Biography
Louisiana-born Roosevelt Nettles turned his back on what looked like a solid path in records and live performance more than three decades ago, and to this day he cannot pinpoint the reason. Raised in New Orleans alongside seven brothers and sisters, he began singing for pay while still in his teens in Mobile, Alabama, the city where his late brother Willie Roy had settled. There he put together the Flames, a doo-wop ensemble in which he supplied the vocal leads, before enlisting in the Air Force in 1958. During his service he assembled yet another doo-wop outfit, the Enchanters, though it never entered a studio. As part of Special Forces, Nettles was posted first to an air base in Chandler, Arizona, and later to one outside Phoenix. He quickly developed a lasting attachment to the state and chose to remain after his discharge in 1962.
In Phoenix he performed nightly in local clubs such as Stage Seven, eventually signed with a manager, and laid down an unreleased demonstration tape written by that manager. An introduction to disc jockey Lucky Lawrence secured him a session for Mascot Records on which he revived “Mathilda,” the song first cut by Cookie & the Cupcakes; Chess Records later acquired the master and reissued it once the record, backed by “Drifting Heart,” stirred regional interest in Louisiana. When Nettles and Chess failed to settle on suitable follow-up material, the relationship dissolved. He next appeared on Felstad Records—home to the Flares’ “Foot Stompin’ Time”—with the single “Gotcha on My Mind.” His final release came on Capitol Records, pairing “You’ve Let a Fortune Go” with “Sorry for Me”; additional tracks were tracked but left unissued. Through the mid-sixties he worked steadily across the Southwest, sharing bills with Ike & Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, and the Righteous Brothers before stepping away from performing in 1966.
Nettles continues to make his home in the Phoenix area, where he applies the culinary training he received in the military at such venues as the Highway House, Max’s, the Bullpen, Tommy Copa’s West, and Ice in Scottsdale.
In Phoenix he performed nightly in local clubs such as Stage Seven, eventually signed with a manager, and laid down an unreleased demonstration tape written by that manager. An introduction to disc jockey Lucky Lawrence secured him a session for Mascot Records on which he revived “Mathilda,” the song first cut by Cookie & the Cupcakes; Chess Records later acquired the master and reissued it once the record, backed by “Drifting Heart,” stirred regional interest in Louisiana. When Nettles and Chess failed to settle on suitable follow-up material, the relationship dissolved. He next appeared on Felstad Records—home to the Flares’ “Foot Stompin’ Time”—with the single “Gotcha on My Mind.” His final release came on Capitol Records, pairing “You’ve Let a Fortune Go” with “Sorry for Me”; additional tracks were tracked but left unissued. Through the mid-sixties he worked steadily across the Southwest, sharing bills with Ike & Tina Turner, Sam Cooke, and the Righteous Brothers before stepping away from performing in 1966.
Nettles continues to make his home in the Phoenix area, where he applies the culinary training he received in the military at such venues as the Highway House, Max’s, the Bullpen, Tommy Copa’s West, and Ice in Scottsdale.