AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Roy Brown

Artist:Roy Brown
Song:Let The Four Winds Blow
Album:Good Rocking Tonight: The Best Of Roy Brown





Roy Brown was one of the pioneers of Rock 'N' Roll and is best known for writing Good Rockin' Tonight. But he was also an excellent singer but never had a lot of success. the 1957 hit Let The Four Winds Blow was his biggest hit and Fats Domino had a bigger hit with it later. He was born Sept. 10, 1925 in New Orleans. His mom was church organist so he grew up singing in church. His dad was a bricklayer and the family moved around Louisiana with his work. Brown was only allowed to listen to spirituals. He never heard the blues until the early 40s. His mom died when he was 14 and after Brown finished high school, he moved to Los Angeles in 1942 to become a boxer. He was 16-2 as a pro welterweight but he didn't like the sight of blood. So he quit and won a 1945 talent contest by imitating his favourite singer Bing Crosby. He got a singing gig in Galveston, TX. By this time he was already performing Good Rockin' Tonight and tried to sell it to R & B superstar Wynonie Harris when he came to town. Harris rejected it. But after Brown signed with Deluxe Records and Good Rockin' Tonight reached #13 on the R & B chart in 1948, Harris topped the charts with the song. Lots have covered it including Elvis Presley in 1954. Brown continued to have decent success in the early 50s when King Records bought Deluxe. But after he sued King for unpaid royalties in 1952, it appears Brown may have been blacklisted. He also spent time in prison for tax evasion. Brown signed with Imperial Records in 1957 and Dave Bartholomew produced some recordings including Let The Four Winds Blow. It reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 but Fats Domino, who wrote the song with Bartholomew, would have a much bigger hit with it later. This 1994 Rhino comp is the only one that has Brown's Deluxe and King recordings and Let The Four Winds Blow. Roy Brown didn't record much after that and made a good living selling encyclopedias. He attempted a comeback with Johnny Otis at the 1970 Montreux Jazz Festival but it was not as successful as hoped and he returned to his day job. Roy Brown died of a heart attack on May 25, 1981 at age 55. He is a forgotten great of black music. Here's a video for Let The Four Winds Blow by Roy Brown.