Biography
Erskine Butterfield launched his professional path as a pianist and prolific recording artist during the mid-'30s after entering the publishing offices of Clarence Williams in search of sales for one or two songs. Williams declined to issue the material yet immediately engaged Butterfield as a pianist and, according to longstanding accounts, instructed him in blues performance. Throughout Butterfield's output some successful sides drew from boogie-woogie sources, yet he persistently pursued greater refinement by weaving classical and jazz components into his work. He receives recognition for contributing to the emergence of cocktail piano, although audiences initially resisted the approach amid the rise of rock & roll, prompting the labels he recorded for to set him aside along with numerous other skilled musicians displaced by shifting tastes.
Once he concluded his tenure as Williams' manager, Butterfield secured an independent publishing agreement in 1939 with Joe Davis, who functioned as publisher, songwriter, A&R executive, and label proprietor. Their amicable association endured across multiple decades and generated dozens of notable recordings. By 1940 Butterfield was fronting multiple radio programs and attracting scattered press coverage. Over the ensuing period he recorded roughly forty titles for Decca under Davis' production and acquired the billing "Singing Vagabond of the Keys." Several of these selections were joint compositions credited to Davis under the pseudonym Leslie Beacon. The track "Two-Faced Man" may have alluded to such name changes, although Davis employed so many aliases that "Forty-Faced Man" would have been still more fitting.
Butterfield broke ground by assembling ensembles that combined Black and White performers, a practice highlighted in an Orchestra World article by Eve Ross stating he was "the only Negro pianist we know of on the air with an entire radio show of white folk built around him." The compact groups featured on his Decca releases stand out for their excellence irrespective of personnel backgrounds, with standout contributions from clarinetist Jimmy Lytell, guitarist Carmen Mastren, and bassist Haig Stevens. Concurrently, additional performers began covering Butterfield originals such as "Foo Gee," generating steady royalty income. In 1943 pianist Deryck Sampson issued an EP comprising four Butterfield compositions, among them "Blackberry Jam" and "Boogie de Concerto," signaling the composer's expanding artistic scope. The next year Butterfield cut "Piano Cocktail" and "Fantasy in Blue," entering the studio so thoroughly rehearsed that sessions concluded ahead of schedule.
Drafted in 1944, Butterfield nevertheless sustained musical activity through a Fort Dix ensemble that included guitarist Slim Furness of the Three Keys, drummer Eugene Brooks formerly with the Eddie Heywood band, and bassist Lynwood Jones from the Loumell Morgan Trio. Royalties likewise persisted as other artists interpreted his material, including pianist and singer Kirby Walker on the aptly titled "Goin' on an Errand for Uncle Sam."
After the war Joe Davis remained the sole producer committed to sustaining Butterfield's career, recalling him to the studio in the mid-'50s following an extended recording absence. The resulting sessions employed an agile unit featuring saxophonist Sam "The Man" Taylor and drummer Panama Francis under the name Butterfield & His Blues Boys. Portions of this material remained unissued until the mid-'80s, while the tracks that appeared promptly were viewed as outdated by listeners favoring the more propulsive style of Fats Domino. The 1957 album Piano Cocktail constituted Butterfield's last collection released during his lifetime.
Once he concluded his tenure as Williams' manager, Butterfield secured an independent publishing agreement in 1939 with Joe Davis, who functioned as publisher, songwriter, A&R executive, and label proprietor. Their amicable association endured across multiple decades and generated dozens of notable recordings. By 1940 Butterfield was fronting multiple radio programs and attracting scattered press coverage. Over the ensuing period he recorded roughly forty titles for Decca under Davis' production and acquired the billing "Singing Vagabond of the Keys." Several of these selections were joint compositions credited to Davis under the pseudonym Leslie Beacon. The track "Two-Faced Man" may have alluded to such name changes, although Davis employed so many aliases that "Forty-Faced Man" would have been still more fitting.
Butterfield broke ground by assembling ensembles that combined Black and White performers, a practice highlighted in an Orchestra World article by Eve Ross stating he was "the only Negro pianist we know of on the air with an entire radio show of white folk built around him." The compact groups featured on his Decca releases stand out for their excellence irrespective of personnel backgrounds, with standout contributions from clarinetist Jimmy Lytell, guitarist Carmen Mastren, and bassist Haig Stevens. Concurrently, additional performers began covering Butterfield originals such as "Foo Gee," generating steady royalty income. In 1943 pianist Deryck Sampson issued an EP comprising four Butterfield compositions, among them "Blackberry Jam" and "Boogie de Concerto," signaling the composer's expanding artistic scope. The next year Butterfield cut "Piano Cocktail" and "Fantasy in Blue," entering the studio so thoroughly rehearsed that sessions concluded ahead of schedule.
Drafted in 1944, Butterfield nevertheless sustained musical activity through a Fort Dix ensemble that included guitarist Slim Furness of the Three Keys, drummer Eugene Brooks formerly with the Eddie Heywood band, and bassist Lynwood Jones from the Loumell Morgan Trio. Royalties likewise persisted as other artists interpreted his material, including pianist and singer Kirby Walker on the aptly titled "Goin' on an Errand for Uncle Sam."
After the war Joe Davis remained the sole producer committed to sustaining Butterfield's career, recalling him to the studio in the mid-'50s following an extended recording absence. The resulting sessions employed an agile unit featuring saxophonist Sam "The Man" Taylor and drummer Panama Francis under the name Butterfield & His Blues Boys. Portions of this material remained unissued until the mid-'80s, while the tracks that appeared promptly were viewed as outdated by listeners favoring the more propulsive style of Fats Domino. The 1957 album Piano Cocktail constituted Butterfield's last collection released during his lifetime.
Albums