Eugene Fox - Stay At Home

Released in March of 1954. This is the flip side of "Sinners Dream".
Eugene Fox was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1928. For three years he was a tenor sax player in an army band. Upon his discharge, he came back to Clarksdale and joined Dr. Eugene Mason, a dentist, who was starting an 18-piece blues band called the Top Hatters.

Another resident of Clarksdale was Izear "Ike" Turner, who was born there in 1931. Playing piano and guitar, he was another member of the Top Hatters. At some point he brought the band down to a more manageable size and renamed it the Kings Of Rhythm His big break came in mid-1951, when the band's recording of "Rocket 88" soared to number 1 on the R&B charts. With Jackie Brenston (possibly Ike's cousin) doing the vocal, it was released as by "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats."

"Sinner's Dream." It has a plot wherein the dying Fox is approached by "Mr. Death" and told "you have nothing to fear" (as it turns out, Death lies). "Ann" is there again, and Fox asks her forgiveness for all the wrongs he's done her. He also tells her to have "Sam" (who's otherwise unidentified) forgive him too. Ann calls the doctor, but it's too late. Death takes charge of Fox, who soon notices that they're going down instead of up. Death keeps telling Fox that he has nothing to fear, but finally hands him over to "Mr. Devil." The Devil tells Fox "You've served me well, my boy," but having no further use for him, casts Fox into a pit in hell. Once again, Fox did all the male voices (the doctor, "Mr. Death," and "Mr. Devil") and Annie Mae Wilson reprises her role as "Ann."

A short time later, Fox recorded another tune, called "Stay At Home," this time at a "little place that we leased." With the Kings Of Rhythm in the background, this was more of a regular song, written by Fox himself.

In March 1954, "Sinner's Dream" and "Stay At Home" were released on the Checker label, as by "Eugene Fox." Checker was a subsidiary of Chess, with which Turner had ties. Both sides got very good reviews the week of March 20, 1954, the same week that the Sparrows' "Hey," the Meadowlarks' "LFMST Blues," Jimmy Forrest's "Flight 3-D,' and Louis Jordan's "I'll Die Happy" were reviewed.

In March or April, Ike Turner set up some recording equipment at his Clarksdale house, and it was there that some other songs were recorded: "Hoo-Doo Say," "I'm Tired Of Beggin'," and "My Four Women." Fox thought that they were only practicing, and was surprised when these were eventually released.

Fox ended up staying with Turner's band a little less than a year. Ike took the Kings Of Rhythm up to St. Louis in the summer of 1954, and Fox decided not to go along. "I wasn't a singer and I wasn't really a musician like those fellows were," says Fox. Instead, he went to Chicago to get a job, but ended up back in Clarksdale going to college.

Тэги:

#78 #78's #78_rpm #Shellac #Disc #Record #Phonograph #Turntable #Oldies #Checker_Records #Chess_Records #Eugene_Fox #Ike_Turner #The_Rhythm_Kings #Rocket_'88 #Stay_At_Home #R&B #Rhythm_And_Blues #1954 #1950's #50's #Sax

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