AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

 Artist:Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

Song:I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues

Album:Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

Trumpeter Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham began his music career in the 20s. He was mainly a sideman until he started recording more as a leader in the 80s. He was nominated for a Grammy for this 1997 album with 23 year old trumpeter Nicholas Payton. He was born June 13, 1905 in Nashville. The Doc nickname was because his family wanted him to be a pharmacist. But Cheatham had other ideas. He began his career touring the vaudeville circuit accompanying blues singers. He moved to Chicago in 1924 and that's when Cheatham heard King Oliver and then Louis Armstrong. So those were his two big influences. Cheatham moved to Europe and when he returned to the US he was Cab Calloway's lead trumpeter from 1932-39. In the 40s he performed with Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter and Claude Hopkins. Post WWII he worked with Latin bands in New York like Perez Prado, Ricardo Ray and especially Machito. He finally led his own band in the early 60s and he released his debut album as a leader in 1961. He moved back to Europe in the 70s. Cheatham became a singer by accident. In 1977 he was doing a mic check in a Paris recording studio and he started singing. The producer liked it so much that it was on Cheatham's 1977 album Good For What Ails Ya. When he returned to New York in the 80s, Cheatham performed every Sunday at Sweet Basil's. He also toured and recorded more frequently. It was on one of his many trips to New Orleans that Cheatham met trumpeter Nicholas Payton. Payton was on Verve Records at the time and he and pianist Butch Thompson decided to record an album with Cheatham. They recorded standards like I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues. The album was very successful and it was nominated for a Grammy. Cheatham died on June 2, 1997 at age 91. He won a posthumous Grammy for his solo on Stardust from Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton. A fitting cap for a long career in music. Here's a video for I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues by Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton.