If they ever need another name for classic New Orleans rhythm and blues, they might consider calling it Smiley Lewis music. Overton Lemons, a.k.a. Smiley Lewis, belongs on the same pedestal with Fess, Fats, Slim and Bartholomew, but unfortunately, his career was dogged by buzzard luck. His best songs were often covered and sanitized by [...]
Tag Archives: Bear Family
Lloyd Price, Lloyd Rocks (Bear Family)
April 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
Because Lloyd Price left New Orleans early in his career for the greener financial and musical pastures of New York, he’s been overlooked in the pantheon of New Orleans music. To underscore that point, when Price was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, our local newspaper initially had no idea he hailed [...]
Phil Phillips, Sea of Love (Bear Family)
March 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
Perhaps because he hails from Lake Charles, Louisiana—slightly off the beaten musical path—Phil Phillips is probably the most overlooked and under-appreciated hit-maker in the state’s history. Nevertheless, his classic “Sea of Love” rose to Number 2 in 1959, a feat not equaled or surpassed even by the great Fats Domino. Certainly this CD, his first [...]
