CHUCK WILLIS R&B 78 MY CRYING EYES / BETTY AND DUPREE UK LONDON HLE 8725 E-/V+
£
24
$
32
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Description
A HARD TO FIND CHUCK WILLIS 78 THE UK LONDON LABEL
MY CRYING EYES
b/w BETTY AND DUPREE
Chuck Willis (born January 31, 1928, Atlanta, Georgia, USA - died April 10, 1958, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) was an American blues, R&B and rock 'n' roll singer.
Willis was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1926. He was spotted at a talent contest by Atlanta radio disc jockey Zenas Sears, who became his manager and helped him to sign with Columbia Records in 1951. After one single, Willis began recording on a Columbia subsidiary, Okeh. During his stay at Okeh, he established himself as a popular R&B singer and songwriter, performing material that he wrote himself. In 1956, he moved to Atlantic Records where he had immediate success with "It's Too Late", "Juanita" and "Love Me Cherry".
His most successful recording was "C.C. Rider", which topped the US Billboard R&B chart in 1957 and also crossed over and sold well in the pop market. Jerry Wexler said it was Willis's surprising idea to "do an old standard" instead of one of his own songs. "C.C. Rider" was a remake of a twelve-bar blues, performed by Ma Rainey in Atlanta before Willis was born. Its relaxed beat, combined with a mellow vibraphone backing and chorus, inspired the emergence of the popular dance, The Stroll. When performing on stage Willis and his group would do this step side to side. Dick Clark played "C. C. Rider" on American Bandstand, and "The Stroll" became a popular dance. Willis's follow-up was "Betty and Dupree", another "stroll" song and a similar "old standard", which also did well. Wexler said that Dick Clark used "Betty and Dupree" on American Bandstand to accompany "The Stroll," and that is how Willis became known as "King of The Stroll." Willis' single "Going to the River", a song by Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino, was a prototype for his "stroll" sound, reaching No.4 on the R&B chart.
Willis performed wearing a turban (a gimmick suggested to him by his friend Screamin' Jay Hawkins) and was also known as the "Sheik of Shake." In the early 1950s he hosted and performed on a weekly Saturday night television show in Atlanta, which featured guest artists such as Ray Charles and Sam Cooke who were passing through town. Zenas Sears said that Willis was a better songwriter than a performer, but also said, "On the TV show ... Chuck would do five or six different numbers every week. He moved very well, he handled himself very well and put everyone at ease." He was a solid, if not spectacular, performer on the road as well, and "was one of the few artists who would treat a band properly," according to Roy Gaines, who was Willis's bandleader and guitarist.
"Betty and Dupree" from 1958 became his second hit in the US Billboard charts after CC Rider and made it to #33 - also reaching #15 in the US R&B charts
Labels have marks and writing on them but the record is in EXCELLENT condition
THE RECORD FAILED TO MAKE IT INTO THE UK CHARTS AND IS HARD TO FIND!
HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO PICK UP THIS SCARCE CHUCK WILLIS RELEASE ON A UK LONDON 78!
DON'T MISS IT - BUY NOW!
POSTAGE STUFF
10" 78 RPM RECORDS NEED CAREFULLY PACKING, AND I CLAIM TO HAVE THE BEST PACKAGING IN THE WORLD FOR DISPATCHING THEM!
THE GREG'S GREAT'S SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A SPECIALLY DESIGNED INNER BOX MADE OUT OF 1" THICK POLYSTYRENE, WHICH THEN GOES INSIDE A DOUBLE CORRUGATED STIFF OUTER CARDBOARD CARTON. THE BOXES CAN TAKE UP TO 21 RECORDS
I SEND OUT ON AVERAGE ABOUT 15 PARCELS A WEEK AND DISPATCH IS NORMALLY DONE ONCE A WEEK
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