Biography
New Orleans native Chuck Simmons entered the world on April 12, 1938, in the Crescent City. During his teenage years he resided close to Fats Domino, whose example prompted his earliest attempts at songwriting and performance alongside local peer Joe Broussard. In 1965 the pair tried out for Wardell Quezerque, who took them under his wing as a songwriting mentor. Around the same time Simmons assembled the Royal Imperials alongside keyboardist Emerson Whitfield and guitarist Edward Robinson; the group made its first appearance on wax via the PJ imprint with the track “Do the Sissy.” That single failed to connect and the ensemble disbanded, yet Simmons returned in 1967 on his own Broom label with the Quezerque-helmed “Do the Funky Broom,” supported by Meters co-founders Art Neville and Leo Nocentelli.
Once Quezerque secured a production arrangement with Malaco, he assembled Simmons, Broussard, Michael Adams, Ronald Waldon, and his own son George into the Unemployed, a studio unit focused on the rising funk style. The collective also fronted three Cotillion singles in 1970, though internal friction soon dissolved the project. Simmons then continued as a solo artist while supporting himself as an auto mechanic. After fixing the vehicle of an up-and-coming vocalist named Jean Knight, he connected her with Quezerque, which led to the blockbuster “Mr. Big Stuff,” co-authored by Broussard.
Simmons cut sufficient tracks in 1972 for a Quezerque-produced album, but Malaco turned it down. Undeterred, he reactivated the Broom imprint in 1973 to issue his landmark “Hustler’s Strut,” then reworked the piece as “Lay It On Me” the following year; that version became a local success after appearing on the Move label. Move also put out 1976’s “Am I Grooving You,” Simmons’s last single for an extended period. When 1982’s “No One Can Love You Like Me” began gaining traction, an unscrupulous promoter diverted the earnings, prompting Simmons to leave the music business for good. In 2003 the Funky Delicacies label released Hustler’s Strut, a collection of sixteen prime recordings spanning his 1965–1978 peak. ~ Jason Ankeny
Once Quezerque secured a production arrangement with Malaco, he assembled Simmons, Broussard, Michael Adams, Ronald Waldon, and his own son George into the Unemployed, a studio unit focused on the rising funk style. The collective also fronted three Cotillion singles in 1970, though internal friction soon dissolved the project. Simmons then continued as a solo artist while supporting himself as an auto mechanic. After fixing the vehicle of an up-and-coming vocalist named Jean Knight, he connected her with Quezerque, which led to the blockbuster “Mr. Big Stuff,” co-authored by Broussard.
Simmons cut sufficient tracks in 1972 for a Quezerque-produced album, but Malaco turned it down. Undeterred, he reactivated the Broom imprint in 1973 to issue his landmark “Hustler’s Strut,” then reworked the piece as “Lay It On Me” the following year; that version became a local success after appearing on the Move label. Move also put out 1976’s “Am I Grooving You,” Simmons’s last single for an extended period. When 1982’s “No One Can Love You Like Me” began gaining traction, an unscrupulous promoter diverted the earnings, prompting Simmons to leave the music business for good. In 2003 the Funky Delicacies label released Hustler’s Strut, a collection of sixteen prime recordings spanning his 1965–1978 peak. ~ Jason Ankeny
Albums