayfield

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Percy Mayfield (August 12, 1920 – August 11, 1984) was an American rhythm-and-blues singer with a smooth vocal style. He was also a songwriter, known for the songs "Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Hit the Road Jack".

Career

Mayfield was born in Minden, Louisiana, the seat of Webster Parish,[2] in the northwestern part of the state. As a youth, he had a talent for poetry, which led him to songwriting and singing. He began his performing career in Texas and then moved to Los Angeles in 1942, but without success as a singer until 1947, when a small record label, Swing Time Records, signed him to record his song "Two Years of Torture," with a band that included the saxophonist Maxwell Davis, the guitarist Chuck Norris, and the pianist Willard McDaniel.[3] The record sold steadily over the next few years, prompting Art Rupe to sign Mayfield to his label, Specialty Records, in 1950.[4]

Mayfield's vocal style was influenced by such stylists as Charles Brown, but unlike many West Coast bluesmen, Mayfield did not focus on the white market. He sang blues ballads, mostly songs he wrote himself, in a gentle vocal style. His most famous song, "Please Send Me Someone to Love", a number one R&B hit single in late 1950, described by the reviewer Bill Dahl as "a multi-layered universal lament",[3] was widely influential and recorded by many other singers.[5] His career flourished as a string of six Top 10 R&B hits followed, like "Lost Love" and "The Big Question", confirming his status as a leading blues ballad singer [6] and "a true master at expressing his innermost feelings, laced with vulnerability and pathos".[3]

In 1952, at the height of his popularity, Mayfield was severely injured in an automobile crash, when he was returning from a performance in Las Vegas to Los Angeles as the front-seat passenger in a chauffeur-driven car. The vehicle hit the back of an unseen stationary truck, and Mayfield was hit by debris. Though pronounced dead at the scene, he eventually recovered but spent two years convalescing.[7] The accident left him with a facial disfigurement that eventually ended his career as a performer but did not halt his prolific songwriting. He continued to write and record for Specialty, and after 1954 he recorded for Chess Records and Imperial Records.

In 1961, Mayfield's song "Hit the Road Jack" brought him to the attention of Ray Charles, who signed him to his Tangerine Records, primarily as a songwriter. Mayfield wrote "Hide nor Hair", "At the Club", "Danger Zone", and "But on the Other Hand, Baby" for Tangerine,[4] and Charles recorded at least 15 of his songs.[2] He also had a series of single releases as a vocalist on Tangerine, produced by Charles, including a remake of "River's Invitation", which crept into the Billboard Hot 100 but reached number 25 on the R&B chart in 1963. Two albums were also released, largely compilations of his singles.

Following his RCA recordings in the early 1970s, Mayfield signed briefly with Atlantic Records, for which the soul and blues artist Johnny Watson produced a minor R&B hit for him, "I Don't Want to Be the President". After a period of obscurity, there was a final chapter of his career. In the early 1980s, the Bay Area keyboardist Mark Naftalin discovered that Mayfield was living in the East Bay area and was able to provide him with a band for live performances in several Marin County and East Bay clubs. The exposure led to a 1982 studio date for the Dutch company Timeless Records with the Phillip Walker Blues Band, recording the album Hit the Road Again.

Death

Mayfield died of a heart attack on August 11, 1984, one day before his 64th birthday, having again fallen into obscurity.[8] He was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California.

Personal life

Mayfield married three times. The identity of his first wife is unknown. His second wife was Willie Mae Atlas Mayfield. His third wife was Tina Mayfield.

Discography

Chart singles

Year Single Chart Positions
US Pop[9][10] US R&B[11]
1950 "Please Send Me Someone to Love" /
"Strange Things Happening"
26
1
7
1951 "Lost Love" 2
"What a Fool I Was" 8
"Prayin' for Your Return" 9
1952 "Cry Baby" 9
"The Big Question" 6
1963 "River's Invitation" 99 25
1970 "To Live the Past" 41
1974 "I Don't Want to Be the President" 64

Albums

  • My Jug and I (1966)
  • Walking on a Tightrope (1969)
  • Weakness Is a Thing Called Man (1970)
  • Percy Mayfield Sings Percy Mayfield (1970)
  • Bought Blues (1970)
  • Blues ... and Then Some (1971)
  • Hit the Road Again, with the Phillip Walker Blues Band (1983)
  • Percy Mayfield Live (1992)

References

  1. ^ Talevski, Nick (7 April 2010). Rock Obituaries: Knocking on Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 403. ISBN 978-0-85712-117-2. 
  2. ^ a b Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 306. ISBN 978-0313344237. 
  3. ^ a b c Dahl, Bill. Percy Mayfield: Artist Biography. Allmusic.com. Archived November 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Percy Mayfield". Home.earthlink/net. Retrieved 2006-11-06. 
  5. ^ Gillett, Charlie (1996). The Rise of Rock and Roll (2nd ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. pp. 144–146. ISBN 0-306-80683-5. 
  6. ^ "Percy Mayfield". History-of-rock.com. Retrieved 2006-11-06. 
  7. ^ Percy Mayfield. FindaGrave.com. Archived November 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 301. ISBN 0-89820-083-0. 
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955–2002. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 68. ISBN 0-89820-155-1. 
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995. Record Research. p. 38. 

External links

  • "Strange Things Happen: Percy Mayfield". JammUpp, vol 2, issue 33
This page was last modified 11.04.2018 21:53:11

This article uses material from the article Percy Mayfield from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.