The Imperial Show Band
Encyclopedia
Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett is an American music publisher, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and consultant. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi.-Biography:...
's Imperial Show Band was a popular national live act in the 1960s. They are generally regarded as the first integrated band in the state of Mississippi.
Formative years
Jackson, MS, native Whitsett's first record "Jive Harp" b/w "Pipe Dreams" was released on Imperial RecordsImperial Records
Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.- The independent and Liberty Records years :...
when he was sixteen-years-old. Heavily influenced by the sounds of nearby New Orleans, Tim Whitsett & The Imperials (coincidentally) became the hottest band in their home state of Mississippi, and released dozens of R&B, Pop, and Instrumental records, usually written by Whitsett or co-written with his brother Carson, which were issued on a variety of labels, including Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, Whitsett's own Rim, and the legendary Jackson based Ace
Ace
An ace is a playing card. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the Ace of Spades...
, whose president Johnny Vincent was a sort of mentor on how to (or how not to) function in the music business for the teenage Whitsett. Some of these were sizable local hits throughout the South and became very popular when pirated in England. These "45s
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
" are now considered collectables, and Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett is an American music publisher, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and consultant. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi.-Biography:...
records sell for very high prices on sites like eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
.
Success
On the strength of Carson WhitsettCarson Whitsett
Carson Whitsett was an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:...
's B-3 organ playing and the Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett is an American music publisher, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and consultant. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi.-Biography:...
led horn section, the group was asked to record for Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
(before there was a Booker T. & the MGs and "Green Onions") long before the company was a powerhouse and later, Chips Moman
Chips Moman
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman is an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, Bobby Womack, Carla Thomas, and Merrilee Rush, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960s...
asked the group to be his house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
when he started his American Recording Studio. Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett is an American music publisher, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and consultant. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi.-Biography:...
turned down both offers because he had his own label (Rim), publishing company (Gulfway), and the band was having their own success. Moman would hire now legendary session men like guitarist Reggie Young
Reggie Young
Reggie Young was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studios Band , and is a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with artists such as Elvis Presley, B.J. Thomas, John Prine, Dusty Springfield, J.J...
and record everyone from Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
to Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
to Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
.
Whitsett changed the group's name to The Imperial Show Band, and the group began a successful tour of the country, which included stints in L.A., Lake Tahoe, New York, and a home away from home in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
. With the addition of future Southern Soul
Southern soul
Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues , country, early rock and roll, and a strong gospel influence that emanated from the sounds of Southern African-American churches. The focus of the...
cult figure Tommy Tate on vocals (and later drums as well), they became Tim Whitsett & The Imperial Show Band featuring Tommy Tate.
This was significant because other than Memphis's renowned Booker T. & the MGs (who were a house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
first, usually regulated to working days and nights in the Stax
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
studio), this made Whitsett's band one of the first, if not the only, integrated bands in the entire Southeastarn United States at the time. Like a lot of white Southern musicians, the Whitsett brothers and their group were hugely influenced by two landmark albums: James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
's Live at the Apollo and Bobby "Blue" Bland's Two Steps From the Blues. (Carson Whitsett
Carson Whitsett
Carson Whitsett was an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:...
would later play on several Bland albums, including his Live on Beale Street.) With the addition of Tate, they were more authentic than ever, and a force to be reckoned with. Also doing a brief stint with the band was Dorothy Moore
Dorothy Moore
Dorothy Moore is an American pop, R&B, and soul singer best known for her 1976 hit song, "Misty Blue".-Career:...
of "Misty Blue" fame.
Conclusion
Following maybe one too many lineup changes, Whitsett disbanded the group. Soon afterwards, he received a call from Don Davis who was now Vice President of Stax RecordsStax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
. Davis had heard demos on the group, including Tim Whitsett's "Get It Over Anyway" on Tommy Tate that was released in 2005 on the CD Troubled Waters: Deep Soul from the Deep South. Davis wanted them to augment The Bar-Kays, as well as the remaining MGs (Booker T. Jones
Booker T. Jones
Booker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
had left the company), as another house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
for the label and its recently greatly expanded roster. Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett
Tim Whitsett is an American music publisher, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and consultant. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi.-Biography:...
and Tommy Tate signed on as songwriters and within a week, Whitsett was put in charge of publishing. Carson Whitsett
Carson Whitsett
Carson Whitsett was an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:...
would come to Stax
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
three years later and record an album as a member of The MG's, and Tate replaced Ollie Hoskins as lead singer of The Nightingales.
In 2008, Goldmine Magazine's Top 10 Auction Sale Prices for records recently bought by record collectors listed Tommy & The Derby’s “Handy Andy” b/w “Don’t Play The Role” on the Swing label in 1966 at number five selling for $3,116.00. This is actually The Imperial Show Band with Tommy Tate. If sales of albums are excluded, Tommy & The Derbys ranks No. 3 on the list of most expensive records sold recently.
Notable members
- Tim WhitsettTim WhitsettTim Whitsett is an American music publisher, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and consultant. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi.-Biography:...
- trumpet, harmonica, vocals, piano, harpsichord, percussion, bass (Publisher, producer, author)
- Carson WhitsettCarson WhitsettCarson Whitsett was an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:...
(keyboardist, songwriter, producer, and arranger)
- Tommy Tate (Vocalist, often called "America's best kept secret")
- Guitarists Murry Kellum (Carl PerkinsCarl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
), (Grand Ole OpryGrand Ole OpryThe Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
); Bucky Barrett (Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
); and Jerry Puckett (Ricky NelsonRicky NelsonEric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
, The ChampsThe ChampsThe Champs were an American rock and roll band, most famous for their Latin-tinged instrumental "Tequila". Formed by studio executives at Gene Autry's Challenge Records to record a B-Side for the Dave Burgess single, the intended throwaway track became more famous than its A-Side, "Train to...
)
- Vocalists Buzz Aldridge and Hank Martin (the latter heard on many national jingles and theme song to popular '80s cartoon ThundercatsThunderCatsThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1984, based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens...
)
- Drummers: Buddy Myers, Dulin Lancaster (Nancy SinatraNancy SinatraNancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
, Mississippi Fred McDowellMississippi Fred McDowellFred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
) and artist Bill DunlapBill DunlapWilliam Dunlap may refer to:* William Dunlap , pioneer of the American theater* William Dunlap Simpson , Governor of South Carolina...
. Also, Jimmy Hodo (Saxophone), the only group member with Tim WhitsettTim WhitsettTim Whitsett is an American music publisher, musician, songwriter, producer, author, and consultant. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi.-Biography:...
in every incarnation of the band.
- Bass Players: Ronnie Kellum, Ed Clarke, Guy Bowering, Bennett Jennings.