March 21, 2004 John William “Johnny” Bristol, musician, songwriter and record producer, died. Bristol was born February 3, 1939 in Morganton, North Carolina. After serving in the United States Air Force, Bristol recorded several singles before his label was absorbed by Motown Records in the mid-1960s. At Motown, he teamed with Harvey Fuqua to write […]
Tag Archives | record producer
January 29th in African American History – William James “Willie” Dixon
January 29, 1992 William James “Willie” Dixon, blues vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, died. Dixon was born July 1, 1915 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. As a teenager, he began adapting the poems that he wrote into songs and selling them to local music groups. In 1936, he moved to Chicago and helped form the Five Breezes. […]
October 4th in African American History – Russell Wendell Simmons
October 4, 1957 Russell Wendell Simmons, record producer and entrepreneur, was born in Queens, New York. In the mid-1970s, Simmons enrolled in City College of New York but quit to begin promoting rap music. In 1984 he co-founded Def Jam Records and within three years the companies albums such as the Beastie Boys’ “Licensed to […]
September 12th in African American History – Barrence Eugene Carter (Barry White)
September 12, 1944 Barrence Eugene Carter (Barry White), singer, songwriter and record producer, was born in Galveston, Texas. He began his musical career in the early 1960s in singing groups before going out on his own in the mid-1960s. He got his big break, producing a female group he had discovered called Love Unlimited. Their […]