Tag Archives: Hank Crawford

Hugh McCracken

On March 28, 2013, Hugh C. McCracken died aged 70. He was musician (guitar, harmonica), arranger and producer, best known as session musician. McCracken  recorded with Graham Parker, Yoko Ono, Eric Carmen, Loudon Wainwright III, Lou Donaldson, Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, The Four Seasons, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Hank Crawford, Jerry Jemmott, Dr. John, Gary Wright, Donald Fagen, Jimmy Rushing, Billy Joel, Roland Kirk, Roberta Flack, B. B. King, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, The Monkees, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Idris Muhammad, James Taylor, Phoebe Snow, Bob Dylan, Linda McCartney, Ron Carter, Rusty Bryant, Marlena Shaw, Deodato, Carly Simon and Andy Gibb. From 1969-1972, McCracken was member of Mike Mainieri’s White Elephant Orchestra.

B. B. King: There Must Be a Better World Somewhere

there-must-be-a-better-world-somewhere

In January 1981, “MCA” label released “There Must Be a Better World Somewhere” the twenty seventh B. B. King studio album. It was recorded in 1980, and was produced by Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack. The album won “Grammy Award” for “Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording”.

Personnel:

  • B. B. King- vocals, guitar
  • Hugh McCracken- guitar
  • Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack- keyboards
  • Wilbur Bascomb- bass guitar
  • Bernard “Pretty” Purdie- drums
  • Hank Crawford- alto saxophone
  • David “Fathead” Newman- tenor saxophone
  • Ronald E. Cuber- baritone saxophone
  • Waymon Reed- trumpet
  • Tom Malone- trombone
  • Charlie Miller – trumpet
  • Donny Gerrard, Vennette Gloud, Carmen Twillie- backing vocals

Track listing:

All tracks by Doc Pomus and Dr. John; except where noted.

  1. The Victim
  2. More, More, More – Hugh McCracken, Jay Hirsh
  3. You’re Going with Me
  4. Life Ain’t Nothing But a Party
  5. Born Again Human
  6. There Must Be a Better World Somewhere

Eric Gale

On May 25, 1984, Eric J. Gale died aged 55. He was musician (guitar) and composer,  as session guitarist has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names of the music scene, including Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson, Jimmy McGriff, Benny Golson, Van Morrison, Bernard Purdie, Herbie Mann, Yusuf Lateef, Chico Hamilton, Sonny Stitt, Quincy Jones, Al Kooper, Lena Horn, Gabor Szabo, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Esther Philips, Chuck Rainey, Johnny Hammond, Stanley Turrentine,  David Newman, Hank Crawford, Grover Washington, Jr., Roberta Flack, Stanley Turrentine, Hubert Laws, Bob James, Joe Higgs, Van McCoy, Ron Carter, George Benson, Phil Upchurch, Tom Scott, Idris Muhammad, Ashford & Simpson, Cedar Walton, Stanley Turrentine, Blood, Sweat & Tears,  Paul Butterfield, Joe Cocker and David Ruffin. As leader he released twelve albums.

Grover Washington

On December 17, 1999, Grover Washington, Jr. died aged 56. He was musician (saxophone), composer and arranger, considered to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. Some of his most popular works feature his own compositions and covers of “Mister Magic”, “Take Five”, “Soulful Strut”, “Reed Seed”, “Black Frost”, “Winelight”, “Inner City Blues” and “The Best is Yet to Come”.  In his career he has performed and recorded with many famous musicians, including Kathleen Battle, Kenny Burrell, Hank Crawford, Charles Earland, Dexter Gordon, Urbie Green, Eddie Henderson, Masaru Imada, Boogaloo Joe Jones, Idris Muhammad, Gerry Mulligan, Don Sebesky, Johnny “Hammond” Smith, Melvin Sparks, Leon Spencer, Mal Waldron, Randy Weston, Bill Withers and Patti LaBelle.

Eric Clapton: Journeyman

Eric_Clapton - Journey Man

On November 7, 1989, “Duck” label released “Journeyman”, the eleventh Eric Clapton studio album. It was recorded in 1989, and was produced by Russ Tielman. Clapton won “Grammy Award” for “Best Male Rock Vocal Performance” in 1990 for the song “Bad Love”. “Journeyman” became the first Clapton’s solo studio album to go double platinum.

Personnel:

  • Eric Clapton – vocals, guitar, Dobro, design
  • Robert Cray– guitar
  • Phil Palmer– guitar
  • John Tropea– rhythm guitar
  • George Harrison– guitar, harmony vocals
  • Cecil Womack– vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Jerry Lynn Williams– guitar, backing and harmony vocals
  • Jeff Bova– synthesizer programming, drum programming, synthesizer horns
  • Alan Clark– synthesizer, keyboards, Hammond organ, sequencing
  • Robbie Kondor– synthesizer, harmonica, keyboards, vocoder, drum programming
  • Rob Mounsey– synthesizer
  • Robby Kilgore – synthesizer
  • Greg Phillinganes– synthesizer, piano, keyboards, background vocals
  • Richard Tee– piano, Fender Rhodes
  • Nathan East– bass, backing vocals
  • Pino Palladino- bass
  • Jim Keltner– percussion, drums, tambourine, drum programming
  • Phil Collins– drums , backing and harmony vocals
  • Carole Steele – percussion, conga, tambourine
  • Gary Burton– vibraphone
  • David Sanborn– alto saxophone
  • Hank Crawford– alto saxophone
  • Ronnie Cuber– baritone saxophone
  • David “Fathead” Newman– tenor saxophone
  • Jon Faddis– trumpet
  • Lew Soloff– trumpet
  • Linda Womack– vocals
  • Daryl Hall– harmony vocals
  • Tawatha Agee – backing vocals
  • Lani Groves – backing vocals
  • Chaka Khan– backing vocals
  • Tessa Niles– backing vocals
  • Vanessa Thomas – backing vocals
  • Jimmy Bralower – drum programming
  • Arif Mardin– arrangements, string arrangements

Track listing:

  1. Pretending – Jerry Lynn Williams
  2. Anything for Your Love – Jerry Lynn Williams
  3. Bad Love – Eric Clapton, Mick Jones
  4. Running on Faith – Jerry Lynn Williams
  5. Hard Times – Ray Charles
  6. Hound Dog – Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
  7. No Alibis – Jerry Lynn Williams
  8. Run So Far – George Harrison
  9. Old Love – Eric Clapton, Robert Cray
  10. Breaking Point – Marty Grebb, Jerry Lynn Williams
  11. Lead Me On – Cecil Womack, Linda Womack
  12. Before You Accuse Me – Ellas McDaniel