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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Sammy Gordon & The Hiphuggers - Breezin' (Archives 1-69)


Breezin'

I've just learned that Sammy Gordon, leader of the legendary Hip Huggers, passed away in Florida on December 1st due to complications from diabetes.

First cousin to our man Benny Gordon, they were raised together as brothers down in Estill, South Carolina. Benny told me that he had lost track of Sammy after he moved north to Brooklyn, until one day he saw him just walking down the street. It seemed like some kind of sign, and Benny (whose career as a Gospel singer had just been shut down by Claude Jeter) asked him to form an R&B band with him, a band they would call (what else?) The Soul Brothers. Acclaimed as the 'best band in New York' by the Daily News, the Soul Brothers held down a gig at Trudi Heller's famed night spot in Greenwich Village, where they would influence a generation of up and coming white kids who were looking for the real thing.

Sammy's excellent guitar can be heard on the 45s that Benny cut for a bunch of different labels in the sixties, like the amazing Gonna Give Her All The Love I Got, or the funky Give A Damn (About Your Fellow Man). In 1969, Benny decided to move back home to South Carolina, but Sammy stayed behind in Brooklyn, forming his own band, The Hip Huggers.

This airy treatment of Bobby Womack and Gabor Szabo's Breezin' is (as far as I can tell) Sammy's first recording under his own name, and pre-dates George Benson's smash hit by about four years. Later on in 1972, Sammy & The Hip Huggers would release the underground funk classic, Upstairs On Boston Road, which alluded to their regular sold-out appearances at the Boston Road Ballroom in the Bronx. In 1976, Sammy cut a couple of disco-era releases - Jungle Bump followed by Making Love, which has become somewhat of a cult favorite.

Ronnie Greico, another alumni of Benny's Soul Brothers, had this to say: "Very sad ...a kind and very gentle man, no anger, good as it gets, great bandleader, always smiling and laughing, he had as good a kickin' funky in the pocket band as anyone that I know of. They worked up in the Bronx... for a lifetime, until his health wasn't good anymore."

May God Rest His Soul.

Hal Hardy - House Of Broken Hearts (Hollywood 1116)

House Of Broken Hearts

Clifford Curry called me today and gave me the sad news that Nashville R&B pioneer Hal Hardy lost his battle with cancer on December 2nd. A founding member of The Neptunes, Hardy went on to become a featured regular on the groundbreaking Night Train television series, where his caped appearances were the stuff of legend. He recorded this Northern Soul favorite in 1965 for Hoss Allen's Rogana Productions with Billy Cox's tight house band. Hardy made the move to Knoxville with Sir Lattimore Brown shortly after cutting this record, and called it home ever since, performing at the Hard Knox Blues Bash every summer.

May He Rest In Peace.

I'll tell ya, it's been a rough year over here on The B Side. We've lost some folks who meant a great deal to us, and at times it feels like I have nothing left to say... except goodbye.
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4 comments:

  1. Unknown5:27 PM

    When you post all that have passed this year Red it sure makes for sobering reading. Thanks for mentioning my good friend George Melvin, he was much loved here in Charlottesville as well as being a master of the B3 he was a great friend to WTJU FM.

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  2. Cies6:08 AM

    Reading this list hurts.

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  3. Timmy4:10 PM

    Ronnie James Dio

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  4. Unknown8:23 PM

    if anyone can help me out it will be greatly appreciated my name is Steve I was adopted and my mom just informed me that my dad was a member of Sammy Gordon and the hip huggers. I don't know how to get in contact with any of the surviving members of the group but if anyone can help me with that information you can reach me at 646 758 7777. my name is Steve

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