Biography
Although commercial triumph remained stubbornly out of reach, Willie Tee endures as a foundational presence within New Orleans’ musical landscape. A vocalist and pianist of remarkable emotional range whose work draws deeply from Crescent City R&B and jazz, his mid-’60s soul recordings are regarded as touchstones on the Carolinas’ beach music scene. Wilson Turbinton entered the world on February 6, 1944, in New Orleans and took up the piano at age three, clearly influenced by the saxophone and flute studies of his older brother Earl. The Turbinton family moved in 1952 to the Calliope Street housing projects, where Willie and Earl regularly encountered the music and dancing of the area’s dominant Native American community; four years later the brothers formed their first ensemble, the Seminoles, and began performing at local talent contests. At school Willie also came under the guidance of music instructor Harold Battiste, who, with parental consent, placed Turbinton in his jazz group the AFO Band (All for One), whose members included the esteemed pianist Ellis Marsalis. For Battiste’s AFO imprint the newly renamed Willie Tee cut his 1962 debut single “Always Accused”; although it did not chart, the release immediately showcased the buoyant blend of R&B and jazz that would define much of his output.
After departing AFO, Tee assembled the Souls alongside bassist George Davis and drummer David Lee, then signed with the fledgling Nola label established by cousin Ulis Gaines, journalist Clint Scott, and producer-arranger Wardell Quezergue. His 1965 Nola debut “Teasin’ You” not only became the label’s first local success but somehow reached Los Angeles, prompting blue-eyed soul duo the Righteous Brothers to perform the song on the television program Shindig!; Atlantic subsequently licensed the original for national release. Paired with the exceptional B-side “Walking up a One-Way Street,” the single edged onto the pop charts yet stopped just short of the R&B Top Ten, peaking at number 12. The follow-up “Thank You John” failed to chart but has long been recognized as a beach-music standard; Alex Chilton later popularized the track. When the funky “I Want Somebody (To Show Me the Way Back Home)” likewise missed the charts, Atlantic ended the arrangement, and Tee's next single “Please Don’t Go” surfaced on Nola’s Hot-Line subsidiary. The Marvin Gaye-inspired “Ain’t That True Baby” attracted scant attention beyond New Orleans, and Nola shuttered in 1968; Tee and Gaines promptly launched Gatur Records, though “I Peeped Your Hole Card” generated minimal interest.
In 1969 Tee changed direction, co-writing and producing New Orleans soul singer Margie Joseph’s cult favorite “One More Chance” for the Stax subsidiary Volt. He also rejoined brother Earl in the Jazz Workshop, where his keyboard work drew the notice of Cannonball Adderley and secured a Capitol contract; the resulting debut album I’m Only a Man appeared in 1970, yet the association proved brief. Tee and Gaines soon revived Gatur with the lush ballad “The Man That I Am.” Later releases such as “Your Love and My Love Together” and the driving instrumental “Swivel Your Hips” reflected a move toward funkier, more aggressive textures. In 1973 Tee was enlisted to assemble a backing band for a session featuring the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indian Group, returning him to the Native American music of his youth; recruiting Earl and guitarist Snooks Eaglin, he fashioned new pieces from traditional Native chants while reworking several New Orleans classics with infusions of funk and Afro-Cuban rhythm. The 1973 album The Wild Magnolias stands as a landmark of Crescent City music and is credited with introducing the distinctive Mardi Gras Indian culture to audiences worldwide.
Willie Tee joined United Artists in 1976 for his second LP, Anticipation; merging classic up-tempo soul with contemporary disco production, the set again failed commercially, and he never recorded for another major label. Tee and his backing unit the Gaturs nonetheless remained fixtures on the New Orleans club circuit. He also resumed his collaboration with Earl, reclaiming the family name for the 1988 jazz album Turbinton Brothers issued by Rounder. In the ensuing decade Northern soul DJs and dancers in Britain rediscovered his work, prompting occasional overseas appearances, among them a warmly received performance at the Jazz Café. The hip-hop community likewise embraced his catalog, with the Gaturs’ “Concentrate” sampled by Sean “Puffy” Combs and the Wild Magnolias’ “Smoke My Peace Pipe” used by the Geto Boys. Tee's classic Nola/Atlantic sides were finally anthologized in 2002 on the Night Train compilation Teasin’ You. Willie Tee died in September 2007 from complications of colon cancer.
After departing AFO, Tee assembled the Souls alongside bassist George Davis and drummer David Lee, then signed with the fledgling Nola label established by cousin Ulis Gaines, journalist Clint Scott, and producer-arranger Wardell Quezergue. His 1965 Nola debut “Teasin’ You” not only became the label’s first local success but somehow reached Los Angeles, prompting blue-eyed soul duo the Righteous Brothers to perform the song on the television program Shindig!; Atlantic subsequently licensed the original for national release. Paired with the exceptional B-side “Walking up a One-Way Street,” the single edged onto the pop charts yet stopped just short of the R&B Top Ten, peaking at number 12. The follow-up “Thank You John” failed to chart but has long been recognized as a beach-music standard; Alex Chilton later popularized the track. When the funky “I Want Somebody (To Show Me the Way Back Home)” likewise missed the charts, Atlantic ended the arrangement, and Tee's next single “Please Don’t Go” surfaced on Nola’s Hot-Line subsidiary. The Marvin Gaye-inspired “Ain’t That True Baby” attracted scant attention beyond New Orleans, and Nola shuttered in 1968; Tee and Gaines promptly launched Gatur Records, though “I Peeped Your Hole Card” generated minimal interest.
In 1969 Tee changed direction, co-writing and producing New Orleans soul singer Margie Joseph’s cult favorite “One More Chance” for the Stax subsidiary Volt. He also rejoined brother Earl in the Jazz Workshop, where his keyboard work drew the notice of Cannonball Adderley and secured a Capitol contract; the resulting debut album I’m Only a Man appeared in 1970, yet the association proved brief. Tee and Gaines soon revived Gatur with the lush ballad “The Man That I Am.” Later releases such as “Your Love and My Love Together” and the driving instrumental “Swivel Your Hips” reflected a move toward funkier, more aggressive textures. In 1973 Tee was enlisted to assemble a backing band for a session featuring the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indian Group, returning him to the Native American music of his youth; recruiting Earl and guitarist Snooks Eaglin, he fashioned new pieces from traditional Native chants while reworking several New Orleans classics with infusions of funk and Afro-Cuban rhythm. The 1973 album The Wild Magnolias stands as a landmark of Crescent City music and is credited with introducing the distinctive Mardi Gras Indian culture to audiences worldwide.
Willie Tee joined United Artists in 1976 for his second LP, Anticipation; merging classic up-tempo soul with contemporary disco production, the set again failed commercially, and he never recorded for another major label. Tee and his backing unit the Gaturs nonetheless remained fixtures on the New Orleans club circuit. He also resumed his collaboration with Earl, reclaiming the family name for the 1988 jazz album Turbinton Brothers issued by Rounder. In the ensuing decade Northern soul DJs and dancers in Britain rediscovered his work, prompting occasional overseas appearances, among them a warmly received performance at the Jazz Café. The hip-hop community likewise embraced his catalog, with the Gaturs’ “Concentrate” sampled by Sean “Puffy” Combs and the Wild Magnolias’ “Smoke My Peace Pipe” used by the Geto Boys. Tee's classic Nola/Atlantic sides were finally anthologized in 2002 on the Night Train compilation Teasin’ You. Willie Tee died in September 2007 from complications of colon cancer.
Albums
Singles
