Of the unfortunate dwindling number of 1960s and ’70s New Orleans R&B recording artists, thankfully we still have Wallace Johnson to appreciate. He never had much more than a handful of neighborhood hits, but his small clutch of singles – and one great CD – were some of the best local R&B of the era.
Johnson was born Oct. 8, 1937, in Napoleonville, La., 65 miles southwest of New Orleans on Bayou Lafourche.
“When I was 13, I saw Roy Brown at a little town called Bertrandville.” said Johnson in 1998. “I stood in the front row and focused on nothing but him. This was when he had (big) records out like ‘Cadillac Baby,’ ‘Brown Angel’ and ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight.’
“I went in the service in 1954. I was stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington. One day at the service club, a guy asked me if I sang. I didn’t, but the next thing I knew, we had a five-member group. This was during the doo-wop era. We performed at talent shows and usually won.”
Johnson got married while in the service. After being discharged, he and his growing family moved to New Orleans, where he had several relatives. Still interested in music, Johnson enrolled at Houston’s School of Music under the G.I. Bill. He unsuccessfully auditioned for Dave Bartholomew at Imperial Records and later for Harold Battiste at Specialty. Battiste expressed interest, but Johnson was told Specialty was winding down its New Orleans activities. However, Batiste revealed he had another project in the works.
“Harold was going to start his own label, AFO. He said it was time for New Orleans musicians that make the music to make the money – not out-of-town companies that came here to record. That’s how I wound up on AFO.”
Johnson debuted on AFO in 1962 with “Clap Your Hands” / “Peace of Mind.” It was a great release, but Johnson got caught in a record-business trick bag. AFO briefly had a national distrubutor, Sue Records, that helped catapult Barbara George’s “I Know” to the top of the charts. Sue and AFO had an bitter split – in a nutshell – over George’s contract and services. That meant Johnson’s single had only local distribution, which meant limited sales and promotion.
“We cut that session at a little studio built behind Ric Records office on Baronne Street,” said Johnson. “That was the first time I met Allen Toussaint, but he couldn’t play on the session because he had a contract with Minit Records. But the rest of the AFO combo played on the record. I cut the session and moved back to Napoleonville after I broke my ankle. Later I found out the label folded and the AFO cats moved out to the West Coast. Then I started seeing Harold on the ‘Sonny and Cher’ show every week.”
Johnson began working weekends at the clubs along Bayou Lafourche. His marquee gig was opening shows for national acts like Ile and Tina Turner and Bobby “Blue” Bland at the Sugar Bowl in Thibodaux. Johnson moved back to New Orleans in 1965 and ran into Toussaint again.
“Allen had just got out of the service and became partners with Marshall Sehorn. This was right after Allen produced Lee Dorsey’s ‘Ride Your Pony.’ I wound up doing several singles with Allen.”
Johnson’s initial Toussaint-produced single – “Something To Remember You By” / “If You Leave Me” – appeared on Sansu and was distributed by Bell. Though it begged to break nationally, it stayed a local record, largely overlooked by the sudden explosion of British music in America. The follow-up, “I’m Grown” / “Baby Go Head,” was also distinctive, but it met a similar fate.
“None of those records were cut live,” recalled Johnson. “Allen would have the musicians record a backing track and then I’d come in and do the vocals. I thought ‘Something to Remember You By’ was pretty good. ‘I’m Grown’ was pretty arrogant song that told a different story. The last single I did with Allen was on RCA (in 1973). ‘I Miss You Girl’ and ‘On My Way Back’ were cut in Atlanta.”
The RCA single didn’t do much, and Johnson returned to Napoleonville, where he drove trucks and worked in a lumber yard to support his family. After his wife died and children grew up, Johnson moved back to New Orleans and worked for company that laid sewer lines. In the mid-1990s, Johnson re-encountered Toussaint and saw a revival of his music career.
“At the time I used to go by Allen’s house to shoot pool,” Johnson said. “I asked him what he thought of me cutting a demo. He said, ‘Go ahead.’ He said, ‘Get the musicians and you can use the studio (Sea-Saint) anytime.’ I met some guys that played with Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., and we did four songs.
“Allen heard the demo and came by my house a couple weeks later. He said, ‘I have some friends in New York are interested in starting a label’ and would I be interested in being involved? Of course I was. I wound up doing a CD ‘Whoever’s Thrilling You’ that came out on NYNO in 1996.”
The release set off a brief firestorm of activity, but Johnson eventually returned to driving a truck for a living. NYNO fizzled, and in 2000, Johnson moved to Atlanta to live with his daughter. His appearance at the 2010 Ponderosa Stomp this Saturday night will mark his first return to New Orleans in a decade.
Sammy Ridgley. Though the last name is familiar to New Orleans R&B buffs, the first name might not well be. Separated by 18 years, Sammy Ridgley is the youngest brother of the late Tommy Ridgely and carries on the R&B tradition of his older brother. He still leads Tommy’s old band, the Untouchables, and hopefully his 2010 Ponderosa Stomp performance will lead to deservedly wider recognition.
Born Aug. 6, 1943, Sammy was raised on Andover Street in the Shrewsbury section of Jefferson Parish. “When I was growing up, Tommy had left home but was living around the corner,” recalled Ridgley in the fall of 1998. “I grew up singing gospel, and I was a good football player. I was an amateur boxer and won all but one fight. A policeman wanted to train me to box professionally, but my mother wouldn’t go for it.”
As an adolescent, Ridgley soon found out that there were certain perks to being the brother of a successful recording artist. “Every time my brother went out of town, he’d bring me back a shirt, a pair of shoes, or a new suit,” laughed Ridgley. “I had 20 pairs of shoes and 13 suits. Also, I could get into all the dances free by telling the guy at the door that I was Tommy Ridgley’s brother.”
As he grew older, Ridgley often traveled to nearby towns with his brother and helped handle the band’s equipment. As he grew older, Ridgley got to see the likes of Gatemouth Brown, Guitar Slim and Smiley Lewis when they performed at the Harlem Gym in Shrewsbury.
“I used to enjoy going to the Municipal Auditorium too and seeing the gospel shows. I remember seeing Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke. I also remember seeing Archie Brown Lee and the Five Blind Boys – he was devastating.”
Eventually Joe Tex became Ridgley’s biggest influence. “Joe Tex played the Dew Drop in the late 1950s. This was before he had any hit records. It was the most exciting thing I ever saw. He did all those James Brown dance steps that became famous and he could really pop that mike stand. I remember leaving the Dew Drop one night thinking how great it would be to be a singer and be able to put on a show like that.”
In 1962, Ridgley got the chance. “Kelly Jones was a saxophonist in my neighborhood that played with O.W. Scott and the Magnificents,” said Ridgley. “He heard I could sing and invited me to join the band. We mostly played white frat gigs and made good money. I made more money in one night than an entire week at my day job (at a funeral parlor).”
Tommy arranged for his brother to record at Cosimo’s in 1965, but “The Hully Gully” never saw the light of day. Sammy also did a session with the Magnificents at WYLD’s studio on Tulane Avenue that also went unissued.
“The Magnificents did well until the Beatles came along,” said Ridgley. “Then we had to compete with all the Beatle and guitar bands. Guys kept dropping out of the group (the Magnificents) and finally it dissolved.
“Around 1968, I started my own band, Operation Plus. That was the best little boogie-woogie band I ever heard. That was my style – that uptempo sound. We had the same weekend gig at the Young Man’s Night Club on Causeway (Boulevard) for 24 years.”
In 1972, Ridgley signed on with Elijah Walker, who ran a production/promotion company with a parcel of very successful up-and-coming New Orleans R&B talent, including King Floyd, Jean Knight, and C. P. Love, to name a few. A largely overlooked figure in the overall history of local R&B, Walker was very much responsible for the brief resurgence of the New Orleans sound in the early 1970s. The former longshoreman knew the value of hard work, connections and especially money. “Walker didn’t get kicked in the ass – Walker did the ass kicking,” according to C.P. Love.
Walker produced Ridgley’s first single “I’ve Heard That Story Before” – a cover of his brother’s song – and “Shake A Shake Sue.” The single was arranged by Wardell Quezergue and released on King’s Row. The same team worked on “I’m Dreaming”/”Locked Up,” which started to make some noise in New Orleans.
“‘I’m Dreaming’ started to get some airplay on WBOK and WYLD, but it cost money to get a record played then,” said Ridgley. “I know because I put $250 in a jock’s hand. The jock told me that for another $250, he’d wear the label off the motherfucker.
“ABC-Paramount was interest in leasing ‘I’m Dreaming’ and doing an album. They offered $5,000, but Walker wanted $10,000. They thought that was too much and nothing happened.”
Walker’s unexpected death in 1973 stalled Ridgley’s recording career, but he stayed busy with Operation Plus and occasionally opening his brother’s shows with the Untouchables.
In the late 1990s, Ridgley was approached by guitarist/label owner Ernie Vincent – an association that resulted in the very good, but unfortunately out-of-print, “Midnight Rendezvous” CD.
After Tommy’s death in 1999, Sammy assumed the role of bandleader with the Untouchables. Sammy and the band mostly work private functions in Jefferson Parish. His appearance before the Ponderosa Stomp’s knowledgeable and appreciative audience will surely make many more people aware of his talent.
Here’s a Stomp sneak peek with a great live performance from Sugar Pie Desanto when she toured Europe as part of the American Folk Blues Festival. Ponderosa Stomp alum Hubert Sumlin is on guitar!
Below is snapshot of Sugar Pie’s Ponderosa Stomp poster- from the letterpress geniuses at Yee Haw Industries. See Sugar Pie Desanto live and snag her poster on at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans on September 24th and 25th, 2010.
Chrome-domed rockabilly punk Deke Dickerson is a longtime Stomp backing bandleader and accomplished musician and music writer in his own right. Two guitar slingers go head to head, as he chats with legendary King of Twang and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Duane Eddy.
Renegade punk-blues guitar stylist Kid Congo Powers – of the Cramps, the Gun Club and Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds – joins Rock and Roll Hall of Fame VP of Education and Public Programs Lauren Onkey in this discussion with original bassist Jimi Espinoza of Thee Midniters, who ignited Chicano rock in 60’s East L.A. with cruising anthems like “Whittier Blvd.”
Los Angeles Times senior pop critic discusses with Gloria Jones what is truly a life in rock – from her influential soul cuts like “Tainted Love” to her life on the glam-rock scene with Marc Bolan.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Dr. Lauren Onkey chats with the legendary Ronnie Spector – the diminutive, high-haired wild child whose commitment to rock n’roll started in Spanish Harlem, survived Phil Spector, influenced the Rolling Stones and the Ramones and still burns bright today.
Award-winning author, journalist and Western wear expert Holly George-Warren talks with Ian Dunlop, original bassist for Gram Parsons’ pre-Burrito outfit the International Submarine Band.
The Trashmen, the wild 60’s Minnesotans behind the bird share the word with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame director of education Jason Hanley.
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Sugarboy Crawford with Rick Coleman
Award-winning Fats Domino biographer Rick Coleman talks with New Orleans R&B legend James “Sugarboy” Crawford, whose 1953 Chess-cut version of “Jock-A-Mo” remains one of the most popular updates of the traditional Mardi Gras Indian chant.
Two legends come together in this conversation. British-born author John Broven remains the definitive authority on South Louisiana swamp pop, Cajun music and R&B, with his groundbreaking texts “South to Louisiana” (1983) “Rhythm & Blues in New Orleans” (1974) and “Record Makers and Breakers.”(2009)His longtime associate Floyd Soileau cut the records Broven wrote the books on, founding seminal labels like Jin, Swallow, Vee Pee and Big Mamou to put out artists like Clifton Chenier and Rod Bernard.
Grammy-nominated Los Angeles-based writer and DJ Chris Morris, the 60’s bluesman turned 70’s “party record”-making comedian. The Atlanta-based bluesman has held down legend status for over half a century, playing, hanging and entertaining with artists from T-Bone Walker to Tina Turner.
Award-winning author Holly George-Warren leads the Stomp Conference’s second installent of the “Here Come The Girls” panel, which she originally moderated at the first conference in 2008. Cult Stax singer Wendy Rene of “BBQ” fame, girl group legend Lala Brooks, and left-handed Gulf Coat guitar empress Barbara Lynn share their stories of the vagaries of the music business for black women in the prefeminist era.
Without the talents of producer, arranger, bandleader, talent scout and trumpeter Dave Bartholomew, the world would never have heard of a piano player named Fats – and that’s only scratching the edge of the tip of the iceberg for Dave Bartholomew, New Orleans’ premier architect of rock n’roll. With Stomp founder Dr. Ike and chronicler John Broven, Bartholomew shares his firsthand account of the dawn of the American rock and R&B sound.
South Louisiana music authority John Broven and frequent MOJO contributor and musician Michael Hurtt talk with Cajun guitar legends Leroy Martin and Johnnie Allan. Look for a possible appearance by their longtime co-conspirator and legendary Ville Platte record man Floyd Soileau!
Ponderosa Stomp secret weapon Lil Buck Sinegal has led the band for Stomp events for the event’s entire history. With running buddy Dr. Ike, he finally discloses his story of life as South Louisiana’s crack guitar slinger, from Clifton Chenier’s band to hundreds of Excello sessions to “Monkey in a Sack” and “Cat Scream.”
Texas wild man Roy Head can still do the alligator, offer marital advice, whip a roadhouse into a soul frenzy and probably fry an egg all at the same time. The irrepressible soul man behind “Treat Her Right” chats with New York Rocker founder and longtime music journalist Andy Schwartz.
*** 15 to 30 minutes between sessions is allowed for the audience of each discussion to change over at a comfortable pace. Please be respectful of our schedule, and join the speakers and moderators in the courtyard or the second floor gallery record fair following their session for refreshments, further conversation and memorabilia signing. ***
The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation thanks Dr. Lauren Onkey and Jason Hanley of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for hosting this year’s Music History Conference.
The Ponderosa Stomp-curated exhibit “Unsung Heroes: The Secret History of Louisiana Rock n’Roll” is on view on floor 2A of the Cabildo during the Ponderosa Stomp Music History Conference. Admission to the Conference allows you to entrance to the exhibit, as well.
This year, at the ninth annual Ponderosa Stomp, we will have the “King of the Twang” guitar- DUANE EDDY! DR Ike has had Eddy on his wish list for years- and now its going to happen!
Enjoy Duane Eddy’s 1958 hit “Ramrod” – which got to #27 on the billboard charts.
