Roy Milton
Encyclopedia
Roy Milton was an American
R&B
and jump blues
singer, drummer
and bandleader
.
. He was born in Wynnewood
, Oklahoma
, United States
, and grew up on an Indian reservation
before moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma
. He joined the Ernie Fields
band
in the late 1920s as singer and, later, drummer.
Moving to Los Angeles
, California
in 1933, he formed his own band, the Solid Senders, with Camille Howard
on piano
. He performed in local clubs
and began recording
in the 1940s, his first release being "Milton's Boogie" on his own record label
. His big break came in 1946, when his "R. M. Blues", on the new Juke Box
label, became a hit
, reaching number 2 on the Billboard
R&B
chart
and #20 on the pop chart
. Its success helped establish Art Rupe
's company, which he shortly afterwards renamed Specialty Records
.
Milton and his band became a major touring attraction, and he continued to record successfully for Specialty Records through the late 1940s and early 1950s. He recorded a total of 19 Top Ten R&B hits, the biggest being "Hop, Skip and Jump" (# 3 R&B, 1948), "Information Blues" (# 2 R&B, 1950), and "Best Wishes" (# 2 R&B, 1952). He left Specialty in 1955. However, releases on other labels were unsuccessful, and the development of rock and roll
had rendered him something of an anachronism by the middle of the decade.
Nevertheless he continued to perform, appearing in 1970 as a member of Johnny Otis
' band at the Monterey Jazz Festival
, and resuming his recording career in the 1970s with albums for Kent Records
and the French label Black & Blue.
Milton died in Los Angeles
, California
, in September 1983, aged 76.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
and jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
singer, drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
.
Career
Milton's grandmother was a ChickasawChickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
. He was born in Wynnewood
Wynnewood, Oklahoma
Wynnewood is a city in Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,367 at the 2000 census.- History :There is also a Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. The railroad workers were from Pennsylvania and named the existing townsites what they wanted. They also named Paoli and Ardmore, Oklahoma...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and grew up on an Indian reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
before moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. He joined the Ernie Fields
Ernie Fields
Ernie Fields was an African American trombonist, pianist, arranger and bandleader. He first became known for leading the Royal Entertainers, which were based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and toured along a circuit stretching from Kansas City, Kansas, to Dallas, Texas.-Early life and career:Fields was born...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
in the late 1920s as singer and, later, drummer.
Moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1933, he formed his own band, the Solid Senders, with Camille Howard
Camille Howard
Camille Howard was an American R&B pianist and singer.Howard was born in Galveston, Texas. When in California in the 1940s, she became the featured piano player with Roy Milton’s Solid Senders, playing on all their early hits on Juke Box and then Specialty labels, including "R. M...
on piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. He performed in local clubs
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
and began recording
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...
in the 1940s, his first release being "Milton's Boogie" on his own record 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,...
. His big break came in 1946, when his "R. M. Blues", on the new Juke Box
Specialty Records
Specialty Records was an American record label based in Los Angeles. It was originally launched as Juke Box Records in 1946, but later renamed by its owner Art Rupe when he parted company with a couple of his original partners...
label, became a hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, reaching number 2 on 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....
and #20 on the pop chart
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...
. Its success helped establish Art Rupe
Art Rupe
Arthur N. "Art" Rupe is an American music industry executive and record producer. He started Specialty Records, noted for its rhythm & blues, blues, gospel and early rock and roll music recordings, in Los Angeles in 1946.-Career:Born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Rupe...
's company, which he shortly afterwards renamed Specialty Records
Specialty Records
Specialty Records was an American record label based in Los Angeles. It was originally launched as Juke Box Records in 1946, but later renamed by its owner Art Rupe when he parted company with a couple of his original partners...
.
Milton and his band became a major touring attraction, and he continued to record successfully for Specialty Records through the late 1940s and early 1950s. He recorded a total of 19 Top Ten R&B hits, the biggest being "Hop, Skip and Jump" (# 3 R&B, 1948), "Information Blues" (# 2 R&B, 1950), and "Best Wishes" (# 2 R&B, 1952). He left Specialty in 1955. However, releases on other labels were unsuccessful, and the development of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
had rendered him something of an anachronism by the middle of the decade.
Nevertheless he continued to perform, appearing in 1970 as a member of Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis is an American singer, musician, talent scout, disc jockey, composer, arranger, recording artist, record producer, vibraphonist, drummer, percussionist, bandleader, and impresario.He is commonly referred to as The Godfather Of Rhythm And Blues.-Personal life:Otis, the son of Alexander...
' band at the Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest consecutively running jazz festivals. It debuted on October 3, 1958 and was founded by San Francisco jazz radio broadcaster Jimmy Lyons.-History:...
, and resuming his recording career in the 1970s with albums for Kent Records
Kent Records
Kent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...
and the French label Black & Blue.
Milton died in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in September 1983, aged 76.
Recordings
- "Grovin' With Joe" / "Blues In My Heart" (Roy Milton 111) 1946
- "Them There Eyes" / "Little Boy Blue" (Roy Milton 207) 1946
- "Pack Your Sack, Jack" / ? (Miltone 219) 1946
- "Best Wishes" / "Short Sweet, and Snappy" (Specialty 414) 1950
- "So Tired" / "Thelma Lou" (Specialty 429) 1951
- "Flying Saucer" / "As Time Goes By" (Specialty 436) 1952
- "Night & Day" / "Am I Wasting My Time?" (Specialty 438) 1952
- "Believe Me Baby" / "Blue Turning Gray Over You" (Specialty 446) 1952
- "Do You Remember, Baby" / "Some Day" (Specialty 458) 1952
- "Let Me Give You All My Love" / "Early In The Morning" (Specialty 464) 1954
- "I Stood By" / "Baby, Don't You Know" (Specialty 480) 1954
- "Bird In The Hand" / "Make Me Know It" (Specialty 489) 1954
- "True Blues" / "Camille's Boogie" (Specialty 510) ?
- "It's Too Late" / "Gonna Leave You, Baby" (Specialty 526) 1955
- "Tell It Like It Is" / "How Can I Live Without You" (Specialty 538) 1955
- "Baby, Don't Do That To Me" / "What Can I Do?" (specialty 545) 1955 1
External links
- [ Milton biography] at Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...