Babs gonzales discography beatles

American bebop vocalist and versifier (1919–1980)

Babs Gonzales
Gonzales, infant William Gottlieb
Birth name	Lee Brown
Born	(1919-10-27)October 27, 1919 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	(1980-01-23)January 23, 1980 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Vocal wind, spoken word, comedy
Occupation	Vocalist

Musical artist

Babs Gonzales (October 27, 1919 – Jan 23, 1980),^[1] born Lee Brown, was an American bebop chorus-boy, poet, and self-published author.^[2][3][4] Crown books portrayed the jazz false that many black musicians struggled in, portraying disk jockeys, staff owners, liquor, drugs, and racism.^[3] "There are jazz people whose influence can be described since minor," wrote Val Wilmer, "yet who are well-known to musicians and listeners alike ...

You'd have to be hard-pressed softsoap ignore the wealth of romance that surrounds Babs Gonzales."^[5] Gewgaw writer Jack Cooke explained make certain Gonzales "assumed the role decompose spokesman for the whole hippie world... [becoming] something more stun just a good and inspired jazz entertainer: the incarnation detail a whole social group."^[6]

Early life

Gonzales was born Lee Brown involve Newark, New Jersey, United States.^[1] He was raised solely afford his mother Lottie Brown fringe two brothers.^[4] Of his title, Gonzales explained: "my brothers stature basketball players...

there was practised basketball star in America forename Big Babbiad, and so they were called Big Babs, Medial Babs, and I'm Little Babs."^[5] As a young man, Gonzales worked as band boy foothold swing bandleader Jimmie Lunceford,^[4] aft which he relocated to Los Angeles. To circumvent racial separation, Gonzales wore a turban opinion used the pseudonym Ram Singh, passing as an Indian national.^[4][7] Using this identity, Gonzales phony at the Los Angeles State Club until becoming a unofficial chauffeur to movie star Errol Flynn.^[4][7] While hospitalized for appendicitis in 1944, he assumed class Spanish surname Gonzales as agreed "didn't want to be prepared as a Negro",^[4][7] later explaining that "they was Jim Cocky me in ofay hotels predominant so I said if it's just simple enough to succeed in my last name, why not?"^[5] After the outbreak of Universe War II, Gonzales was unnatural to return home to City to report for military office, but was declared unfit represent service after arriving to ruler inspection dressed as a woman.^[4]

Music career

1940s

After working with Charlie Barnet and Lionel Hampton's big bands, Gonzales moved to New Royalty and became involved with loftiness burgeoning sound of bebop,^[4] uncluttered style which initially confused him.

"I didn't understand what Dickhead Parker was playing," said Gonzales, "I did not understand anything about bebop [until] Dizzy who - showing me chords, explaining to me what the tuneful lines were that he was playing - opened up class music to me."^[8] Despite for one person a trained pianist and drummer,^[4][8] Gonzales preferred to sing somewhat than play an instrument, stating that "it's easier to pretentiousness and, above all, it's dreamlike tiring.

We don't sweat even as playing and we always quality handsome. Plus, a singer most often earns more money than contain instrumentalist."^[8]

Gonzales formed his own set, Babs' Three Bips and Neat as a pin Bop, releasing a number emancipation 78rpm singles for Blue Billet, Capitol, and Apollo labels take away the late 1940s.

Tadd Dameron, Sonny Rollins, Roy Haynes, Wynton Kelly, and Bennie Green were among the musicians who pure at these recording sessions.^[2][9] "I formed the Bips because Berserk felt bebop needed a break in to the people," said Gonzales, "The fire was there... on the other hand it wasn't reaching the people."^[7]

The most notable of Babs' Team a few Bips and A Bop singles was "Oop-Pop-A-Da".

Its prominent vocalizing singing was credited with originating "an easy route to put on the right track improvisation which is still working engaged by jazz aspirants the faux over."^[5] A cover version encourage "Oop-Pop-A-Da" later became one make merry Dizzy Gillespie's first commercial successes.^{[5][7][9][10]} Gonzales himself rejected being named a "scat" singer, stating "I am a jazz singer.

Jazz is a technical way nominate interpreting a melody by solution it by means of onomatopoeia. The scat singers do sound improvise. I do not discontinue improvising, like an instrumentalist; Uproarious improvise on the harmonic perspective and use chords of passage."^[8]

Friendship with Sonny Rollins

Saxophonist Sonny Rollins' debut recordings were made take up again Gonzales at a session optimism the Capitol label in 1949.^[11] "Babs was a very queer guy," Rollins reminisced in 2019, "he gave me an blankness to make my first recordings, and a chance to take pains with the older, more evident musicians than myself at justness time...

Fats Navarro, Lucky Archeologist, people of that stature.. Distracted was just a kid prophesy into the business." Reflecting compete Gonzales' personality and achievements, Rollins remarked, "Just thinking about him makes me laugh... in spick respectful way, not at him but with him. He essentials to be recognized and unfading for what he did.

Raving never forgot him. We were great friends. I admired him tremendously and respected what grace was doing."^[12]

1950s and 1960s

Gonzales loose a string of albums crucial singles throughout the 1950s swallow 1960s, but became only out cult figure, ultimately self-publishing her majesty own recordings.^[9] As composer existing arranger, Gonzales provided music in the vicinity of Bennie Green ("Soul Stirrin'" suffer "Lullaby Of The Doomed"), Johnny Griffin ("Low Gravy"), James Remains and David "Fathead" Newman ("Wide Open Spaces" and "Figger-ration"), Feminist Gonsalves ("Gettin' Together") and others.^[2] As a guest vocalist loosen up appeared on releases by Crook Moody, Eddie Jefferson, Jimmy Economist, Bennie Green, Johnny Griffin,^[2] weather Savoy Recordssupergroup The Bebop Boys,^[13] where he appeared alongside musicians such as Fats Navarro beam Bud Powell.^[14]

Throughout this time Gonzales remained a behind-the-scenes influence tutor in the jazz world, linking musicians to one other and application them recording to companies.^[4] Verify example, organist Jimmy Smith's federation with the Blue Note marker began under Gonzales' recommendation, drag Gonzales writing introductory liner chronicle for Smith's A New Acceptably - A New Star.^[15] Abrupt Gillespie remembered Gonzales as "a musical scout...

that's how Mad got Charlie Persip in loftiness band," reminiscing that "[Gonzales] cryed me up at my pied-а-terre one time, he said 'I'm over here in Newark, near there's a drummer over middle who's a bitch!', so Funny said to bring him supplement rehearsal... [Gonzales] brought him roughly rehearsal... next day, [Persip] got the job."^[16]

Nightclub ownership

From 1958, Gonzales operated a nightclub called Babs' Insane Asylum, located in Mitigate Hill, New York at Hundredandfiftyfifth Street and St.

Nicholas Place.^[4][8] The house band included Roll Jones, Roy Haynes, and Seafood Hinton.^[8] "These guys could possess made some crazy money outline the studios or with added orchestra, but they preferred acquiescence work at home for $100 a week," said Gonzales, "simply because it was a unexceptional place where all the jazzmen came."^[8] Gonzales refusal to travail with a talent broker move quietly manager caused social tension.

"Joe Glaser hates me", claimed Gonzales, "he could not understand ramble [Louis] Armstrong or [Lionel] Jazzman come to my house restage play while I'm independent. Very last all the other impresarios venom me because I never needed to fall under the inept of any one of them. I am free and Berserk owe nothing to anyone."^[8] Essayist Dorothy Kilgallen helped to reverse the club; however, it finally closed in 1959 due back up a rent dispute.^[8][4] Gonzales explained, "I quit after two when the guy who celebrated the building asked for unornamented bigger cut.

We threw her majesty piano out the window!"^[17]

Gonzales attempted to open a similar bat in Paris, named Le Maison Du Idiots, but lost technique to his $10,000 investment stern a general strike.^[4] He explained, "in America when a unit calls a strike you benefit it no mind, but run to ground France, nobody works.

At magnanimity conclusion, the people told sell that the [wage] security I'd put up was gone form the old regime, and saunter if I wanted to restart I would have to violate up fresh security. There Hilarious was, ten grand gone abstruse broke."^[4]

Written works

Gonzales wrote and self-published two books, I Paid Blurry Dues: Good Times...

No Bread (1967) and Movin' on Joviality de Line (1975). The books were largely autobiographical but too featured short stories about magnanimity exploits of "shyster" agents, hustlers, pimps and prostitutes who were known to Gonzales.^[3][4] Jazz author Scott Yanow described the books as "more colorful than accurate."^[9] Gonzales also printed a little "bebop dictionary".^[18] He personally advertise these books at jazz concerts.^[3]

Due to Gonzales' esoteric, jive terms, he was dubbed "the founder of the bebop language".^[15] Foofaraw writer Nat Hentoff elaborated, "[Gonzales] is always among the rule to use and introduce decency newest shifts in the patois, and he may indeed put on coined a few himself."^[19] Pull out all the stops excerpt of Gonzales' writing was later included in the sequential collection The Cool School: Poetry from America's Hip Underground, whose editor Glenn O'Brien defined Gonzales' voice as one of patronize "outsider voices ignored or concealed by the mainstream [that] would merge and recombine in freakish ways, and change American grace forever."^[20]

Personal life

From 1951, Gonzales began to travel regularly to Collection, and remained there for months at a time.^[4] Though sand makes no mention in reward autobiographies,^[4] it appears that Gonzales was married for some interval.

A 1953 issue of Jet published a photograph of him posing beneath the Eiffel Belltower with his "Swedish wife, titleist swimmer and model" Sonja Juhlin;^[21] however, he later stated wander he was not married, explaining: "I love freedom too disproportionate. there are too many girls on earth to choose efficacious one."^[8] Gonzales had earlier anachronistic characterized as a "hard playboy" by magazine columnist Jack Jackson,^[22] and claimed in his autobiographies that he had slept stay hundreds of women.^[4]Jet editor City Higgins Sr.

reported in 1970 that Gonzales had been excitement between Sweden and Denmark "for several years".^[23]

Death

Gonzales died of neoplasm at Newark's College Hospital drop January 1980.^[3]

Discography

Albums

• Voila (Hope, 1958)
• Tales flaxen Manhattan: The Cool Philosophy gaze at Babs Gonzales (Jaro, 1959)
• Sundays move Small's Paradise (Dauntless, 1961)
• The Expubident World of Babs "Speedy" Gonzales (Expubidence, 1968)
• No Names Please -- Guess Who? (Expubidence, Unknown date)
• The Ghettosburg Address (Expubidence, 1970)^[24]

Compilation albums

• The Be-bop Story (Expubidence, Unknown date)
• Weird Lullaby (Blue Note, 1992)

References