Biography
Though most familiar as the creator and original performer of “Ice Cream Man,” the track later revived by David Lee Roth and Van Halen on their debut album, John Brim deserves recognition for far more than that single association. His sparse output nevertheless contains some of the most uncompromising and gritty sides of the era.
Early on, Brim absorbed his guitar approach from 78 rpm discs by Tampa Red and Big Bill Broonzy. He first headed to Indianapolis in 1941, then moved on to Chicago four years later. There he met Grace in 1947; she proved an able drummer and sat in on several of his sessions. In 1950 she even took the vocal on a single for Detroit’s Fortune Records, the release that inaugurated Brim’s own recording career.
Over the next few years he cut material for Random, JOB, Al Benson’s Parrot label—including the socially aware “Tough Times”—and Chess. One Chess side, “Rattlesnake,” offered Brim’s retort to Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog,” yet the company withdrew it almost immediately for fear of a plagiarism suit. Cut in 1953, the suggestive “Ice Cream Man” itself stayed on the shelf until its belated 1969 release.
Brim’s final Chess single, 1956’s “I Would Hate to See You Go,” was backed by an elite rhythm section of harpist Little Walter, guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood, bassist Willie Dixon, and drummer Fred Below, evidence that the label had placed considerable hopes in him. Those hopes went unrealized, however, and after a long hiatus Brim returned to the studio with the Tone-Cool Records album The Ice Cream Man.
A longtime resident of Gary, Indiana, he continued to perform on the Chicago blues circuit until his death on October 1, 2003, at the age of 81.
Early on, Brim absorbed his guitar approach from 78 rpm discs by Tampa Red and Big Bill Broonzy. He first headed to Indianapolis in 1941, then moved on to Chicago four years later. There he met Grace in 1947; she proved an able drummer and sat in on several of his sessions. In 1950 she even took the vocal on a single for Detroit’s Fortune Records, the release that inaugurated Brim’s own recording career.
Over the next few years he cut material for Random, JOB, Al Benson’s Parrot label—including the socially aware “Tough Times”—and Chess. One Chess side, “Rattlesnake,” offered Brim’s retort to Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog,” yet the company withdrew it almost immediately for fear of a plagiarism suit. Cut in 1953, the suggestive “Ice Cream Man” itself stayed on the shelf until its belated 1969 release.
Brim’s final Chess single, 1956’s “I Would Hate to See You Go,” was backed by an elite rhythm section of harpist Little Walter, guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood, bassist Willie Dixon, and drummer Fred Below, evidence that the label had placed considerable hopes in him. Those hopes went unrealized, however, and after a long hiatus Brim returned to the studio with the Tone-Cool Records album The Ice Cream Man.
A longtime resident of Gary, Indiana, he continued to perform on the Chicago blues circuit until his death on October 1, 2003, at the age of 81.
Albums
