Song:Rockin' The Joint
Album:Rockin' The Joint
I know what you're thinking. When you look at Esquerita and listen to his music, he must be Little Richard recording under a Latino name. But no, Esquerita was an enigmatic figure who some feel was a big influence on Little Richard. By the time he recorded Rockin' The Joint in 1958, he seemed like a Little Richard knockoff which is why his music was unsuccessful. But Esquerita is worth checking out. He was born Steven Quincy Reeder Jr. Nov. 20, 1935 in Greenville, SC. Like his father, his nickname was Eskew so the Esquerita stage name is just Eskew Reeder in another form. Esquerita worked the chitlin circuit in the early 50s. Even then, his stage act was very flamboyant. He wore these crazy outfits and two wigs made for a very high pompadour. He was very wild on stage. Unfortunately there's no video footage of Esquerita. Though he had played piano on sessions, he had not recorded his own music in 1955. When Little Richard first surfaced in Atlanta, his appearance and stage act was normal. The speculation is that Richard was already aware of Esquerita and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell convinced Richard to imitate his stage act. Obviously it worked for Richard but Esquerita was still out in the cold. In 1958, Paul Peek of Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps got Esquerita a contract with Capitol. Musically, Esquerita is probably closer to Jerry Lee Lewis than Little Richard. But that look is unmistakable. His music went nowhere. You can get all his Capitol recordings on this CD. In the early 60s, Esquerita recorded for Minit Records as Eskew Reeder Jr. and also played sessions for Allen Toussaint. He even recorded a 1963 single for Motown that went unreleased and he even recorded with Little Richard. Richard even got him a deal with Okeh in 1966. Esquerita changed his name to The Magnificent Malochi and recorded a single for Brunswick in 1967. In the 70s, he played New York clubs and performed as Fabulash in gay clubs. He continued to perform in clubs at night while working as a parking lot attendant during the day. Esquerita died of AIDS Oct. 23, 1986 at age 50. He may be the most outrageous performer you never heard of. Here's a video for Rockin' The Joint by Esquerita.
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