Fred Hughes | |
|---|---|
 Circa 1970 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Arkansas |
| Genres | R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Website | www |
Fred Hughes is an American R&B singer.
Fred Hughes | |
|---|---|
| Circa 1970 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Arkansas |
| Genres | R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Website | www |
Fred Hughes is an American R&B singer.
He was born in Arkansas, but moved to Compton, California. [1] He first recorded while a student at Compton High School as a member of the Cymbals in 1962, [2] and worked as a member of a band, the Creators.
Hughes was signed up for Vee-Jay Records by the label's A&R chief on the West Coast in the 1960s shortly before its demise, scoring hits in 1965 with the singles, "Oo Wee Baby, I Love You" (#3 R&B and #23 Pop) and "You Can't Take It Away" (another Top 20 R&B hit, #96 pop), written and produced by Parker. [3] [4] Released in Britain on the Fontana label, "OO Wee Baby" became a soul classic and was re-released in 1976 by DJM Records because of demand, according to the record's picture sleeve.
The singer's career struggled after his label's collapse, although he had a couple of Richard Parker-produced singles released on Exodus, run by Vee-Jay personnel briefly in 1966, and another two later on Chess Records.
In 1969, Hughes signed with another Chicago label, Brunswick Records and although failing to reach the pop charts, two releases for the label became R&B successes, "Baby Boy" at #25 and "I Understand" at #45. [5] An album was later released by Brunswick featuring the two hits.
According to his blog, Fred Hughes is often confused with Freddie Hughes, an Oakland, California recording artist, and Castlemont High School graduate. The 1988 edition of Joel Whitburn's "Top R&B Singles" Billboard-based book lists releases by both artists together as if they were one artist, whilst AllMusic Guide's brief biography of Fred Hughes conflates the two artists, but in later editions of Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles" do separate the two artists, as of the 1994 edition. [1]
Freddie Hughes recorded "Send My Baby Back", which was also a Top 20 R&B hit. [5] On the strength of this hit, Wand Records released an album of the same name. Freddie Hughes recorded with several Oakland and Berkeley groups including the Melkeets, the Four Rivers, Music City Soul Brothers, the Casanova Two, and he shared a producer, Lonnie Hewitt, with the Ballads. He recorded "Send My Baby Back" on Lonnie Hewitt's Wee Records and when the record became popular, it was leased to Wand.
In 2014, Fred Hughes' "Baby Boy", a favorite on the UK's Northern soul scene, was featured in the film, "Northern Soul". [6]
Johnnie Harrison Taylor was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco.
Carla Venita Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. Thomas is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits "Gee Whiz " (1960), "B-A-B-Y" (1966) and "Tramp" (1967), a duet with Otis Redding. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.
Tyrone Davis was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more than 20 years. Davis had three number 1 hits on the Billboard R&B chart: "Can I Change My Mind" (1968), "Turn Back the Hands of Time" (1970), and "Turning Point" (1975).
Freddie Scott was an American soul singer and songwriter. His biggest hits were "Hey, Girl", a top ten US pop hit in 1963, and "Are You Lonely for Me", a no. 1 hit on the R&B chart in early 1967.
Gene Chandler is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful songs, "Duke of Earl" and "Groovy Situation", and his association with the Dukays, the Impressions, and Curtis Mayfield.
David Cortez Clowney, known by the stage name Dave "Baby" Cortez, is an American pop and R&B organist and pianist, best known for his 1959 hit, "The Happy Organ".
Laten John Adams Jr., was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest hits were his versions of "Release Me" and "Reconsider Me" in the late 1960s.
"I Got a Woman" is a song co-written and recorded by American R&B and soul musician Ray Charles. Atlantic Records released the song as a single in December 1954, with "Come Back Baby" as the B-side. Both songs later appeared on the 1957 album Ray Charles.
Donnie Elbert was an American soul singer and songwriter, who had a prolific career from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s. His U.S. hits included "Where Did Our Love Go?" (1971), and his reputation as a Northern soul artist in the UK was secured by "A Little Piece of Leather", a performance highlighting his powerful falsetto voice.
Garnet Mimms is an American singer, influential in soul music and rhythm and blues. He first achieved success as the lead singer of Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters, and is best known for the 1963 hit "Cry Baby", later recorded by Janis Joplin. According to Steve Huey at AllMusic, his "pleading, gospel-derived intensity made him one of the earliest true soul singers [and] his legacy remains criminally underappreciated."
Barbara Lynn is an American rhythm and blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her R&B chart-topping hit, "You'll Lose a Good Thing" (1962). In 2018, Lynn received a National Heritage Fellowship.
Ernest Aaron Freeman was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Dee Clark was an American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the song "Raindrops", which became a million-seller in the United States in 1961.
"Do It Baby" is a 1974 single recorded and released by the Motown R&B group The Miracles. The song was taken from the album of the same name, and written by Motown staff songwriters Freddie Perren and Christine Yarian and produced by Perren.
Jimmy J. Hughes is an American former rhythm and blues singer, whose biggest successes in the mid-1960s, notably his hit "Steal Away", were important in the early development of the Muscle Shoals music industry.
"Just a Little Bit" is an R&B-style blues song recorded by Rosco Gordon in 1959. It was a hit in both the R&B and pop charts. Called "one of the standards of contemporary blues," "Just a Little Bit" has been recorded by various other artists, including Little Milton and Roy Head, who also had record chart successes with the song.
"Devil or Angel" is a song written by Blanche Carter and originally recorded by the Clovers in 1955, where it went to number four on the US R&B Best Sellers chart. It was re-recorded by John Bailey after he left the Clovers and formed another Clovers group for Lana Records in 1965.
Elton Anderson was an American singer and swamp pop pioneer who had a chart hit on Mercury Records.
"If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" is a song written by Rudy Clark and first recorded by James Ray in 1961. Ray's recording on the Caprice label, arranged by Hutch Davie and produced by Gerry Granahan, reached number 10 on the US Billboard R&B chart and number 22 on the Hot 100 in early 1962.
Fred Willie Hughes Jr. was an American gospel, soul, and R&B singer, perhaps best known for his 1968 song, "Send My Baby Back".
