Lloyd Price, a native of Kenner and R&B pioneer died on May 6, 2021. Price’s manager, Tom Trapani, did not specify a cause or place of death. Price was 88.

Born March 9, 1933, in Kenner, Louisiana, Price learned to play both the trumpet and the piano. But it was his singing that brought him to the attention of Art Rupe, the president of the Los Angeles-based Specialty Records. The following are excerpts from the OffBeat book “300 Songs for 300 Years” about “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” and “Personality,” two of Lloyd Price’s biggest hits.

A full obituary will be published in our June 2021 issue.

“Lawdy Miss Clawdy” (1952)

On March 13, 1952, Price, then a shy teenager from Kenner, entered the J&M Studio and recorded on the of biggest R&B records ever. At the time, Price’s mom owned a small cafe that contained a piano and jukebox stocked with the latest blues 78s. When Lloyd was helping around the cafe he listened to the jukebox or the hits played on the radio. At the time, the hottest deejay in New Orleans was WBOK’s James “Okey Dokey” Smith. Okey Dokey’s sponsor was Maxwell House Coffee, which he plugged often on his broadcasts saying, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy, eat homemade pies and drink Maxwell House Coffee!” Price thought that was clever and actually added some lyrics to the catch phrase “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” He banged out a simple melody on the cafe piano, turning it into a song. Fast forward….

“One day Dave Bartholomew—he was like the boss of New Orleans—stopped by for a sandwich,” said Price, in the notes contained on Lloyd Rocks. “I got on the piano and started singing “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” He (Bartholomew) said ‘Hey, I like that. I got a guy coming in from California who might record you. I want him to hear it.’ I thought he might of been joking but sure enough, two or three weeks went by and he called me. He brought the guy out there, Art Rupe from Specialty Records. I played the song for him and he said he loved it. He and his wife said “This might be a smash!”

“About a month later they called me to record. When I got to New Orleans [to Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio] on Rampart Street there was Art Rupe, Dave Bartholomew and the big band!”

As luck would have it, Fats Domino happened to stop by the J&M that day just for a visit. Domino had a rare day off and wasn’t scheduled to play on the session as he was recording for Imperial. Nevertheless, Bartholomew convinced Domino to play on the session, replacing Edward Frank.

“Fats Domino! I almost was peeing on myself! Dave said, ‘Okay here’s how we’re gonna do it. You’re in A-flat, Fats is gonna play piano and you sing three or four verses.’ We did it twice, two takes, that’s it. That was the beginning.”

Certainly, it was the beginning for Price as “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” was a monumental record. It spent seven weeks at the top of the R&B charts and half a year in the Top Ten. It also spawned a plethora of Lloyd Price hits, catapulted him to a successful career, not to mention membership in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
—Jeff Hannusch

“Personality” (1959)

Because he left New Orleans (actually Kenner) in the mid-1950s, Price has unfortunately been somewhat overlooked by many New Orleans R&B aficionados and historians. Nevertheless, at the time, Price’s staggering record sales all but matched those of Fats Domino and he was the first New Orleans artist to top the Billboard Hot 100, and “Stagger Lee” was that song. While “Personality” only checked in at number two in the Hot 100 in 1959, it might have sold more records than “Stagger Lee” and it immediately became one of his signatures. While the song had strong pop leanings, Price pointed out he was influenced by his original hit “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” and the spiritual “Wade in the Water.”

“I left New York on driving to Pittsburgh,” related Price in the liner notes of Lloyd Rocks. “I put ‘Personality’ together between Exits Six and 16. I didn’t write a word down. I memorized it and sung it on the way there. By accident I say ’cause you got personality. I don’t think you can write a hit. It has to come to you all at once. That’s how it happened to me.”

When Price got back to New York, he went directly to Bell Sound Studio on West 54th Street. Although Price did the lion’s share of the production on his recording, ABC Paramount staffer Don Costa is listed as producer. In addition to the runner-up spot in the Hot 100, “Personality” was number one for four weeks in the R&B chart and spent a phenomenal 19 weeks in the national charts. Clearly, “Personality” was a record that really did have personality.
—Jeff Hannusch

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If you want to read more about the songs of Louisiana, “300 Songs for 300 Years,” can be purchased here.