Born David Cortez Clowney, 13 August 1938, Detroit, Michigan
Pianist / organist / vocalist / songwriter.
Nowadays, Dave "Baby" Cortez (Clowney) is almost solely remembered for
his # 1 record "The Happy Organ" (1959), but he had a long and, at
times, successful recording career both before and after this hit.
Growing up in Detroit, Dave showed musical aptitude at an early age and
was guided toward the piano by his father, who also played the
instrument. His musical career took off when he joined the Five Pearls
in 1954 as second tenor and pianist, and he moved with them to New York
the next year. The group, which became better known as the Pearls,
recorded for Aladdin, Atco and Onyx. Clowney then had a short tenure
with the group The Valentines, led by Richard Barrett, and recorded two
singles with them for Rama. In the autumn of 1956 he recorded two piano
instrumentals, "Movin' 'n' Groovin'" and "Soft Lights" (Ember 1010),
which were credited to The David Clowney Band and got a good review in
Billboard. This was followed by another great unknown R&B
instrumental single, "Hoot Owl"/"Shakin'" (Paris 513) in early 1958,
with King Curtis on tenor sax, Jimmy Spruill on guitar and Dave himself
on pounding piano. A few months later, he cut a Little Richard-styled
vocal single, "Honey Baby" and "You Give Me Heebie Jeebies" (Okeh 7102)
as Baby Cortez. None of these records registered, good was they were.
Meanwhile he did work as a session musician behind such artists as The
Chantels, The Isley Brothers, The Aquatones ("She's the One For Me") and
Little Anthony and the Imperials.
In 1958, his previous association with Ember Records brought Dave to
Clock Records, a brand new label, which was run by veteran English-born
EMI record man Wally Moody and his son Doug, and initially distributed
by Ember. Now billed as Dave "Baby" Cortez, the young pianist/singer had
his first Clock single released in August 1958, "You're the
Girl"/"Eenie Meeny Miny Mo", which did nothing at all. But then came
"The Happy Organ".
It was a Saturday morning in the fall of 1958 at Allegro Recording
Studio in the basement of 1650 Broadway in New York City. Dave was
supposed to cut a few vocal numbers, but he lost his voice during the
session and said, "Let me try an instrumental". They had a huge Hammond
B-3 organ in the corner, and though Dave had never played the organ
before, he started doing a tune based on "Shortnin' Bread". The backing
musicians (who included Jimmy Spruill on guitar, Buddy Lucas on sax and
Panama Francis on drums) started picking up the rhythm. The end of the
take was rough, it went on and on and was full of wrong notes, reason
why it was faded out on the record after 1:58. The resulting single was
called "The Happy Organ", a # 1 pop smash in the spring of 1959 (also # 5
R&B). It did much to popularise the Hammond organ amongst the huge
teen market and soon Johnny and the Hurricanes and Bill Black's Combo
would score chart hits with organ-led instrumentals.
The follow-up, "The Whistling Organ" was a poor record by comparison and
went only to # 61. No further hits on Clock followed, despite strong
45s such as "Piano Shuffle", "Cat Nip" and "Dave's Special". After
Clock's distribution deal with Ember ended, RCA Victor stepped in and
the album "Dave 'Baby' Cortez And His Happy Organ" came out on RCA in
September 1959. Clock later issued the LP on its own label, but not
before RCA sold thousands of copies. In 1962, Dave was back in the Top
10 with "Rinky Dink" on Chess (picked up from Julia Records, which was
probably Dave's own label), followed by some minor hits on Chess. The
mid-sixties saw him recording for the Roulette label and, keeping in
tune with the times, Cortez soon moved into funky soul music. In 1973,
he had his last chart entry with "Someone Has Taken Your Place" on All
Platinum (# 45 R&B). His final single was also released in that
year, "Hell Street Junction", which was an imitation of Sly and the
Family Stone's "Life". By the 1980s he had turned his back on the music
business and was living in Jamaica, New York, with a day-time job. Since
then he has always refused to be interviewed about his career as a
musician.
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Nacido David Cortez Clowney, 13 de agosto de 1938, Detroit, Michigan
Pianista / organista / vocalista / compositor.
Hoy
en día, Dave "Baby" Cortez (Clowney) es recordado casi únicamente por
su disco número 1 "The Happy Organ" (1959), pero tuvo una larga y, en
ocasiones, exitosa carrera discográfica tanto antes como después de este
éxito. Al crecer en Detroit, Dave mostró aptitudes musicales a una edad
temprana y fue guiado hacia el piano por su padre, que también tocaba
el instrumento. Su carrera musical despegó cuando se unió a los Five
Pearls en 1954 como segundo tenor y pianista, y se trasladó con ellos a
Nueva York al año siguiente. El grupo, que pasó a ser más conocido como
los Pearls, grabó para Aladdin, Atco y Onyx. A continuación, Clowney
pasó por el grupo The Valentines, liderado por Richard Barrett, con el
que grabó dos sencillos para Rama. En el otoño de 1956 grabó dos
instrumentales de piano, "Movin' 'n' Groovin'" y "Soft Lights" (Ember
1010), que fueron acreditados a The David Clowney Band y obtuvieron una
buena crítica en Billboard. Le siguió otro gran single instrumental de
R&B desconocido, "Hoot Owl"/"Shakin'" (Paris 513) a principios de
1958, con King Curtis al saxo tenor, Jimmy Spruill a la guitarra y el
propio Dave al piano. Unos meses más tarde, grabó un sencillo vocal al
estilo de Little Richard, "Honey Baby" y "You Give Me Heebie Jeebies"
(Okeh 7102) como Baby Cortez. Ninguno de estos discos se registró, por
muy buenos que fueran. Mientras tanto, trabajó como músico de sesión
detrás de artistas como The Chantels, The Isley Brothers, The Aquatones
("She's the One For Me") y Little Anthony and the Imperials.
En
1958, su anterior asociación con Ember Records llevó a Dave a Clock
Records, un nuevo sello, dirigido por el veterano inglés Wally Moody y
su hijo Doug, y distribuido inicialmente por Ember. El joven
pianista/cantante, que ahora se llamaba Dave "Baby" Cortez, publicó su
primer sencillo en Clock en agosto de 1958, "You're the Girl"/"Eenie
Meeny Miny Mo", que no tuvo ningún éxito. Pero entonces llegó "The Happy
Organ".
Era un sábado por la mañana del otoño de 1958 en el
estudio de grabación Allegro, en el sótano del 1650 de Broadway, en
Nueva York. Dave tenía que grabar algunos números vocales, pero se quedó
sin voz durante la sesión y dijo: "Dejadme probar un instrumental".
Tenían un enorme órgano Hammond B-3 en un rincón, y aunque Dave nunca
había tocado el órgano antes, empezó a hacer una melodía basada en
"Shortnin' Bread". Los músicos de acompañamiento (que incluían a Jimmy
Spruill a la guitarra, Buddy Lucas al saxo y Panama Francis a la
batería) empezaron a coger el ritmo. El final de la toma era duro, se
alargaba y estaba lleno de notas erróneas, razón por la que se
desvaneció en el disco después de 1:58. El single resultante se llamó
"The Happy Organ", un éxito pop en el nº 1 en la primavera de 1959
(también nº 5 en R&B). Este tema contribuyó a popularizar el órgano
Hammond entre el enorme mercado de los adolescentes y pronto Johnny and
the Hurricanes y Bill Black's Combo conseguirían éxitos en las listas de
éxitos con instrumentales dirigidos por el órgano.
La
continuación, "The Whistling Organ", fue un disco pobre en comparación y
sólo alcanzó el número 61. No hubo más éxitos con Clock, a pesar de que
se publicaron discos de 45 como "Piano Shuffle", "Cat Nip" y "Dave's
Special". Después de que el acuerdo de distribución de Clock con Ember
terminara, RCA Victor intervino y el álbum "Dave 'Baby' Cortez And His
Happy Organ" salió en RCA en septiembre de 1959. Posteriormente, Clock
publicó el LP con su propio sello, pero no antes de que RCA vendiera
miles de copias. En 1962, Dave volvió al Top 10 con "Rinky Dink" en
Chess (recogido de Julia Records, que probablemente era el propio sello
de Dave), seguido de algunos éxitos menores en Chess. A mediados de los
sesenta, grabó para el sello Roulette y, en sintonía con los tiempos,
Cortez pronto se pasó a la música funky soul. En 1973, tuvo su última
entrada en las listas con "Someone Has Taken Your Place" en All Platinum
(# 45 R&B). Su último sencillo también se publicó ese año, "Hell
Street Junction", que era una imitación de "Life" de Sly and the Family
Stone. En la década de 1980 ya había dado la espalda al negocio de la
música y vivía en Jamaica, Nueva York, con un trabajo diurno. Desde
entonces siempre se ha negado a ser entrevistado sobre su carrera como
músico.
