Posts
By Randy Fox
2018: BMG: 184 pp.
This is among two the first in these pocket-sized paperbacks devoted to various independent record labels that have played a significant role in the recording industry of the past 75 years. While subtitled The Excello Records Story," this volume is devoted to the various labels that Ernie Young established including Nashboro, Abet, and others in addition to Excello. While Excello is the best known of these labels, it was not the only significant one.
The story begins with Nashville after the Second World War. While viewed as a country town, there has always been a vital African-American music scene perhaps best manifested by Cecil Gant, whose recordings included one "Nashville Jumps." Fox introduces us to Ernie Young, who got into the jukebox and pinball business and eventually, the record business. Then there is the legendary radio station, WLAC. Late at night after the network broadcast ended. Deejay Gene Nobles would broadcast. Students from Fisk University brought some boogie-woogie and jump blues records to Nobles, which he played and got a great response. This response led to local stores that sold records purchasing blocks of time to advertise mail-order sales Stores included those owned by Randy Wood from outside of Nashville and Ernie Young. They would offer packs of records that included some of the favorites played on WLAC. Eventually, to help fill out these packs of 45s (that they sold C.O.D.), the store owners set up their own record labels. Randy Wood established Dot Records, while Young started the Nashboro group of labels.
Young had started his Record Store in 1945, before establishing the Nashboro label in 1950, and it had quite a business catering to African Americans. Nashboro focused on gospel music. Fox observes:
Through mail-order sales, the Record Mart sold thousands of discs. A few indie R&B labels—Peacock, Specialty, Savoy, Apollo, Old Town—released black gospel records, but many others ignored the field. … Young believed starting his own gospel label was a win-win—increasing the supply of new gospel titles meant more sales of gospel packages and, by cutting out the middleman, the Record Mart's share of the profits would increase.
The lack of competing gospel labels worked in Young's favor in other ways, as well. Many popular touring gospel groups were eager to secure recording contracts.
Young first recorded other gospel acts before recording Nashville based acts. He first recorded at the WLAC studios, but the thrift-minded Young purchased a recording machine and eventually constructed a studio in the building with his store. He hired a scout for gospel and other talents. He added some hillbilly releases to the label, but this was a short-lived addition. Fox then details the recording of blues and R&B starting with the blues pianist Sherman Johnson, and then Young purchased some J.O.B. masters, including one by Alfred' Fat Man' Wallace.
In 1952, Young started the Excello label, and its acts included Skippy Brooks, a member of Gatemouth brown's Nashville band, Thomas "Shy Guy" Douglas, Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers, Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers, Ted Jarrett, Earl Gaines, Kid King's Combo, Larry Birdsong, Arthur Gunter, Jerry McCain, and others. Ted Jarrett, of course, also was important as a talent scout and a songwriter. This is a lead-in to Ernie Young's agreement with Crowley, Louisiana producer Jay Miller that started with a 1955 agreement that was described as "Excello Signs Lightnin' Slim." Fox provides, in this book, a condensed history of the relationship between the Excello and Miller. This history previously had been discussed by John Broven in his book "Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock' n' Roll Pioneers," and Martin Hawkins in "Slim Harpo: Blues King Bee of Baton Rouge."
The arrangement between Young and Miller is described;
The arrangement established between Young and Miller became the standard for all artists Miller brought to Excello. The artists were technically signed to Miller's production company, not Excello Records. Miller delivered finished master tapes to Young. Excello owned the completed masters, and Excellorec administered the publishing rights. Young paid Miller the negotiated royalty rate for each record sold to cover both record sales (for the artist) and publishing (for the songwriter). Any further royalties due to the songwriter for cover versions of the song were also paid to Miller. Miller was then responsible for passing the appropriate amount on to the individual artists and writers.Fox provides short bios of Lightnin' Slim, Guitar Gabriel, Lonesome Sundown, Lazy Lester, Slim Harpo, Carol Fran, and others as well as an overview of their recordings. There is also a discussion of Miller's role as a songwriter and a producer, such as his urging Slim Harpo to sing more nasally such as country stars Hank Williams and Webb Pierce.
At the same time as Excello was providing a steady stream of blues releases, Morgan Babb brought both gospel artists and R&B talents like Lillian Offitt ("Miss You So"), the Marigolds (formerly known as The Prisonaires, and The Gladiolas ("Little Darlin'"). Young also started the Nasco label, which released some Jay Miller sides, as well as recordings by Cliff Curry, The Crescendos, rockabilly platters from Excello hillbilly stalwart Jack Toombs and hillbilly bop brothers Bob & Ray Wicks. Fox also details issues arising from Young succumbing to the payola practices prevalent at the time.
There is also discussion of some of the more significant recordings such as Gene Allison's "You Can Make It If You Try," and those by Roscoe Shelton. While Jay Miller's Crowley studio continued to supply much of the Excello output, Young "had accumulated a stable of versatile local musicians he utilized for various types of sessions: downhome blues, rock' n' roll, and soul." Slim Harpo became a major selling artist at the time, and with the prospering record labels, Ernie's retail and mail-order business continued to be a vibrant business.
But of course, this success did not continue. Fox chronicles the decline in the Excello's business, the impact of The British Invasion, and Young's declining interest in the record business that led him to sell the Record Company and the record store. The acquiring company, The Crescent Company, initially opened movie theaters. Crescent's holdings included chains of movie theaters, bowling alleys, and skating rinks throughout Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi. It was after Crescent acquired Excello that a dispute with Miller involving Slim Harpo signing directly with Excello ended the longstanding relationship between the two. Slim Harpo's subsequent recordings and early death are discussed as well as the new owner's efforts at recording soul music such as The Kelly Brothers and Kip Anderson, gospel on the newly named Crescent label, which changed to the Creed label because of trademark issues.
There were further gospel recordings and some albums directed at the pop market. Licensing of some of the classic Excello recordings to the British Blue Horizon label foreshadowed later rises of the Nashboro-Excello label's recordings years down the line. Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams was brought in as an independent producer with his releases on the new Mankind label, including Freddie North's "She's All I Got." Williams also produced a homecoming project for one of Excello's biggest stars. Lightnin Slim's "High and Low Down," as well as Z.Z. Hill's 'The Brand New Z. Z. Hill."
Times were changing though, as WLAC changed its format, which impacted the evening R&b shows, which in turn affected Ernie's Record Store and by 1977, the Excello and the A-Bet subsidiary, and issued their last singles. Eventually, the body of recordings would be mined for reissues over the years by AVI itself and Ace Records in the UK. 'Between 1994 and 1997, AVI reissued over thirty CD compilations of Excello, Nashboro, and Nasco recordings. While some were domestic reissues from Ace Records, the majority were original compilations featuring extensive liner notes and previously unpublished photographs." Then in "1997, AVI was purchased by Universal Music, and a significant amount of Excello material was released on Universal's Hip-O reissue imprint." Other reissues included a box set of gospel recordings and Bear Family's Slim Harpo box set. As Fox observes, "After more than six decades, records with the magical blue and orange record label shipped from Ernie's Record Mart to eager customers around the world continue to excite music fans."
Fox weaves the threads of the Excello story in a concise, well-written manner. This writer wishes a bit more space had been devoted to the gospel recordings, including how such artists as Brother Joe May ended up on Nashboro. However, I suspect that Fox expected the focus on blues and soul to be of most interest to his readers, and there is only so much space he had available. In any event, "Shake Your Hips" is a very welcome history of a very significant independent blues, soul, and gospel label.
I received a pdf download of this book from a publicist. Here is the late Lazy Lester, one of Excello's major blues artists.
