Tuff Green

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Richard "Tuff" Green (born July 23, 1911, Greenville, MS) was an American jazz and R&B bassist and bandleader. [1]

Contents

After studying with Jimmie Lunceford in Memphis, in the late 1940s he led the Rocketeers, which featured, among others, Phineas Newborn Sr., Ben Branch, Leonard "Doughbelly" Campbell, Willie Mitchell, Hank Crawford, [2] saxophonist Irvin Reason, trumpeter Gene "Bowlegs" Miller, trombonist Walter "Tang" Smith, saxophonist James Luper, and pianist Harry Gibson [3] [4] Mose Allison, having heard them in 1947, has credited Tuff Green and His Rocketeers with playing the first "rock and roll". [5] [6]

As an established bandleader in Memphis, in 1951 he later put together the pickup band for B. B. King's first hit, "Three O'Clock Blues", [7] Ben Branch and Phineas Newborn Sr., along with Newborn's sons, Phineas Jr. and Calvin, together with Ben Branch's brother Thomas, and Sammie Jett [8] and which was recorded in Green's sitting room. [9] A previous version of the song had been recorded in September 1951 with King backed by Richard Sanders and Adolph "Billy" Duncan on tenor saxes, Johnny Ace, Green, and Earl Forest on drums. [10]

Bobby Bland's first recording was also made in Green's sitting room, [2] and featured Green, Johnny Ace, Earl Forest, M.T. (Matthew) Murphy, Little Junior Parker, Ike Turner, [11] and Rosco Gordon, [12] whose "No More Doggin'", also recorded at Green's home, was a number 3 R&B hit. [13]

Discography

Album features

Albums as a sideman

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References

  1. ↑ Center for Southern Folklore Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 and Luther Steinberg DeCosta-Willis, Miriam (2008) Notable Black Memphians, p. 40. Cambria Press At Google Books. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  3. ↑ 706 Union Avenue Memphis, Tennessee: 706 Union Avenue Sessions Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  4. ↑ DeCosta-Willis, Miriam (2008) Notable Black Memphians, p. 100. Cambria Press Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  5. ↑ Jones, Patti (1995) One Man's Blues: The Life and Music of Mose Allison, p. 27. Quartet Books At Google Books. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  6. ↑ Coleman, Christopher Kiernan (2011) Ghosts and Haunts of Tennessee, p. 161. John F. Blair At Google Books. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  7. ↑ Lauterbach, Preston (2011) The Chitlin' Circuit: And the Road to Rock 'n' Roll pp. 188-213. W. W. Norton & Company. At Google Books. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  8. ↑ Danchin, Sebastian (1998) Blues Boy: The Life and Music of B.B. King, p. 27. Univ. Press of Mississippi At Google Books. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  9. ↑ Farley, Charles (2011) Soul of the Man: Bobby "Blue" Bland, p. 37. Univ. Press of Mississippi At Google Books. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  10. ↑ "The songs and the artists" PBS. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  11. ↑ African Americans in Memphis (TN) At Google Books. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  12. ↑ Guralnick, Peter and Robert Santelli, Holly George-Warren (2013) Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey. HarperCollins At Google Books. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  13. ↑ Walker, Steve. Biography of Rosco Gordon Retrieved July 2, 2013.
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