Song:You Can't Beat The Horses
Album:Mad Music Presents: Robust Blues
Here's a great obscure 50s R & B single that is a lot of fun. Ervin "Big Boy" Groves sings in a talking blues style that will remind you of There's a Riot Goin' On by The Coasters. And I don't think that's a coincidence. Groves was born Jan. 20, 1927 in Muskogee, OK but by the early 50s he lived in San Diego. He traveled to Los Angeles to record. His first single I Gotta New Car was released in 1955 on Spark Records. Spark was owned by the legendary songwriting and production team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. I guess they liked Groves' talking style so much, they had The Coasters record There's A Riot Goin' On and it was a huge hit in 1955. You Can't Beat The Horses was Groves' second single in 1956. It was on Vita Records, a small label whose best known artist was blues singer Willie Egan. It's a very funny song and you can get it on this various artists CD. In 1962, Groves recorded the single Bucket Of Blood which was about a Los Angeles club that was also the basis of the 1959 Roger Corman film Bucket Of Blood. Then Groves moved to Hawaii. You may be familiar with his daughter. Lani Groves was a Los Angeles background singer best known for her days with Stevie Wonder in the 70s. Before that she recorded as Little Mary Staten and dad produced the single. In 1982, father and daughter recorded the album Composer In Paradise together. And in the 90s, Lani recorded an album with Darlene Love. Soon after Composer In Paradise was released, Ervin "Big Boy" Groves died on July 21, 1982 at age 55. It's too bad Groves couldn't get better exposure because I like him and I wish he recorded more. Here's a video of You Can't Beat The horses by Ervin "Big Boy" Groves.
No comments:
Post a Comment