In January of 1949 Brown
began a series of recordings for the Peacock label of Don Robey in
Houston. In February of 1950 “Mercy On Me” and “Didn’t Reach My Goal”
is released on Peacock # 1500. “Mary Is Fine” and “My Time’s Expensive”
is issued on # 1504. In March in Houston, a battle of the bands at the
City Auditorium between Brown and Goree Carter resulted in Gatemouth
Brown being named “King of the Blues and Guitar” in that Texas city. In
March Peacock releases “It Can Never Be That Way” / “I’ve Been
Mistreated” on # 1508. In May “It Can Never Be That Way” shows up as
one of the top selling R & B records in the Houston area. In July
Brown appears with Tina Dixon for night club dates in Detroit and
Chicago. That same month Peacock Records issues “Boogie Rambler” and “2
O’Clock In The Morning” on # 1505. “I’ve Been Mistreated” begins to
make the sales charts in New Orleans, followed by “Boogie Rambler” in
Chicago in September. In November Don Robey of Peacock Records sets up
a tour of Texas and Louisiana called “Gatemouth vs. T-Bone” featuring
Moore and Walker, two of the top blues performers of 1950. Out that
month is Peacock # 1561 – “She Walks Right In” / “Win With Me Baby”.
“She Walks Right In”
continues to sell for Peacock Records in the early months of 1951. In
March Brown makes his first tour of the West Coast. In April “Justice
Blues” on Peacock # 1568 starts out as a good seller in Chicago and
Milwaukee (“I Live My Life” is the flip side). In June Gatemouth
extends his tour of the West Coast. Featured in his band is pianist –
vocalist Paul Monday who has a good selling hit with “If You Were Mine”
on Peacock # 1570. The interesting “Pale Dry Boogie” parts one and two
is released on # 1575. In August Peacock releases “She Winked Her Eye”
and “Sad Hour” on # 1576. At year’s end “Too Late Baby” / “Taking My
Chances” is out on Peacock #1586.
During the early spring of 1952 Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown does a
number of personal appearances on the East Coast. “Too Late Baby”
continues to be a good seller for Peacock through April. In May Brown
starts a tour of Southern states along with Sonny Stitt and Gene
Ammons. In July “Baby Take It Easy” and “Just Got Lucky” is released on
Peacock # 1600. In October Brown sets up a tour with trombonist Al Grey
and his band. The band consists of Grey leader and trombone, Joe Scott
on trumpet, Johnny Board – tenor sax, Bob Little on baritone sax, Paul
Monday piano and vocals, Ray Johnson on bass, and drummer Ellis Bartee.
In Houston Texas on Thanksgiving Night, Gatemouth and B.B. King stage a
battle of the bands at the city’s Civic Center. In the early months of
1953 The Al Grey All Stars appear at a series of one nighters
throughout the Southwest. Featured are Gatemouth Brown, Paul Monday,
and Rosetta Perry carrying the vocal chores during the show.
“Dirty Work At The Crossroad”
and “You Got Money” recorded with Jimmy McCracklin are released by
Peacock on # 1607 as the latest by Brown during January. The Grey-Brown
unit continues to tour through much of the year concentrating on the
South and Southwest. “Boogie Uproar” and “Hurry Back Good News” is
released by Peacock on # 1617. Late in the year Peacock issues “Gate
Walks To Board” and “Please Tell Me Baby” on # 1619. At this time
Gatemouth Brown forms a new band to take on the road. He retains the
services of Al Grey as soloist and musical director, and Rosetta Perry
on vocals. In February of 1954 Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown is billed as
a solo performer and does a two week engagement at the New Era Club in
Nashville, Tennessee. In May Brown criss crosses the state of Texas
doing a series of one night appearances. During the summer “Okie Dokie
Stomp” and “Depression Blues” recorded with Puma Davis are released by
Peacock on # 1637. Late in the year Peacock Records releases “The
Midnight Hour” and “For Now So Long” on # 1633. Gatemouth performs at
the Sixth Annual Goodwill Revue in Memphis sponsored by radio station
WDIA. The big event was held at Ellis Auditorium in mid December.
In August of 1955. “Gates
Salty Blues” and “Rock My Blues Away” are issued on # 1653. On this
release Brown is featured on the “Mississippi Saxophone” (harmonica),
and his performance is well received as the rock ‘n roll revolution is
beginning to gather strength. His newest band is led by Puma Davis on
trombone, along with Henry Boozer on trumpet, Bill Harvey and Allen
Clark on saxes, Carl Owens on piano, Nat Douglas on guitar, Carl Lott
on bass, and Emile Russell is the drummer. Gatemouth is set to play in
Chicago for a big show produced by Sam Evans of the “Jam With Sam”
revues. In 1956 Brown changes gears again as he records “September
Song” which gets off to a good start with sales and airplay especially
in New Orleans. The flip side is “Ain’t That Dandy” and is on Peacock #
1662.
In November of 1959, the recording agreement between Brown and Peacock
Records enters its tenth year with the label re-issuing # 1637 – “Okie
Dokie Stomp” and “Depression Blues”. At the dawn of a new decade
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown is still recording with “Just Before Dawn”
and “Swinging The Gate” on # 1692 and “Slop Time” and “Gates Tune” on #
1696 for Peacock. “Dawn” and “Slop Time” feature Brown on the violin
and are both included on the great compilation LP of Duke-Peacock hits
called “Like “Er Red Hot” which gives the music of Gatemouth Brown a
shot at a whole new listening audience. Later in the nineteen sixties
with the end of Peacock Records, Brown recorded for some small
independent labels such as Cue and Heritage.
Later Brown moved to Nashville and soon had his own television show called “The Beat” and added country music to his performances. He recorded with country music star Roy Clark and appeared with him on “Hee-Haw” and “Austin City Limits”. He also toured Europe and Russia and became a foremost exponent of American blues. In 1982 his album “Alright Again” won a Grammy award. He has recently recorded for Verve, Rounder, Alligator, Blackjack, Barclay, and Blue Thumb Records. He continued to record and appear in person from time to time in recent years even after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. In August of 2005 he left his home in Slidell, Louisiana, near New Orleans to escape the effects of hurricane Katrina (his home was destroyed by the storms). He returned to his boyhood home of Orange, Texas, to stay with relatives. Almost immediately he needed medical attention at nearby Port Arthur, but he succumbed and passed away in early September at the age of eighty one.
Luckily for all lovers of
American music, especially the blues, Gatemouth Brown is represented by
a great amount of recorded legacy. The historic years from the post war
forties to the mid fifties are covered in two cds from Jazz Classics of
France. "1947-1952" and "1952-1954" cover the top sellers mostly for
Peacock Records. Rounder has a 1992 cd called "Original Peacock
Recordings" with 12 tracks, and there is a cd called "Boogie Uproar :
Texas Blues and R & B 1947-1954" with 103 tracks including 38
by Gatemouth Brown on JSP and other tracks by Goree Carter and Lester
Williams. In later years there are a number of interesting cds that
chronicle the evolving music of Gatemouth. Two live cds are "Live 1980"
from Charly, and "Real Life Live" from Rounder of a live set in Fort
Worth, Texas in the mid eighties. The Grammy winning "Alright Again" is
on Rounder from '92, "Pressure Cooker" from Alligator is a reissue of
French sessions for Barclay in the seventies. Others of note are "Gate
Swings" from Polygram with a thirteen piece horn section augmenting the
usual quartet, "Timeless" from Hightone in '04 which featured mostly
instrumental tracks, and "Long Way Home" which features Brown in the
company of modern musicians such as Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Leon
Russell, John D. Loudermilk, and Maria Muldaur. Three last cds are
"Standing My Ground" for Alligator in 1990, "Blackjack" for Sugar Hill
in 1999, and 2001's "Back To Bogalusa" on Verve.
That is the story of Clarence
"Gatemouth" Brown, an American original and master of many
musical forms, instruments, and styles. He is an essential part
of the Rhythm & Blues history of this country and of
the world.