Roscoe Shelton
Encyclopedia
Roscoe Shelton was an American
electric blues
and R&B
singer. He is best remembered for his 1965 hit single
, "Strain on My Heart," and his working relationships with both The Fairfield Four
and Bobby Hebb
. Other notable recordings include "Think It Over" and "Baby Look What You're Doin' To Me". Fred James, who produced
much of Shelton's later work, noted that Shelton moved effortlessly into soul
, unlike many of his 1950s blues and R&B recording contemporaries.
and was raised in Nashville, Tennessee
. In 1949 he joined the Fairfield Four, singing lead vocals on their gospel music
output, before spending four years conscripted
in the United States Air Force
. Upon discharge he joined The Skylarks in 1956 and recorded
for Excello's
subsidiary label
, Nashboro Records. After the group disbanded Shelton sang alongside and toured with both Bobby Hebb
and DeFord Bailey, Jr.
In 1961 Shelton's debut album
Roscoe Shelton Sings was released by Excello, before various singles
followed, including "Strain on My Heart" (1965). The track was a Top 40 success in the Billboard
R&B
chart
. By this time Shelton's work appeared on Sound Stage 7
, and another Top 40 hit was "Easy Going Fellow." In 1966 his next album Soul in His Music, Music in His Soul was released, but the long gap between albums stalled his career. However, Shelton performed on the same bill as Otis Redding
at the Apollo Theater
.
The deaths of both Redding and Sam Cooke
, who had been friends of Shelton, took their toll. Shelton left the music industry in 1969, working for Nashville's Meharry Medical College
. Finally in 1994 Shelton, Earl Gaines
, and Clifford Curry
found work billed as the 'Excello Legends'. In 1995, Shelton's song "You Were the Dream" appeared on the soundtrack
of the film
, Blue Juice
.
His recording resumed under the production of Fred James, spawning amongst others, Let It Shine in 1998, plus Shelton's and Gaines' joint effort, Let's Work Together. In July 2002, at the age of 70, Shelton died of cancer
in Nashville.
Two years after his death, Shelton's "Say You Really Care" was included on the Grammy Award
winning compilation album
, Night Train to Nashville
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
electric blues
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer. He is best remembered for his 1965 hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, "Strain on My Heart," and his working relationships with both The Fairfield Four
The Fairfield Four
The Fairfield Four is a gospel group that has existed for over 80 years. They started as a trio in Nashville, Tennessee's Fairfield Baptist Church in 1921. They were designated as National Heritage Fellows in 1989 by the National Endowment for the Arts. The group won the 1998 Grammy for Best...
and Bobby Hebb
Bobby Hebb
Bobby Hebb was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and recording of "Sunny".-Biography:...
. Other notable recordings include "Think It Over" and "Baby Look What You're Doin' To Me". Fred James, who produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
much of Shelton's later work, noted that Shelton moved effortlessly into soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, unlike many of his 1950s blues and R&B recording contemporaries.
Biography
Shelton was born in Lynchburg, TennesseeLynchburg, Tennessee
Lynchburg is a city in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is governed by a consolidated city-county government unit whose boundaries coincide with those of Moore County. Lynchburg is best known as the location of the Jack Daniel's distillery, whose famous whiskey is...
and was raised in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. In 1949 he joined the Fairfield Four, singing lead vocals on their gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
output, before spending four years conscripted
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Upon discharge he joined The Skylarks in 1956 and 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...
for Excello's
Excello Records
Excello Records was an American blues record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label...
subsidiary 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,...
, Nashboro Records. After the group disbanded Shelton sang alongside and toured with both Bobby Hebb
Bobby Hebb
Bobby Hebb was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his writing and recording of "Sunny".-Biography:...
and DeFord Bailey, Jr.
In 1961 Shelton's debut 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...
Roscoe Shelton Sings was released by Excello, before various singles
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...
followed, including "Strain on My Heart" (1965). The track was a Top 40 success in the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
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....
. By this time Shelton's work appeared on Sound Stage 7
Sound Stage 7
Sound Stage 7 was an American, Nashville, Tennessee based record label of the 1960s and 1970s, noted mainly for its soul music releases. The label's biggest star was Joe Simon, who placed numerous singles on the U.S...
, and another Top 40 hit was "Easy Going Fellow." In 1966 his next album Soul in His Music, Music in His Soul was released, but the long gap between albums stalled his career. However, Shelton performed on the same bill as Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
at the Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
.
The deaths of both Redding and Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, who had been friends of Shelton, took their toll. Shelton left the music industry in 1969, working for Nashville's Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College, located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, is a graduate and professional institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church whose mission is to educate healthcare professionals and scientists. Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee...
. Finally in 1994 Shelton, Earl Gaines
Earl Gaines
Earl Gaines was an American soul blues and electric blues singer. Born in Decatur, Alabama, he sang lead vocals on the hit single "It's Love Baby ", accredited to Louis Brooks and his Hi-Toppers, before undertaking a low-key solo career...
, and Clifford Curry
Clifford Curry
Clifford Curry is an American beach music and R&B singer.His career began in high school. He was the member of several groups including: The Echoes, The Five Pennies , Hollyhocks , and the Bubba Suggs Band...
found work billed as the 'Excello Legends'. In 1995, Shelton's song "You Were the Dream" appeared on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the 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...
, Blue Juice
Blue Juice
Blue Juice is a 1995 British film directed by Carl Prechezer and starring Sean Pertwee, Catherine Zeta Jones, Ewan McGregor and Steven Mackintosh. It follows JC as he attempts to reconcile his surfer lifestyle and loser friends with the pressure to grow up from his girlfriend...
.
His recording resumed under the production of Fred James, spawning amongst others, Let It Shine in 1998, plus Shelton's and Gaines' joint effort, Let's Work Together. In July 2002, at the age of 70, Shelton died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Nashville.
Two years after his death, Shelton's "Say You Really Care" was included on the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Night Train to Nashville
Night Train to Nashville
A two disc compilation of R&B songs from 1945-1970 featured on the WIVK radio station of Nashville, Tennessee. It won a Grammy Award in 2005.-Track listing:# Nashville Jumps # Buzzard Pie # Skip's Boogie # L & N Special # Sittin' Here Drinking...
.
Albums
- Roscoe Shelton Sings (ExcelloExcello RecordsExcello Records was an American blues record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label...
, 1961) - Soul in His Music, Music in His Soul (Sound Stage 7Sound Stage 7Sound Stage 7 was an American, Nashville, Tennessee based record label of the 1960s and 1970s, noted mainly for its soul music releases. The label's biggest star was Joe Simon, who placed numerous singles on the U.S...
, 1966) - Strain on Your Heart (CharlyCharly RecordsCharly Records is a British record label which specialises in reissued material.-History:Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. Charly Records was founded in France in 1974 by Jean-Luc Young, who had been a promoter of...
, 1987) - Roscoe Shelton Sings (P-VineP-Vine RecordsP-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions, Inc., a firm in Tokyo, Japan established in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi...
, 1995) - She's the One (Appaloosa, 1996)
- Tennessee R&B Live (Appaloosa, 1997)
- Let It Shine (Black TopBlack Top RecordsBlack Top Records was a New Orleans, Louisiana based independent record label founded in 1981 by brothers Nauman S. Scott, III and Hammond Scott. The label specialized in blues and R&B music. The first release was "Talk To You By Hand" by Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets...
, 1998) - Let's Work Together (Cannonball, 2000)
Singles
- "I've Been Faithful" / "We've Been Wrong" (1960) (Excello 2146)
- "Strain on My Heart" (1965) - USUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B SinglesHot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
#25 - "Easy Going Fellow" (1966) - US R&B Singles #32