For Blues Fans Only => Who Is This Man?

#300815

What about the guy out of the Cheek To Cheek clip from VLV?

#300816

drjohncarpenter wrote:It's quite obviously NOT Albert King standing next to Elvis.

that´s tricky ...
how about asking here?

http://www.bluegrassworks.com/forum/

#300818

Jim Dandy wrote:What about the guy out of the Cheek To Cheek clip from VLV?

It's not George McFadden, who sang lead on "The Climb" in VLV.

Juan Luis · #300819

1966 November live at the Fillmore.

#300821

For the second time, the man with Elvis is NOT the great Muddy Waters.

#300838

drjohncarpenter wrote:It's quite obviously NOT Albert King standing next to Elvis.

Alright, here's a picture with Albert King wearing the same type of suit that he is wearing in the picture with Elvis. Whatya say now, Doc? Why would it we be so hard to believe that these two had met in 1966?

#300842

thenexte wrote:
drjohncarpenter wrote:It's quite obviously NOT Albert King standing next to Elvis.
Alright, here's a picture with Albert King wearing the same type of suit that he is wearing in the picture with Elvis. Whatya say now, Doc? Why would it we be so hard to believe that these two had met in 1966?

I agree with you thenexte, but the Doc will never admit it now even when he realises it is Albert King!!!

#300859

I don't think it's Albert King. I remember reading somwhere Albert was a big guy -- well over 6 feet tall. Elvis was probably around 5' 11". In this picture they look the same height.

It does look a bit like King however... and did you guys know that Albert King recorded Elvis tribute album circa 1969? It's called something like "Albert King plays the Kings Things" or something to that effect.

#300860

Notice how in confirmed picture of Parker and Elvis from the 50s how short Parker is next to Elvis. He also has a pronouced widow's peak.

This leads one to agree with Doc that Tunzi may indeed be in error. I also don't think it's Albert King -- as he was reportedly a huge guy.

#300862

It looks like Albert King to me. Even has the same looking ring on his pinky.

#300863

I'm a little late to the party but having had the pleasure of meet B.B. King, Little Milton, Junior Wells, as well as "pressing the flesh" with Bobby Blue" Bland and Albert King and too many to mention, I can definitely say that Doc's mystery remains unsolved.

I saw this mislabeled shot on another site's blues article which called it Junior Parker awhile ago and let them know know it was wrong. (I only recently got the Tunzi book and I'm a huge Junior Parker fan as well.)

A few points:

(A) Black people have been known to say that all white people "look the same" too

(B) My vote originally was for "Memphis Slim" then "Reverend "Gatemouth" Moore....

I'm also reminded of a mostly-obscure (except in Memphis) blues man / emcee who was featured in an documentary that I was once screened on Beale Street in '93 at a museum. His name escapes me but BB King and Rufus Thomas also guest starred. He was sort of a local legend and lived until a few years ago but I'm not thinking of Gatemouth...

http://www.indiana.edu/~bfca/collection/special/guida.html

I can check with some fellow bluesheads.

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#300865

Gregory Nolan Jr. wrote: (A) Black people have been known to say that all white people "look the same" too

Well now that you've said that, are we sure that guy on the left is Elvis??

Tom

#300866

One never knows....

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If that's a Hollywood set, however, I'd be inclined to think it would be either a bluesman or R&B performer from the west coast scene...

#300889

elbo51 wrote:It looks like Albert King to me. Even has the same looking ring on his pinky.

Obviously that poignant observation is not enough to convince a Rock'n'Roll Scholar. They want DNA evidence...

Juan Luis · #300945

Look at semi Spock ears!!

plus same high cheekbones. Sharp dresser.....

#300948

Give up, man! He looks nothing like Muddy Waters!

Juan Luis · #300949

Hav-A-Tampa wrote:Give up, man! He looks nothing like Muddy Waters!

...What was that??

#300959

Charley Pride? Nipsey Russell?

#300985

Look, I'm a big blues fan and this thing is NOT, I repeat NOT Muddy Waters or Albert King, and yes Albert King was about 6' 5" so he would be considerably taller than Elvis.

I think if you're lloking through Blues books you're wasting your time. This guy looks r&b to me. Possibly a member of a vocal group, maybe a solo artist, but I haven't had any luck finding out who this is. He appears to be a musician and Elvis seems to know him, but Elvis listened to f--king everybody, so that doesn't help much.

This is a tough one.

#301000

It is NOT Muddy Waters. That is a guarantee.

#301012

KingOfTheJungle wrote:
I think if you're lloking through Blues books you're wasting your time. This guy looks r&b to me. Possibly a member of a vocal group, maybe a solo artist, but I haven't had any luck finding out who this is.

What, and most blues men wore overalls? With all due respect, most bluesmen, today but especially back then, went to great pains to appear dapper and always dressed to the nines. Be it Robert Johnson, BB King, Junior Parker or Sonny Boy Williamson...

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I think I found the guy who I was thinking it is:

Nat D. Williams:

Radio's Jackie Robinson:

Nat D. Williams

By DALE R. PATTERSON

"If Beale Street could walk, if Beale Street could talk/Married men would pick up their beds and walk." - from "Beale Street Blues", lyrics © W.C. Handy

In the decade of Jackie Robinson, there was yet another man who broke a color barrier. One year after Robinson became the first black in modern times to play major league baseball, Nat D. Williams became the first black man in the south to become the regular host of a radio show. It opened the floodgates as many African-Americans would follow him to their rightful place on the airwaves.

Nathanial Dowd Gaston Williams was born Oct. 19, 1907 on famed Beale Street in Memphis; he later dropped the Gaston. A consummate learner, he acquired degrees from several universities including Northwestern and Columbia. His first job, in 1928, was as an editor for the "New York State Contender". He began a 21-year writing career with the "Memphis World" in 1931, before switching to the "Memphis Tri-State Defender" in 1952. He continued to write until poor health stopped him in the early '70s. His teaching career, at Booker T. Washington, spanned 42 years - from 1930 to 1972.

In addition to all this, Williams was well-known as an emcee at the Palace Theatre, the Memphis equivalent of the Apollo Theatre in New York. It was through his that his skill as an entertainer spread; this and his intimate knowledge of the mid-south's black pool made him a natural choice to become the first black dee-jay in the south.

Bert Ferguson, who has been called the Branch Rickey of radio, eagerly chose Williams to be his first dee-jay when he and partner John R. Pepper decided to introduce a black format to their struggling Memphis station, WDIA. Williams just as eagerly accepted the post when signed on for the first time at 4:00 p.m., Oct. 25, 1948, replacing the existing classical music program that had occupied the time slot.

His first record on the show he called "Tan Town Jamboree" was "Stompin' at the Savoy". He opened this debut show like all the others in the 24 years that would follow: "Well, yes-siree, it's Nat Dee on the Jamboree, coming at thee on seventy-three (on the dial), WDIA. Now, whatchubet." That was followed by a huge, full-bellied laugh and 90 minutes of the best r&b (then called "race" music) around.

Nat D's infectious laugh and strong on-air presence helped him gain an immediate following among Memphis-area blacks and open-minded whites. He also hosted a morning show (6:30-8:00 a.m.) while holding down a teaching post at Booker T. Washington High School (he would return after school for his 4:00-5:30 p.m. shift.) He also teamed with Rufus Thomas on a Saturday show and did a two-hour Sunday program, the Oldtimers Show, which featured older favorites.

But Williams was much more than just a radio man. He wrote for several leading newspapers, edited the school paper, taught Sunday school, sang in the church choir (he never missed a session in 40 years), led a Boy Scout troop and co-ordinated the annual Tri-State fair. He also found time for his wife and two kids and his students; at one time he had more of his students in state legislatures across the U.S. than any other black teacher. Said one fellow teacher "Children strove to go into his classroom."

Williams did not see the decision to put him on the air as a crusading one - he saw it quite rightly as business decision. While acknowledging Ferguson and Pepper as progressive, he noted that they were like any businessmen out to make money. For his part, he saw the move as another chance for black Americans to unlock their economic and political promise.

In time, other black dee-jays would follow Nat D. to WDIA, among them A.C. Williams, Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg, Rufus Thomas and B.B. King. And around the country, African-American radio stars such as Jocko Henderson and Jack "The Rapper" Gibson started to emerge. But Nat D. was the first, and like Jackie Robinson had to overcome considerable white skepticism and resistance (yes, there was hate mail and phone calls) in his early years.

Nat D. held down his afternoon show - without missing a single shift - until he retired following a stroke in 1972. The man who hired him, Bert Ferguson, left the station in 1970.

As he lay on his deathbed years later, his body and mind wasted by the last of four strokes, his daughter Natoyen said Williams still remembered the tune to "Beale Street Blues". The years at WDIA obviously meant a great deal to him, just as his presence there was valued by others. Somehow, it seems that we owe the greater debt.

Much of the information for this biography was found in the excellent book, "Wheelin' On Beale", by Louis Cantor (c) 1992, Pharos Books. The mailing address for Pharos Books is 200 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y., 10166. It might be possible to order a copy through http://www.amazon.com.

Like I said, this requires confirmation but he does like the late Nat D. Williams judging from both his bio and the movie I mentioned earlier.

The part about "Nat D's infectious laugh and strong on-air presence (in Memphis) helped him gain an immediate following among Memphis-area blacks and open-minded whites..." makes me think this could be him as well.

#301021

KingOfTheJungle wrote:Look, I'm a big blues fan and this thing is NOT, I repeat NOT Muddy Waters or Albert King, and yes Albert King was about 6' 5" so he would be considerably taller than Elvis.

I think if you're lloking through Blues books you're wasting your time. This guy looks r&b to me. Possibly a member of a vocal group, maybe a solo artist, but I haven't had any luck finding out who this is. He appears to be a musician and Elvis seems to know him, but Elvis listened to f--king everybody, so that doesn't help much.

This is a tough one.

I love the part, "but Elvis listened to f--king everybody, so that doesn't help much."

So, true, so true, KingOfTheJungle. It was that listening to everybody as a youth, that helped create his unique genius.

Doc, an incredible thread btw! I wish I could help find out who this guy is, though Greg's latest Nat D. Williams, could be him.

#301025

Joe Car wrote:I love the part, "but Elvis listened to f--king everybody, so that doesn't help much." So, true, so true, KingOfTheJungle. It was that listening to everybody as a youth, that helped create his unique genius. Doc, an incredible thread btw! I wish I could help find out who this guy is, though Greg's latest Nat D. Williams, could be him.

I actually laughed out loud at the listening to f--king everybody comment. In a positive way. It is so true. And ain't it beautiful?

And yes this is a very interesting thread and I almost missed it. I have no clue, so I love this discussion. And this might sound ignorant, but how do you guys tell that that the mystery man is a musician? What are the indications? Because I was thinking couldn't he be an actor or a Hollywood big shot or a friend of a friend or a club owner and so forth? I'd like to learn.

#301031

Gregory Nolan Jr. wrote:What, and most blues men wore overalls?

Frankly, some of the replies on this subject have been most embarrassing. All black people do not look alike. I guess that's too hard for some to fathom.

Gregory Nolan Jr. wrote:I think I found the guy who I was thinking it is: Nat D. Williams ...

It's not Williams:

Besides the facial differences, Nat would have been 59 in 1966, and the man in the photo appears to be about 40. It was a good guess, though.

It may be possible this "mystery man" was part of a gospel or R&B group. Perhaps, if this picture was taken the same day as the more famous Jackie Wilson shot, the man was on the same bill with Wilson at "The Trip" club in Los Angeles, or even a part of Jackie's group.

Someone must know! I've even put out a request to one of the biggest Elvis experts in the world.

#301037

Could be Jimmy Reed, the writer of Big Boss Man and baby What You Want Me To Do. He was 41 in 1966.

Dennis.