Chanteuse Rhythm
'n' Blues US, née Mabel Louise Smith le 1er Mai 1924 à Jackson
(Tennessee).
Her
mountainous stature matching the sheer soulful power of her massive vocal
talent, Big Maybelle was one of the premier R&B chanteuses of the 1950s. Her
deep, gravelly voice was as singular as her recorded output for Okeh and Savoy,
which ranged from down-in-the-alley blues to pop-slanted ballads. In 1967, she
even covered ? & the Mysterians' "96 Tears" (it was her final chart appearance).
Alleged drug addiction leveled the mighty belter at the premature age of 47, but
Maybelle packed a lot of living into her shortened lifespan.
Born Mabel Louise Smith, the singer strolled off with top honors at a Memphis
amateur contest at the precocious age of eight. Gospel music was an important
element in Maybelle's intense vocal style, but the church wasn't big enough to
hold her talent. In 1936, she hooked up with Memphis bandleader Dave Clark; a
few years later, Maybelle toured with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
She debuted on wax with pianist Christine Chatman's combo on Decca in 1944,
before signing with Cincinnati's King Records in 1947 for three singles of her
own backed by trumpeter Hot Lips Page's band.
Producer Fred Mendelsohn discovered Smith in the Queen City, re-christened her
Big Maybelle, and signed her to Columbia's OKeh R&B subsidiary in 1952. Her
first Okeh platter, the unusual "Gabbin' Blues" (written by tunesmith Rose Marie
McCoy and arranger Leroy Kirkland) swiftly hit, climbing to the upper reaches of
the R&B charts. "Way Back Home" and "My Country Man" made it a 1953 hat trick
for Maybelle and OKeh. In 1955, she cut a rendition of "Whole Lot of Shakin'
Goin' On" a full two years before Louisiana piano pumper
Jerry Lee Lewis got his hands and feet
on it. Mendelsohn soon brought her over to Herman Lubinsky's Savoy diskery,
where her tender rendition of the pop chestnut "Candy" proved another solid R&B
hit in 1956. Maybelle rocked harder than ever at Savoy, her "Ring Dang Dilly," "That's
a Pretty Good Love," and "Tell Me Who" benefiting from blistering backing by New
York's top sessioneers. Her last Savoy date in 1959 reflected the changing
trends in R&B; Howard Biggs' stately arrangements encompassed four violins.
Director Bert Stern immortalized her vivid blues-belting image in his
documentary Jazz on a Summer's Day, filmed in color at the 1958 Newport
Jazz Festival.
Maybelle persevered throughout the '60s, recording for Brunswick, Scepter (her "Yesterday's
Kisses" found her coping admirably with the uptown soul sound), Chess, Rojac
(source of "96 Tears"), and other labels. But the good years were long gone when
she slipped into a diabetic coma and passed away in a Cleveland hospital in
1972.
http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/Maybelle.html
Talents : Singer
Style musical : Early Rhythm & Blues, Jump Blues, New York Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Regional Blues, East Coast Blues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5tSulnzXo
Années en activité :
| 1910 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 2000 | 10 |
DISCOGRAPHY
78 t., Singles & EP
| 1944 | 78 t. DECCA 8660 (US) | . | Christine CHATMAN'S ORCHESTRA - Hurry, Hurry / Naptown Boogie |
| 1947 | 78 t. KING 4207 (US) | . | Bad Dreams Blues / Sad And Disappointed Jill |
| 1947 | 78 t. KING 4227 (US) | . | Indian River / Too Tight Mama |
| 1947 | 78 t. KING 4271 (US) | . | Little Miss Muffet / Don't Try To Fool Me |
| 1952 | SP OKEH 6931 (US) | . | Gabbin' Blues / Rain Down Rain |
| 1953 | SP OKEH 6955 (US) | . | Way Back Home / Just Want Your Love |
| 1953 | SP OKEH 6988 (US) | . | Send For Me / Jinny Mule |
| 1954 | SP OKEH 7009 (US) | . | My Country Man / Maybelle's Blues |
| 1954 | SP OKEH 7026 (US) | . | You'll Never Know / I've Got A Feelin' |
| 1954 | SP OKEH 7042 (US) | . | My Big Mistake / I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright |
| 1955 | SP OKEH 7053 (US) | . | Don't Leave Poor Me / Ain't No Use |
| 1955 | SP OKEH 7060 (US) | . | Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / One Monkey Don't Stop No Show |
| 1956 | SP OKEH 7066 (US) | . | Such A Cutie / The Other Night |
| 1956 | SP SAVOY 1195 (US) | . | Candy / That's A Pretty Good Love |
| 1956 | SP SAVOY 1500 (US) | . | Mean To Me / Tell Me Who |
| 1956 | SP OKEH 7069 (US) | . | Gabbin' Blues / New Kind Of Mambo |
| 1957 | SP SAVOY 1512 (US) | . | I Don't Want To Cry / All Of Me |
| 1957 | SP SAVOY 1519 (US) | . | Rock House / Jim |
| 1957 | SP SAVOY 1527 (US) | . | So Long / Ring Dang Dilly |
| 1958 | SP SAVOY 1536 (US) | . | Big MAYBELLE SMITH - Blues, Early, Early (Part 1) / Blues, Early, Early (Part 2) |
| 1958 | SP SAVOY 1541 (US) | . | White Christmas / Silent Night |
| 1959 | SP SAVOY 1558 (US) | . | Baby, Won't You Please Come Home / Say It Isn't So |
| 1959 | SP SAVOY 1572 (US) | . | A Good Man Is Hard To Find / Pitiful |
| 1959 | SP SAVOY 1576 (US) | . | I Understand / Some Of These Days |
| 1960 | SP SAVOY 1583 (US) | . | I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good / Until The Real Thing Comes Along |
| 1960 | SP SAVOY 1583 (US) | . | Ramblin' Blues / Until The Real Thing Comes Along |
| 1961 | SP SAVOY 1595 (US) | . | I Ain't Got Nobody / Going Home Baby |
| 1963 | SP BRUNSWICK 55234 (US) | . | Candy / Cry |
| 1963 | SP BRUNSWICK 55242 (US) | . | Cold Cold Heart / Why Was I Born |
| 1963 | SP BRUNSWICK 55256 (US) | . | Everybody's Got A Home But Me / How Deep Is The Ocean |
| 1964 | SP ROJAC 1003 (US) | . | Careless Love / My Mother's Eyes |
| 1964 | SP SCEPTER 1279 (US) | . | Oh Lord, What Are You Doing To Me / Same Old Story |
| 1965 | SP SCEPTER 1288 (US) | . | I Don't Want To Cry / Yesterday's Kisses |
| 1965 | SP PORT 3002 (US) | . | No Better For You / Let Me Go |
| 1966 | SP CHESS 1967 (US) | . | It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World / Big Maybelle Sings The Blues |
| 1966 | SP ROJAC 1969 (US) | . | It's Been Raining / Don't Pass Me By |
| 1967 | SP ROJAC 112 (US) | . | 96 Tears / That's Life |
| 1967 | SP ROJAC 115 (US) | . | Turn The World Around The Other Way / I Can't Wait Any Longer |
| 1967 | SP ROJAC 116 (US) | . | Mama (He Treats Your Daughter Mean) / Keep That Man |
| 1968 | SP ROJAC 118 (US) | . | Quittin' Time / I Can't Wait Any Longer |
| 1968 | SP BRUNSWICK 55385 (US) | . | Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen / Do Lord |
| 1968 | SP ROJAC 121 (US) | . | Heaven Will Welcome You, Dr. King / Eleanor Rigby |
| 1968 | SP ROJAC 124 (US) | . | Old Love Never Dies / How It Lies |
| 1973 | SP PARAMOUNT 0237 (US) | . | See See Rider / Blame It On Your Love |
| 200? | EP JOE BOY JBV-2 (UK) |
 |
Yesterdays Kisses / Oh Lord (What Are You Doing To Me) / How Do You Feel / If I Had You |
| 10/2009 | CD SAVOY JAZZ ? (US) |
 |
Candy / Rock House / So Long / Silent Night / Goin' Home Baby |
Albums
| 12/1954 | LP 12" EPIC EG 7071 (US) |
|
BIG MAYBELLE | ||
| 1958 | LP 12" SAVOY MG-14005 (US) |
 |
BIG MAYBELLE SINGS | ||
| 1958 | LP 12" SAVOY MG-14011 (US) |
 |
BLUES, CANDY AND BIG MAYBELLE | ||
| 1962 | LP 12" BRUNSWICK BL-54107 (mono) / BL-754107 (stereo) (US) |
|
WHAT MORE CAN A WOMAN DO ? - What More Can A Woman Do? / I Can't Give You Anything But Love / Cry / Tortured / Candy / How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky) / If / Why Was I Born / I'll Close My Eyes / I Still Care / Everybody's Got A Home But Me | ||
| 1962 | LP 12" BRUNSWICK BL-54142 (mono) / BL-754142 (stereo) (US) |
 |
THE GOSPEL SOUL OF BIG MAYBELLE - Nobody Knows The Trouble / Swing Low / Yes Indeed / Old Time Religion / Everytime I Feel the Spirit / Joshua Fit The Battle / When The Saints Go Marching In / Do Lord / Down By The Riverside / Dry Bones / He's Got The Whole World In His Hands | ||
| 1964 | LP 12" SCEPTER SRM-522 (mono) / SPS-522 (stereo) (US) |
|
THE SOUL OF BIG MAYBELLE - Oh Lord, What Are You Doing To Me / Put Yourself In My Place / I Will Never Turn My Back On You / I Cried For You / Only You / I Won't Cry Anymore / Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin' / I Know Love / I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself / In The Still Of The Night / That's All / Same Old Story | ||
| 1967 | LP 12" ROJAC RO-122 (US) |
 |
GOT A BRAND NEW BAG - 96 Tears / Mellow Yellow / That's Life / There Must Be A Word / Ellenor Rigby / Love Is A Hurtin' Thing / I Can't Control Myself / Cabaret / Black Is Black / Coming On Strong / Egg Plant That Ate Chicago / Turn The World Around The Other Way | ||
| 1967 | LP 12" ROJAC RM-522 (mono) / RS-522 (stereo) (US) |
|
GOT A BRAND NEW BAG - 96 Tears / Mellow Yellow / That's Life / There Must Be A Word / Ellenor Rigby / Love Is A Hurtin' Thing / I Can't Control Myself / Cabaret / Black Is Black / Coming On Strong / Egg Plant That Ate Chicago / Turn The World Around The Other Way | ||
| 1967 | LP 12" ENCORE EE-22012 (US) |
 |
GABBIN' BLUES - Gabbin' Blues / Just Want Your Love / My Country Man / Rain Down Rain / Way Back Home / Jinny Mule / Maybelle's Blues / I've Got A Feeling / My Big Mistake / You'll Never Know / No More Trouble Out Of Me / I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright / Ain't No Use / One Monkey Don't Stop No Show / Don't Leave Poor Me / Ain't To Be Played With | ||
| 1967 | LP 12" EPIC BN 26268 (F) |
|
ALBUM | ||
| 1969 | LP 12" ROJAC RS-123 (US) |
 |
SAGA OF THE GOOD LIFE AND HARD TIMES - How It Lies / My Mother's Eyes / Old Love Never Dies / It's Been Raining / What A Difference A Day Makes / Gloomy Sunday / Why Was I Born / The Masquerade Is Over / Love, Careless Love / Maybelle Sings The Blues / This Bitter Earth | ||
| 1973 | LP 12" UP FRONT UPF-162 (US) |
 |
THE AMAZING BIG MAYBELLE - Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying / Put Yourself In My Place / I Will Never Turn My Back On You / I Cried For You / Only You / That's All / The Same Old Story / I Won't Try Anymore / Oh Lord, Look What You Are Doing To Me | ||
| 1973 | 2 LP 12" PARAMOUNT PAS-1011 (US) |
|
THE LAST OF BIG MAYBELLE - Winnie Widow Brown / See See Rider / I Am Lost / No Better For You / Big Sweet Daddy / Cold, Cold Heart / Blame It On Your Love / Long, Long Journey / I Know / Your Turn To Cry / How It Lies, How It Lies, How It Lies / My Mother's Eyes / Old Love Never Dies / It's Been Raining In My Heart / What A Difference A Day Makes / Gloomy Sunday / Why Was I Born? / The Masquerade Is Over / Careless Love / Maybelle Sings The Blues / This Bitter Earth. | ||
| 1983 | CD CHARLY CDX-27 (UK) |
 |
THE OKEH SESSIONS - Just Want Your Love / So Good To My Baby / Gabbin' Blues / My Country Man / Rain Down Rain / Way Back Home / Stay Away From My Sam / Jinny Mule / Maybelle's Blues / I've Got A Feeling / You'll Never Know / No More Trouble Out Of Me / My Big Mistake / Ain't No Use / I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright / You'll Be Sorry / Hair Dressin' Woman / One Monkey Don't Stop No Show / Don't Leave Poor Me / Ain't To Be Played With / New Kind Of Mambo | ||
| 1985 | LP 12" SAVOY SJL-1143 (US) |
|
ROOTS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL VOL. 13 - BLUES & EARLY SOUL - BIG MAYBELLE - So Long / Say It Isn't So / If I Could Be With You / Goodnight, Wherever You Are / That's A Pretty Good Love / White Christmas / Silent Night / How It Lies / Goin' Home Baby / I Ain't Got Nobody / I Understand / I Got It Bad / Some Of These Days / Until The Real Thing Comes Along | ||
| 1986 | LP 12" SAVOY SJL-1168 (US) |
 |
BLUES, CANDY & BIG MAYBELLE - Candy / Ring Dang Dilly / Blues Early, Early / A Little Bird Told Me / So Long / That's A Pretty Good Love / Tell Me Who / Ramblin Blues / Rockhouse / I Don't Want To Cry / Pitiful / A Good Man Is Hard To Find / How It Lies / Goin Home Baby | ||
| 1994 | 2 CD SAVOY JAZZ 17101 (US) |
 |
SAVOY BLUES LEGENDS -
CANDY ! :
|
||
| 1994 | CD EPIC / LEGACY 53417 (US) |
 |
THE COMPLETE OKEH SESSIONS 1952-1955 - Just Want Your Love / So Good To My Baby / Gabbin' Blues (Don't Run My Business) / My Country Man / Rain Down Rain / Way Back Home / Please Stay Away From My Sam / Jinny Mule / Send For Me / Maybelle's Blues / I've Got A Feelin' / You'll Never Know / No More Trouble Out Of Me / My Big Mistake / Ain't No Use / I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright / You'll Be Sorry / Hair Dressin' Women / One Monkey Don't Stop No Show / Don't Leave Poor Me / Ain't To Be Played With / New Kind Of Mambo / Ocean Of Tears / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / The Other Night / Such A Cutie | ||
| 12/1994 | CD CHARLY CDRB14 (UK) |
|
MAYBELLE SINGS THE BLUES - Oh Lord What Are You Doing To Me / Same Old Story / I Don't Want To Cry / Yesterday's Kisses / Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin' / That's All / Put Yourself In My Place / I Will Never Turn My Back On You / I Cried For You / I Won't Cry Anymore / I Know Love / I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself / In The Still of The Night / Let Me Go / No Better For You / It's A Man's Man's World / Maybelle Sings The Blues / It's Been Raining. | ||
| 03/1995 | CD SAVOY JAZZ 262 (US) |
 |
BLUES, CANDY & BIG MAYBELLE - Candy / Ring Dang Dilly / Blues Early, Early / A Little Bird Told Me / So Long / That's A Pretty Good Love / Tell Me Who / Ramblin' Blues / Rockhouse / I Don't Want To Cry / Pitiful / A Good Man Is Hard To Find / How It Lies / Goin' Home Baby / So Long / Say It Isn't So / If I Could Be With You / Goodnight Wherever You Are / That's A Pretty Good Love / White Christmas / Silent Night / How It Lies / Goin' Home Baby / I Ain't Got Nobody / I Understand / I Got It Bad / Some Of These Days / Until The Real Thing Comes Along | ||
| 1996 | CD MUSE 5439 (US) |
 |
THE LAST OF BIG MAYBELLE - Winnie Widow Brown / See See Rider / I Am Lost / No Better For You / Big Sweet Daddy / Cold, Cold Heart / Blame It On Your Love / Long, Long Journey / I Know / Your Turn To Cry / How It Lies, How It Lies, How It Lies / My Mother's Eyes / Old Love Never Dies / It's Been Raining In My Heart / What A Diff'rence A Day Makes / Gloomy Sunday / Why Was I Born? / The Masquerade Is Over / Careless Love / Maybelle Sings The Blues / This Bitter Earth | ||
| 01/1998 | CD COLLECTABLES 5902 (US) |
 |
THE VERY BEST OF BIG MAYBELLE - THAT'S ALL - Put Yourself In My Place / What Are You Doing To Me / I Will Never Turn My Back On You / I Cried For You / In The Still Of The Night / Only You / I Won't Cry Anymore / Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying / I Know Love / I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself / That's All / It's The Same Old Story | ||
| 01/2001 | CD SONY 31004 (US) |
 |
MAYBELLE'S BLUES - Gabbin' Blues (Don't Run My Business) / My Country Man / Please Stay Away From My Sam / Maybelle's Blues / No More Trouble Out Of Me / My Big Mistake / Ain't No Use / One Monkey Don't Stop No Show / New Kind Of Mambo / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On | ||
| 05/2001 | CD WESTSIDE 589 (UK) |
 |
HALF HEAVEN, HALF HEARTACHE - THE BRUNSWICK RECORDINGS - What More Can A Woman Do? / I Can't Give You Anything But Love / Cry / Tortured / Candy / How Deep Is The Ocean? / If / Why Was I Born? / I'll Close My Eyes / I Still Care / Everybody's Got A Home But Me / Cold, Cold Heart / The Price You Have To Pay (Love Isn't Worth It) / Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen / Swing Low, Sweet Chariot / Yes Indeed! / Old Time Religion / Everytime I Feel The Sprit / Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho / When The Saints Go Marching In / Do Lord / Down By The Riverside / Dry Bones / He's Got The Whole World In His Hands | ||
| 08/2001 | CD LEGENDS OF R&B 210106 (US) |
|
BIG MAYBELLE | ||
| 05/2004 | CD JAZZ CLASSICS 5089 (US) |
 |
THE CHRONOLOGICAL BIG MAYBELLE - 1944-1953 - Hurry, Hurry (Christine CHATMAN & Her ORCHESTRA) / Indian Giver (Mabel SMITH) / Foolin' Blues Mabel SMITH) / Little Miss Muffet (Mabel SMITH) / Bad Dream Blues (Mabel SMITH) / Too Tight Mama (Mabel SMITH) / Sad And Disappointed Girl (Mabel SMITH) / Don't Try To Fool Me (Mabel SMITH) / Dirty Deal Blues (Mabel SMITH) / Just Want Your Love / So Good To My Baby / Gabbin' Blues / My Country Man / Rain Down Rain / Way Back Home / Stay Away From My Sam / Jinny Mule / Send For Me / Maybelle's Blues | ||
| 10/2005 | CD ST. CLAIR 65902 (US) |
 |
BIG MAYBELLE - Don't Let The Sun See You Crying / Put Yourself In My Place / I Will Never Turn My Back On You / I Cried For You / Only You / That's All / The Same Old Story / I Won't Cry Anymore / Oh Lord, Look What You Are Doing To Me | ||
| 06/2007 | CD REV-OLA 20 (UK) |
 |
I'VE GOT A FEELIN' - OKEH & SAVOY RECORDINGS 1952-1956 - Gabbin' Blues (Don't Run My Business) / Rain Down Rain / Way Back Home / Just Want Your Love / Jinny Mule / Send For Me / My Country Man / Maybelle's Blues / I've Got A Feelin' / You'll Never Know / I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright / My Big Mistake / Don't Leave Poor Me / Ain't No Use / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / One Monkey Don't Stop No Show / The Other Night / Such A Cutie / New Kind Of Mambo / So Good To My Baby / Candy / That's A Pretty Good Love / Mean To Me / Tell Me Who / Ring Dang Dilly / Pitiful / I Don't Want To Cry / Ring Dang Dilly - Candy | ||
| 10/2009 | CD TRAFFIC ENTERTAINMENT GROUPE 79925 (US) |
 |
GOT A BRAND NEW BAG - 96 Tears / Mellow Yellow / That's Life / There Must Be A Word / Ellenor Rigby / Love Is A Hurtin' Thing / I Can't Control Myself / Cabaret / Black Is Black / Coming On Strong / Egg Plant That Ate Chicago / Turn The World Around The Other Way | ||
| 10/2009 | CD TRAFFIC ENTERTAINMENT GROUPE TEG-9926 (US) |
|
SAGA OF THE GOOD LIFE AND HARD TIMES - How It Lies / My Mother's Eyes / Old Love Never Dies / It's Been Raining / What A Difference A Day Makes / Gloomy Sunday / Why Was I Born / The Masquerade Is Over / Love, Careless Love / Maybelle Sings The Blues / This Bitter Earth |
© Rocky Productions 7/09/2010
