Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame cultivated a lively yet authentic fusion of jazz phrasing with American R&B grooves that drew a loyal audience across Britain, where he achieved three chart-topping singles throughout the 1960s. He handled piano and organ duties alongside vocals while absorbing stylistic cues from Mose Allison, Booker T. & the MG's, and Louis Jordan. At the start of his professional path he also sprinkled Jamaican ska and bluebeat numbers throughout his sets, aiding their spread across England; later on he stood among the rare jazz vocalists who explored the fading practice of vocalese, earning widespread esteem from critics on either side of the Atlantic.

Born Clive Powell on June 26, 1943, in Leigh, Lancashire near Manchester, he took up piano early and appeared with several local ensembles around Manchester during his teens, when Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis ranked among his favorites. In 1959 his family relocated to London, and the sixteen-year-old came to the attention of songwriter Lionel Bart, famed for the musical Oliver. Bart introduced Powell to talent manager Larry Parnes, who had guided British rock performers including Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, Johnny Gentle, and Vince Eager. Powell received a new professional name, and as Georgie Fame he accompanied Wilde and Eager on piano before formally entering Fury’s backing group the Blue Flames in the summer of 1961. That ensemble also featured guitarist Colin Green, saxophonist Mick Eve, bassist Tony Makins, and drummer Red Reece. When Fury dismissed the musicians at year’s end, Fame assumed the role of lead singer, and the band worked the London club scene with a distinctive mixture of rock, pop, R&B, jazz, and ska. Their rising profile secured a residency at the West End jazz venue the Flamingo; exposure to records supplied by American servicemen who patronized the club introduced Fame to the Hammond B-3 organ, making him one of the scant British players to adopt the instrument by late 1962. The Blue Flames subsequently ranked among London’s most sought-after live acts. In 1963 they signed with EMI Columbia and issued their well-received debut album Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo early the following year. Initial sales proved modest, as did the response to their first three singles, yet awareness of the group continued to grow.

In early 1965 Fame entered the charts with “Yeh Yeh,” a swinging piece first recorded by Latin jazz figure Mongo Santamaria and supplied with lyrics by vocalese master Jon Hendricks of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. The track climbed to number one on the British charts, and Fame began to embody his chosen moniker, although the song fell just short of America’s Top 20. His 1965 album Fame at Last reached the British Top 20, and after further minor successes he secured another British number one with “Getaway” in 1966. Following one additional album with the original Blue Flames, 1966’s Sweet Thing, Fame disbanded the group and pursued solo work; in subsequent years his supporting musicians included drummer Mitch Mitchell, later of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and guitarist John McLaughlin, later associated with Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Fame’s initial solo phase proved equally fruitful, beginning with the Top Ten big-band release Sound Venture, cut with Harry South’s orchestra. Its reception led to a tour the next year alongside Count Basie. Additional hit singles appeared over the ensuing period, among them “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde,” which delivered his third British chart-topper in late 1967 and, the year after, his sole American Top Ten entry. By 1969, however, his commercial momentum had slowed; in an effort to reach the cabaret audience he shifted toward conventional pop and distanced himself from his earlier roots. In 1971 he joined forces with former Animals organist Alan Price for an album of MOR pop, Fame & Price, that drew unfavorable critical notices; the collaboration yielded the near-Top Ten single “Rosetta” yet concluded in 1973. Fame reassembled the Blue Flames with original guitarist Colin Green in 1974 and sought a return to R&B, but his Island releases drew limited notice. Throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s he sustained himself through television appearances, cabaret work, and advertising jingles while continuing to record with scant public response.

In 1989 Fame contributed organ to Van Morrison’s Avalon Sunset, an association that expanded through the 1990s. He appeared on every Morrison album up to 1997’s The Healing Game, shared billing on the 1996 jazz project How Long Has This Been Going On, and briefly served as Morrison’s musical director. Fame’s own 1990s releases garnered some of his strongest notices since the previous decade, commencing with the jazzy 1991 set Cool Cat Blues, which included a duet with Morrison on “Moondance.” 1995’s Three Line Whip showcased his sons Tristan and James Powell on guitar and drums respectively, while 1996’s The Blues and Me bolstered his jazz standing. In 1998 Fame parted ways with Morrison to record and tour with former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman’s new ensemble the Rhythm Kings, supplying organ and vocals to several albums. In 2000, now on Ben Sidran’s Go Jazz imprint, he issued the well-regarded Poet in New York, confirming his command of jazz vocalese.