Earl Grant
Encyclopedia
Earl Grant was an American
easy listening
pianist
, Hammond organ
ist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
, Grant was gifted with keyboard
skills and a fine singing
voice. Other instruments
he was skilled at playing were trumpet
, drums
and Hammond organ
. Grant attended four music schools, then became a music teacher, augmenting his income by performing in clubs during his army
service, stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas
. in 1953. Grant signed with Decca Records
in 1957 and his first single
"The End" reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart
. Ebb Tide, released in 1961, was his first album
, which also rose to number 7 on the Billboard 200
. The single "Ebb Tide" sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc
status. He recorded
five more singles that made the charts, including "Swingin' Gently" (from Ebb Tide), and six additional albums (mostly on the Decca label
) through 1968. He also recorded the album Yes Sirree and the instrumental
album Trade Winds, single-tracked on the Hammond organ
and piano, featuring the love theme from the film El Cid
and Chaplin's "Eternally". This album featured some realistic sounding 'tropical bird calls' produced by his electric organ. "The House of Bamboo" was another big selling single. In all, Grant recorded 30 albums for Decca.
Several of his albums featured tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson
.
Grant also made a few appearances in film
and television
, including Tender Is the Night
(1962), Juke Box Rhythm (1959), and The Ed Sullivan Show
(1961).
He died instantly in a car accident in Lordsburg
, New Mexico
, at the age of 39 when the car he was driving ran off Interstate 10
. He was driving from Los Angeles to an intended destination in Juarez, Mexico. His 17 year old cousin was also killed in the accident.
The songs on this album were recorded days before his death, with arrangements by Bill Holman
and Don Peake.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
ist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
Career
Born in Idabel, OklahomaIdabel, Oklahoma
Idabel is a city in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,658 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McCurtain County. The town is located in the tourist area Kiamichi Country.-History:...
, Grant was gifted with keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
skills and a fine singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
voice. Other instruments
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
he was skilled at playing were trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
. Grant attended four music schools, then became a music teacher, augmenting his income by performing in clubs during his army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
service, stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. in 1953. Grant signed with Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
in 1957 and his first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"The End" reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. Ebb Tide, released in 1961, was his first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, which also rose to number 7 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. The single "Ebb Tide" sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
status. He recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
five more singles that made the charts, including "Swingin' Gently" (from Ebb Tide), and six additional albums (mostly on the Decca label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
) through 1968. He also recorded the album Yes Sirree and the instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
album Trade Winds, single-tracked on the Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
and piano, featuring the love theme from the film El Cid
El Cid (film)
El Cid is a historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid" who in the 11th century fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain.Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in...
and Chaplin's "Eternally". This album featured some realistic sounding 'tropical bird calls' produced by his electric organ. "The House of Bamboo" was another big selling single. In all, Grant recorded 30 albums for Decca.
Several of his albums featured tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson
Plas Johnson
Plas John Johnson Jr. is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most familiar as the lead on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme"....
.
Grant also made a few appearances in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, including Tender Is the Night
Tender is the Night (1962 film)
Tender Is the Night is a 1962 film directed by Henry King, based on the novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The soundtrack featured a song, also called "Tender Is the Night", by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster , which was nominated for the 1962 Academy Award for Best Song...
(1962), Juke Box Rhythm (1959), and The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
(1961).
He died instantly in a car accident in Lordsburg
Lordsburg, New Mexico
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 3,379 people, 1,220 households, and 854 families residing in the city. The population density was 403.1 people per square mile . There were 1,414 housing units at an average density of 168.7 per square mile...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, at the age of 39 when the car he was driving ran off Interstate 10
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...
. He was driving from Los Angeles to an intended destination in Juarez, Mexico. His 17 year old cousin was also killed in the accident.
Select discography
- Versatile Earl Grant (Decca RecordsDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
) 1958 - The End (Decca Records) 1958
- Grant Takes Rhythm (Decca Records) 1959
- Nothin' But The Blues (Decca Records) 1959
- Paris Is My Beat (Decca Records) 1959
- The Magic Of Earl Grant (Decca Records) 1960
- Ebb Tide (Decca Records) 1961
- Earl After Dark (Decca Records) 1961
- Beyond The Reef (Decca Records) 1962
- At Basin Street East (Decca Records) live 1962
- Midnight Sun (Decca Records) 1962
- Yes Sirree! (Decca Records) 1963
- Fly Me To The moon (Decca Records) 1964
- Just For A Thrill (Decca Records) 1964
- Just One More Time (Decca Records) 1964
- Trade Winds (Decca Records) 1965
- Spotlight On Earl Grant (Decca Records) 1965
- Winter Wonderland (Decca Records) 1965
- Sings And Plays Songs Made Famous By Nat Cole (Decca Records) 1966
- Stand By Me (Decca Records) 1966
- Bali Ha'i (Decca Records) 1966
- A Closer Walk With Thee (Decca Records) 1966
- Gently Swingin (Decca Records) 1968
- Spanish Eyes (Decca Records) 1968
- In Motion (Decca Records) 1968
- This Magic Moment (Decca Records) 1969
Posthumous releases
- Earl Grant (Decca Records) 1970
The songs on this album were recorded days before his death, with arrangements by Bill Holman
Bill Holman (musician)
Willis Leonard Holman , known also as Bill Holman, is an American composer/arranger, conductor, saxophonist, and songwriter working primarily in the jazz idiom....
and Don Peake.
External links
- Profile of Grant gives