Song:Ordinary Joe
Album:The Collected Terry Callier
Though songs like Ordinary Joe were critically acclaimed in the 70s, Terry Callier never had commercial success. So he retired from music in the 80s. Encouraged by British DJs like Giles Peterson, Callier returned in the 90s and played jazz festivals until his 2012 death. He was born May 24, 1945 in Chicago. Childhood friends included Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance and Jerry Butler. He started out in doo wop groups. After releasing a 1962 single on Chess, Callier was discovered playing Chicago folk music clubs by Prestige Records producer Samuel Charters. The album The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier was recorded in 1964 but it sat around until 1968. The story was Charters misplaced the masters. Callier continued to perform in clubs but he started to concentrate on songwriting with Jerry Butler's Chicago Songwriters Workshop. After a couple of his songs including the 1972 hit The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind) were hits for The Dells, Callier released three albums on Cadet Records produced by Earth, Wind and Fire's Charles Stepney. Ordinary Joe is from the 1972 album Occasional Rain. Though these albums were critically acclaimed, they didn't sell and Cadet dropped Callier in 1976. After two unsuccessful albums on Elektra Records, Callier retired from music in 1983 to work as a computer programmer at the University of Chicago. Callier returned in the 90s after Acid Jazz Records owner Eddie Piller discovered his music and brought him to England. He started performing again and Callier signed with Giles Peterson's Talkin' Loud label in 1996. This career revival continued as Callier became a regular on the jazz festival circuit. There was no Acid Jazz or Smooth Jazz in the 70s. I guess Terry Callier was ahead of his time. This budget comp covers his Chess recordings. Terry Callier died from cancer on Oct. 27, 2012 at age 67. Here's Terry Callier performing Ordinary Joe at Bratislava Jazz Days in Bratislava, Slovakia 2009. The flute solo is by Gary Plumley and the piano solo is by Chris Kibble.
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