Screamin\' Jay Hawkins

Screamin' Jay Hawkins , of its true name Jalacy Hawkins , is a composer-songwriter and interprets American Rhythm and blues born the July 18th 1929 with Cleveland (Ohio, the United States) and dead the February 12th 2000 with Neuilly-sur-Seine (France) of a rupture of Anévrisme.

Biography

Raised alternatively by his mother and Blackfoot Indians, it leaves the college in 1945 to be a whimsical singer for the air force in the boxes for soldiers in Germany, in Japan and in Korea. It also practices boxing one moment. In 1951, it is engaged as pianist then as singer (and incidentally as driver) for the guitarist jazz Tiny Grimes. It engraves the new title Screamin' Blues , then it accompanies Johnny Sparrow & his Sparrows, leaves into 1954 the two discs Baptize Me In Wine and I Found My Way To Wine , and leaves in round with Fats Domino. During the years 1955-56, it will record Wamee (which later will be known under the name of She Could The Wame One Me ).

In 1956, it engraves its first success: I Could has Spell One You . But the disc is censured by the radios. The characteristic of Hawkins was to take again standards in a style well with him which consisted in introducing body noises like elements with whole share of the music as well as the voice, the guitar or the battery, example: drolatic the Constipation blues . At this same time, he invents for the scene a character of monster mild nutter which leaves a coffin, plays with craniums, carries a cape of vampire, etc This role will follow it all its life and will alas make forget its talents of singer and pianist.

It records in 1957 an album for Epic, At Home With Screamin' Jay Hawkins , where it sings I Coils Paris Cole Porter. But, because of censure, its discs like Frenzy or Alligator Wine are sold little. Its service in the film Mister Rock' Roll of Alan Freed in 1957 is cut to the assembly. In 1960, it decides to give up and is withdrawn in Honolulu during ten years.

But if it is misunderstood in its country, Hawkins is a legend abroad. I Could has Spell One You is success thanks to the resumptions of Nina Simone (1965), Alan Price Set (1966) and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Constipation blues is a tube in Japan in 1968. It settles then in France in the Années 1980. It is the beginning of the rehabilitation of this interpreter.

In 1984, the American group Garage and Psychédélique of the Fuzztones accompany it on one surprising maximum 4 titles. He plays in the film Mystery Train of Jim Jarmusch and makes an appearance in Peut-être of Cédric Klapisch. The Stones require of him to form their first part with the Madison Square Garden. And its resumption of Heart Attack And Wine of Tom Waits is sold well thanks to its use in an advertizing for jeans.

Following an operation of the intestines, Hawkins makes an aneurysmal rupture of which he dies.

I Could has Spell one You

It is about sound greater success, I Could has Spell one You (1956). This song which was to be a quite clean ballade becomes an anthem with the madness and despair. Screamin' Jay starts to shout, to make noises with its mouth. In spite of its vulgar side, this song obtains an immense success. It with the characteristic to be itself sold to more than one million specimens without entering the hit-parades. It was selected among the five hundred songs which changed the rock'n'roll.

Become a great classic, this song was immortalisée by the Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1968, in a very lascive version. Nina Simone, Alan Price, The Animals, the Them of Van Morrison, Arthur Brown, Bryan Ferry, Buddy Guy with Carlos Santana, Leon Russell, Joe Cocker spaniel, Nick Undermines, Marilyn Manson (in the album Smells like children ) and Dionysos (in the electric concert Whatever the weather ) also recorded their own versions.

Discography

The Individual ones

1956 I Could has Spell One You/Little Demon 7072
1957 You Made Coils Me You/Darling, Please Forgive Me 7084
1957 Frenzy/Person to Persson 7087
1958 Alligator Wine/There' S Something Wrong With You 7101
1958 Armpit #6/The Past Top 126
1962 I Hear Voices/Just Don' T Care 1010
1962 Ashes/Nitty Gritty - W Shoutin' Pat (Newborn) 1117
1966 Poor Folks/Your Kind off Coils 411
1970 Do You Really Love Me/Constipation Blues 40645
1973 Monkberry Moon Delight/Sweet Ginny Bee 1313

Principal albums

1958 At Home with Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Okeh/Epic)
1965 The Night and Day off Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Planet)
1969 What That Is! (Philips)
1970 Because Is in Your Mind (Armpitrubber) (Philips)
1972 Portrait off has Man and His Woman (Hotline)
1977 I Could has Spell one You (Changeable--recordings of 1966-76)
1979 Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Koala)
1979 Screamin' the Blues (Red Lightnin')
1983 Real Life (Zeta)
1984 Screamin' Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones Live (Midnight Records) - live
1988 At Home with Jay in The Wee Wee Hours (Midnight Records) - live
1988 Live & Crazy (Blue Phoenix) - live
1990 The Art off Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Spivey)
1991 Black Music For White People (Odd/Straight Records/Planet Records)
1991 I Shake My Stick At You (Aim)
1993 Stone Crazy (Odd/Straight/Planet)
1994 Somethin' Funny Goin' One (Odd/Straight/Planet)
1993 Rated X (Sting S) - live
1998 At Last (Last Cal)
1998 Live (Indigo Loudsprecher/) - live
1999 Live At the Olympia, Paris (Last Cal) - includes/understands a new song recorded in studio
2004 Live (Fremeaux & Associés) - includes/understands two new songs recorded in studio

Films

Documentary on Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Has Spell One could Me (Nicholas Triandafyllidis, 2001)

As actor

Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, 1989)
Perdita Durango , also knew under the name of Dance with the Devil (Álex of Iglesia, 1997)
Peut-être (of Cédric Klapish, 1999) Appearance in medium of film in time that singer of the group which interprets deep in coils , like at the end of film, during the run of the credits in small window where one sees it interpreting maybe

Anecdotes

It would seem that Hawkins has more than 57 children. After his death, one counts more than 75 children.

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