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Georgie Fame

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Georgie Fame, born Clive Powell on 26 June 1943 in Leigh, Lancashire, is an English R&B and jazz musician. He had piano lessons from the age of seven, worked briefly in a cotton mill after school and played piano in a band in the evenings. After a singing contest at Butlins in Pwllheli he found work with Rory Blackwell. At sixteen he went to London, where on the advice of Lionel Bart he signed a contract with the manager Larry Parnes. Parnes gave him his new name. Fame played piano in Billy Fury's backing band, the Blue Flames, who carried on at the end of 1961 as Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.

Music and breakthrough

Fame was influenced by jazz, blues, Mose Allison and Willie Mabon, and was one of the first white musicians to be influenced by ska. In the early 1960s he regularly played with the band at the Flamingo Club in London. There he heard Green Onions by Booker T. and the M.G.'s and bought a Hammond organ the next day. In 1963 the band recorded the album Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo, and the follow-up Fame at Last from 1964 reached number 15 in the UK albums chart.

Influence

Fame is the only British act with three number 1 hits as his only top ten entries: Yeh Yeh in 1964, Get Away in 1966 and The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde in 1968. He continues to perform, often with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Bill Wyman once called him an incredibly good pianist and singer. Fame is an example of a British musician who brought R&B, jazz and ska together in one sound.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Yeh Yeh from 1964 and notice the way of singing. He was influenced by jazz, blues and ska: try to hear which influence you recognise.

Discography

Studio albums

See also

Categories: Artists