Wilbert Harrison was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rhythm and blues

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, 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:...

, guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 and harmonica

Harmonica

The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

 player.

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Harrison had a Billboard #1 record

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...

 in 1959 with the song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 "Kansas City

Kansas City (R&B song)

"Kansas City" is a rhythm and blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952. First recorded by Little Willie Littlefield the same year, the song later became a #1 hit when it was recorded by Wilbert Harrison in 1959...

". The song was written in 1952 and was one of the first credited collaborations by the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...

. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a 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,...

. Harrison recorded "Kansas City" for the Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

 based entrepreneur Bobby Robinson.

Harrison 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 the Fire

Fire Records

Fire Records was an independent record label set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson . Among others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James and Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup.-Selected discography:...

 and Fury

Fury Records

Fury Records was set up by Bobby Robinson in 1957. In 1959 it had a Billboard No.1 hit with Kansas City, sung by Wilbert Harrison. In the early seventies the label launched early rap groups like Grandmaster Flash....

 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,...

s, which were owned and operated by Robinson. After this success, Harrison continued to perform and record

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...

 but it would be another ten years before he recorded "Let's Work Together

Let's Work Together

"Let's Stick Together" or "Let's Work Together" as it was subsequently titled, is a blues song written by Wilbert Harrison, which was released in 1962...

" that went to # 32 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...

, and was later a hit for Canned Heat

Canned Heat

Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...

 and Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...

. It was also recorded by country rock

Country rock

Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...

 band The Kentucky Headhunters

The Kentucky Headhunters

The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock band. They were founded in 1968 as Itchy Brother, which comprised brothers Richard Young and Fred Young along with Greg Martin and Anthony Kenney...

 for 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...

 to the movie

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...

, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

Other songs in the film, but not included on the soundtrack are "Stop the World" by The Screaming Jets, "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, and "Work to Do" and "The Better Part of Me" by Vanessa Williams.-See also:* List of American films of 1991*...

. In 1970, Harrison had some success with "My Heart Is Yours", and he toured for many years with a 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...

 known as 'Wilbert Harrison and The Roamers', as well as a solo

Solo (music)

In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 act.

Harrison died of a stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

 in 1994, in a Spencer, North Carolina

Spencer, North Carolina

Spencer is a town in Rowan County, North Carolina, United States, incorporated in 1905. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 3,355.-History:...

 nursing home at the age of 65.

In 2001, his recording of "Kansas City" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award

Grammy Hall of Fame Award

The Grammy Hall of Fame Award is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance"...

, and has also been named as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

External links

• [ All Music page]