A.K.A. Doc Pomus

A couple decades ago I wrote a review of Johnny Adams album, "Walking On a Tightrope" for Living Blues and out of the blue I received a call from Doc Pomus telling me he enjoyed my review, especially an observation I made about the recording and its overall sound, not simply the excellent singing from Johnny Adams. It was my only contact with this giant of American music. This 2012 film documentary, conceived by his daughter Sharyn Felder and directed by Peter Miller, along with the 2007 biography by Alex Halberstadt, "Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life And Times Of Doc Pomus," provides not simply the details of his life but a sense of the man who went from being a blues singer on crutches to a songwriter who crafted (often with others) some of the most memorable songs of the past 70 years.

The documentary, through interview clips from a variety of family, friends, artists, producers and music scholars traces his growing up in Brooklyn, contracting polio, hearing Joe Turner's recording, Piney Brown Blues, and becoming a blues shouter in Greenwich Village and Brooklyn, making a number of rhythm and blues recordings before chance has him starting to write songs for artists at Atlantic Records, including his hero, Big Joe Turner, including Chains of Love, which he states he sold the rights to. It would launch a career that had him spin out classics like Ray Charles' Lonely Avenue. Then there would be his Brill Building partnership with Mort Shuman where they penned so many songs like Why Do I Have To Be a Teenager In Love, This Magic Moment, Sweets For My Sweet, Suspicion, Save the Last Dance For Me, Viva Las Vegas, Little Sister, Go Jimmy Go, Can't Get Used to Losing You and so many more. 

This wonderfully crafted film interweaves his personal life along with his professional life including his marriage, the songwriting partnership with Shulman, moving to the suburbs as well as hanging in Manhattan. Some of the backstory for some of his songs is given as well. Save the Last Dance For Me has a moving story as it reflects his wedding night where he couldn't dance with his wife but insisted she dance, and later she mentioned enjoying the dancing but was saving her best for him. Ben E King, who sang lead on the Drifters classic recording, mentions how he was affected before he recorded it, knowing the story behind it. 


And we are taken to Elvis calling him at 2 in the morning with Doc thinking it was a prank at first and the fact he and Shuman produced a number of songs for Elvis movies. The movie takes us through the bad times as well such as after the partnership with Shuman broke up, and his marriage broke up, how he coped as well as how he became a center of late night hangs at his hotel lobby with all sorts of night folk. Later Doc would be mentoring young songwriters like Kenny Hirsch with whom he wrote There Is Always One More Time for Ray Charles. 

(In the clip immediately below, Doc talks about writing for Elvis in interview clip not in the film but from interviews used in the clip)

Doc was admired by many and he recounts going to a BMI dinner which he regarded as professional obligation and he was seated next to John and Yoko Ono with John Introducing himself which Doc found funny as if he did not know who Lennon was. His daughter Sharyn recalled how Doc and John would meet in the neighborhood wearing disguises and one day she saw John and Yoiko in a supermarket and introduced herself with Lennon responding "DOC POMUS" and then singing Save the Last Dance For Me. And Doc recounts how Dylan once asked him to supply lyrics for some music, which Doc found incredible.

There are so many stories about how Doc would go out of his way to help folks in different ways, his efforts to revive his friend Jimmy Scott's career (and it took Doc's f**kin g funeral to get Scott a recording contract), assist Big Joe Turner including an anecdote that he was pissed because he thought The Cookery was over-working Big Joe by having him play three shows that night, taht he left in a huff and ha his driver call in a bomb threat that emptied the club and made sure Turner did not do a third set that night

Doc was a larger than life person that it one wrote a novel about, no one would believe. This is a movie I have watched over a half dozen times and it moves me each time and I learn something new each time. Truly a remarkable film about a remarkable person.

I purchased this as a download. The trailer for the film is at the top of this somewhat inelegant blog post. Here is Mike Stoller's comments on A.K.A. Doc Pomus.

Jimmy Scott I Go Back Home

Jimmy Scott
I Go Back Home
Eden River Records

Jimmy Scott's career was one of great frustration as for years he was bound to an onerous recording contract with the result that in his prime years, his musical career was stifled. Fortunately starting in the 1980s, Scott's fortune changed. He was amongst the early recipients of the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Still, despite the efforts of his friends like the late Doc Pomus, it wasn't until a record company exec saw Scott sing at Pomus' funeral that he was signed to a record label. As one close to Doc Pomus noted in the film, "AKA Doc Pomus", it took Pomus to f****ng die for Jimmy Scott to get a recording contract. Fortunately we were blessed with many memorable recordings that displayed his unique vocal styling.

This new album was recorded prior to Scott's passing in 2014 and was the result of the desire of German producer Ralf Kemper to produce Scott, that this elaborate production occurred. Mixed by the late Phil Ramone, Scott is joined by a number of collaborators including Bossa nova icon Oscar Castro-Neves and legendary saxophonist James Moody, both of whom themselves passed away after their contributions to this recording. Scott is wonderfully backed on many songs by drummer Peter Erskine, the great pianist Kenny Barron and organist and trumpet player Joey DeFrancesco. Jazz icon Dee Dee Bridgewater joins Scott on "For Once in My Life," while vocalist Monica Mancini and trumpet master Arturo Sandoval are on "I Remember You," while several tracks have lush orchestrations played by the HBR Studio Symphony Orchestra.

This album is clearly a labor of love from the producer but one would be hard pressed to call this among Scott's finest works. Scott was among the most singular singers whose phrasing, timing and pitch could wring emotion out of what would sound like cliches when sung by lesser vocalists. Yet there are passages here when his vocals sound a tad frayed. Still his ability to move the listener is evident on the opening "Motherless Child," enhanced by Joey DeFrancesco's organ. On "Easy Living" his vocal is half-spoken with a fine DeFrancesco solo. The bossa nova "Love Letters" is an appealing vocal duet with Oscar Castro-Neves who contributes his guitar along with his vocal in Portuguese, while Dee Dee Bridgewater joins Scott for a duet of Stevie Wonder's "For Once In My Life," with James Moody contributing a terrific tenor sax solo.

Furthermore, some of the other performances another singer is at the fore such as Monica Mancini's marvelous featured vocal on "I Remember You," which also has the with the guitar of Oscar Castro-Neves in the accompaniment and with Sandoval's trumpet. On "Someone to Watch Over Me" (perhaps a song he is most identified with), Scott provides a brief spoken introduction before Renee Olstead sings the vocal in an attractive understated manner. There are two duets with actor Joe Pesci that are among the high points of this recording. Kenny Barron's piano is noteworthy on "The Nearness of You," where Pesci both shows Scott's influence in his approach as well as complements Scott.

There is plenty of poignancy throughout, including the closing "Poor Butterfly," with Gregoire Maret's wistful harmonica, but Scott himself shows his years and perhaps health issues. If one was looking for an introduction to Jimmy Scott, there would be other recordings that one would recommend before this. This is more a recording for those who are already fans of him, and wish to hear his last musical testament, that is wonderfully played even if it has some flaws.

I received for review a download from a publicist. Here is Dee Dee Bridgewater behind the scenes for "For Once in My Life."

Going to New Orleans for the Ponderosa Stomp

Well I will be away for a few days as I am going to New Orleans for the annual Jazz & Heritage Festival (the 38th I believe), but as far as an appertizer goes, one cannot do much better than the annual Ponderosa Stomp, which has joined WWOZ's Piano Night and the free performances at the Louisiana Music Factory as one of the must see events for those in New Orleans during the week between the Fairground weekends. This year's line-up includes Lazy Lester, Barbara Lynn, Jimmy Scott, Roy Head, Henry Gray, Little Freddie King, Lil Buck & the Top Cats, Dave Bartholomew, Wardell Querzerque, Dan Penn, Rory Erickson and more. After a one year hiatus in Memphis, the Stomp returns to post-Katrina New Orleans with a typically ambitious line-up of blues and roots acts.

By the way, the name Ponderosa Stomp comes from a Lazy Lester instrumental on Excello of the same name. Ponderosa refers to Angola Penitentiary. It was the name the inmates had for the prison, and some folk like the late James Booker refer to it in some of their recordings (I am thinking about Booker's rendition of "Junco Partner").

Here is a link to this year's Ponderosa Stomp.

I have posted some images from the 2004 Ponderosa Stomp.