James Bracken
Encyclopedia
James C. Bracken was an African American songwriter and the co-founder and co-owner of Vee-Jay Records
with his wife Vivian
and her brother, Calvin Carter.
and grew up in Kansas City
. He was living in Chicago when he met Vivian Carter in 1944. In 1950 they founded Vivian's Record Shop in Gary, Indiana
, and three years later decided to start their own record company, which they named Vee-Jay from their initials. As well as producing and releasing records through his label
, Bracken also wrote some of the songs recorded. During the 1950s and early 1960s Vee-Jay became a major independent record label with acts including Jimmy Reed
, John Lee Hooker
, Gene Chandler
, Jerry Butler
, The Four Seasons
and, for a time, The Beatles
. The company folded in 1966.
Bracken died in Los Angeles
in 1972.
singer John Lee Hooker
, and together they wrote songs for Hooker to perform and record. Products of this partnership include "Baby Lee", "Dimples
", "Little Wheel" and "Kiss The Girls". Bracken also wrote songs for Jimmy Reed
, including "High and Lonesome" which was credited to Reed himself.
Probably the most widely recognized of Bracken's solo compositions is the instrumental track "Steppin' Out
", which was covered by Eric Clapton
while with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and later by Cream
(of which Clapton was a part) in a 14 minute version released on their live album Live Cream Volume II
.
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
with his wife Vivian
Vivian Carter
Vivian Carter was an African American record company executive and radio disc jockey, and one of the co-founders of Vee-Jay Records.-Life:She was born in Tunica, Mississippi and moved to Gary, Indiana as a child...
and her brother, Calvin Carter.
Life
Bracken was born in OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and grew up in Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
. He was living in Chicago when he met Vivian Carter in 1944. In 1950 they founded Vivian's Record Shop in Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
, and three years later decided to start their own record company, which they named Vee-Jay from their initials. As well as producing and releasing records through his 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,...
, Bracken also wrote some of the songs recorded. During the 1950s and early 1960s Vee-Jay became a major independent record label with acts including Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
, John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, Gene Chandler
Gene Chandler
Gene Chandler also known as "The Duke of Earl" or simply "The Duke", is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, producer and record executive. He is one of the leading exponents of the 1960s Chicago soul scene...
, Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
, The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons (group)
The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before The Beatles...
and, for a time, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. The company folded in 1966.
Bracken died in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1972.
Songwriting
In the late 50s to early 60s, Bracken formed a casual writing partnership with influential bluesBlues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, and together they wrote songs for Hooker to perform and record. Products of this partnership include "Baby Lee", "Dimples
Dimples (song)
Dimples is a song written and recorded by blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker in 1956. Called a "genuine Hooker classic", it is one of his best known songs, with interpretations by several artists.-Original song:...
", "Little Wheel" and "Kiss The Girls". Bracken also wrote songs for Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
, including "High and Lonesome" which was credited to Reed himself.
Probably the most widely recognized of Bracken's solo compositions is the instrumental track "Steppin' Out
Steppin' Out (James Bracken song)
"Steppin' Out" is a blues instrumental written by James Bracken. It opens with a guitar riff based on the blues-scale, and continues with improvisation. It is an up-tempo 12-bar blues in the key of G....
", which was covered by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
while with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and later by Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
(of which Clapton was a part) in a 14 minute version released on their live album Live Cream Volume II
Live Cream Volume II
Live Cream Volume II is the second live compilation album British supergroup Cream released in March 1972 by Polydor Records. This album contains six tracks recorded at various performances from March 9 to October 4, 1968.-Reception:...
.