Crown Prince Waterford

Born on 21 October 1919 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Charles Waterford grew up under the musical guidance of his parents, both of whom instructed him in vocal performance from an early age. His initial engagements as a professional singer came alongside Andy Kirk’s 12 Clouds Of Joy and Leslie Sheffield’s Rhythmaires. The title ‘the Crown Prince Of The Blues’ attached itself to Waterford while he spent a short period with Jay McShann’s Orchestra, a stint that also produced recordings issued on Philo/Aladdin and Premier/Mercury. After Jimmy Witherspoon took his place, Waterford launched a solo career in 1946, cutting sides for Hy-Tone in Chicago; the year after that he traveled to Los Angeles to lay down his best-known material for Capitol Records, backed by Pete Johnson’s band and featuring the suggestive ‘Move Your Hand Baby’. In 1949 he returned to McShann’s company for a session produced by Jack Lauderdale, then completed four strong numbers for King with the youthful Harold Land And His All-Stars plus another quartet alongside the Joe Thomas Orchestra. A mid-1950s date for Excello Records yielded a pair of forceful blues-shouting performances, whereas subsequent releases on Orbit and Stampede chased the twist fad and quickly faded from view. In contrast, Waterford’s prior recordings reveal an inventive blues stylist whose largely self-composed material displayed fresh, vividly descriptive lyrics. Still living, he directed most of his energies toward church activities for three decades until 2003, when he returned to the studio to make a fresh album.