Willie Tee
Encyclopedia
Willie Tee was an American
keyboardist, songwriter, singer, producer and notable early architect of New Orleans funk and soul, who helped shape the sound of New Orleans for more than four decades.
' street-beat funk to the world.
Wilson Turbinton and his older brother, modern jazz saxophonist, Earl Turbinton, grew up in the Calliope public housing complex alongside the Neville brothers
. His earliest influences ranged from the rhythm and blues of Professor Longhair
to the jazz of John Coltrane
.
He made his first recordings for the local AFO Records in 1962 while still a teenager. Three years later, he cut "Teasin' You", a soulful, mid-tempo composition for Atlantic Records
. His "Walking Up a One-Way Street" and "Thank You John" were also popular hits.
In the late 1960s, Willie Tee & the Souls played venues from the Apollo Theater
in Harlem to the Ivanhoe
on Bourbon Street. After hearing the band at the Ivanhoe in 1968, jazz musician Cannonball Adderley encouraged Tee to record an instrumental album. The album was never released, but the master tapes were recently rediscovered in the vaults of Capitol Records
. Tee's pop was called expressive, his funk ferocious and his jazz "like mirrors in a prism" by longtime producer Leo Sacks, who called Willie Tee "a monster on the B-3 organ" in a Times-Picayune article.
Tee's early recordings, many of which were reissued by New York's Tuff City Records
, were employed as source material for rappers. Houston's Geto Boys
sampled "Smoke My Peace Pipe", a song Tee had written for the Wild Magnolias. Sean Combs
borrowed riffs and grooves from the Gaturs' "Concentrate" for the 1997 album No Way Out. Alex Chilton
also recorded a version of "Thank You John" in the 1980s, and Russell Minus completed a suite of elegies in 1996.
More recently, New Orleans rapper Lil' Wayne sampled "Moment of Truth", a song from Turbinton's 1976 album, Anticipation for "Tha Mobb", the opening track on Tha Carter II
.
Tee remained active in his career as a producer, songwriter, performer and session musician. His collaborations with his brother Earl included 1988's Brothers for Life. He contributed to Dr. John
's 2004 album, N'Awlinz: Dis Dat or D'Udda, and appeared briefly in the Oscar-winning Jamie Foxx
film about Ray Charles
, Ray
.
In October 2005, after Hurricane Katrina
devastated New Orleans, Turbinton accepted a job as a visiting lecturer in the music department at Princeton University
, and spent the next four months working with music students there. In January 2006, he returned to Louisiana and settled in Baton Rouge.
In April 2007, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
honored Tee for his contributions to Louisiana music with an induction.
Tee died on September 11, 2007, aged 63, four weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer
. His brother, Earl Turbinton, had died the previous month.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
keyboardist, songwriter, singer, producer and notable early architect of New Orleans funk and soul, who helped shape the sound of New Orleans for more than four decades.
Biography
Born as Wilson Turbinton, Willie Tee arranged, co-wrote and led the band on the Wild Magnolias' self-titled 1974 debut album. The popularity of that recording, and the subsequent They Call Us Wild introduced the Mardi Gras IndiansMardi Gras Indians
Mardi Gras Indians are African-American Carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana, who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by Native American ceremonial apparel.Collectively, their organizations are called "tribes"...
' street-beat funk to the world.
Wilson Turbinton and his older brother, modern jazz saxophonist, Earl Turbinton, grew up in the Calliope public housing complex alongside the Neville brothers
Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He has had four top-20 hits in the United States along with four platinum-certified albums...
. His earliest influences ranged from the rhythm and blues of Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist...
to the jazz of John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
.
He made his first recordings for the local AFO Records in 1962 while still a teenager. Three years later, he cut "Teasin' You", a soulful, mid-tempo composition for Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. His "Walking Up a One-Way Street" and "Thank You John" were also popular hits.
In the late 1960s, Willie Tee & the Souls played venues from 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...
in Harlem to the Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while...
on Bourbon Street. After hearing the band at the Ivanhoe in 1968, jazz musician Cannonball Adderley encouraged Tee to record an instrumental album. The album was never released, but the master tapes were recently rediscovered in the vaults of Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. Tee's pop was called expressive, his funk ferocious and his jazz "like mirrors in a prism" by longtime producer Leo Sacks, who called Willie Tee "a monster on the B-3 organ" in a Times-Picayune article.
Tee's early recordings, many of which were reissued by New York's Tuff City Records
Tuff City Records
Tuff City Records is a New York-based record label founded by journalist Aaron Fuchs in 1981. Initially concentrating on hip hop music, the label's roster expanded to include doo-wop, dancehall, and hip hop-jazz fusion, and releases included reissues of music from as far back as the 1940s.Fuchs was...
, were employed as source material for rappers. Houston's Geto Boys
Geto Boys
Geto Boys is a rap group from Houston, Texas, consisting of Scarface, Willie D and Bushwick Bill. The Geto Boys earned notoriety for its lyrics which included misogyny, gore, psychotic experiences, and necrophilia...
sampled "Smoke My Peace Pipe", a song Tee had written for the Wild Magnolias. Sean Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
borrowed riffs and grooves from the Gaturs' "Concentrate" for the 1997 album No Way Out. Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
also recorded a version of "Thank You John" in the 1980s, and Russell Minus completed a suite of elegies in 1996.
More recently, New Orleans rapper Lil' Wayne sampled "Moment of Truth", a song from Turbinton's 1976 album, Anticipation for "Tha Mobb", the opening track on Tha Carter II
Tha Carter II
Tha Carter II is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on December 6, 2005.- Critical reception :The album received general acclaim and was regarded as Lil Wayne's "Classic" and his best work to date.- Track listing :Notes...
.
Tee remained active in his career as a producer, songwriter, performer and session musician. His collaborations with his brother Earl included 1988's Brothers for Life. He contributed to Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
's 2004 album, N'Awlinz: Dis Dat or D'Udda, and appeared briefly in the Oscar-winning Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
film about Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Ray
Ray (film)
Ray is a 2004 biographical film focusing on 30 years of the life of rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. The independently produced film was directed by Taylor Hackford and starred Jamie Foxx in the title role; Foxx received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.Charles was set to...
.
In October 2005, after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
devastated New Orleans, Turbinton accepted a job as a visiting lecturer in the music department at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and spent the next four months working with music students there. In January 2006, he returned to Louisiana and settled in Baton Rouge.
In April 2007, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame is an IRS certified 501 non-profit organization based in the state capitol of Baton Rouge, La., that seeks to preserve Louisiana's rich music culture and heritage and to further educate its citizens and people worldwide about the state’s unique role contributing...
honored Tee for his contributions to Louisiana music with an induction.
Tee died on September 11, 2007, aged 63, four weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer, commonly known as bowel cancer, is a cancer caused by uncontrolled cell growth , in the colon, rectum, or vermiform appendix. Colorectal cancer is clinically distinct from anal cancer, which affects the anus....
. His brother, Earl Turbinton, had died the previous month.