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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMELROSE, Lester(b 1891, Olney IL; d April 1968) Music publisher, talent scout, record producer. Brothers Lester and Walter ran a music store; they became associated with King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and the Gennett label, later with ARC; When Prohibition was over and juke boxes placed in taverns Lester wrote to Victor and Columbia offering to provide 'race' records, later claimed to have recorded 90 per cent of the genre released by the major labels '34-51. The number of great black artists he was associated with is astonishing: Bukka White, Lonnie Johnson, Leroy Carr, Victoria Spivey, Roosevelt Sykes, Sonny Boy Williamson, many more: he made Big Bill Broonzy house guitarist and assembler of backing groups at Vocalion and Bluebird. He managed Big Boy Crudup's recording dates and Crudup was supposed to get 35 per cent of the money from them, but said he never did; Crudup's songs were published through Hill and Range by Melrose; three of them were covered by Elvis Presley and must have been worth a lot of money, but a lawsuit wasn't settled at the time of Crudup's death. Walter Melrose (b 26 Oct. 1889, Sumner IL; d May 1973) was also a music publisher, managed to get co-credit for 'High Society' (first published c1901), 'Tin Roof Blues' (aka '54 pop hit 'Make Love To Me'), 'Milenberg Joys' (often credited to Jelly Roll Morton), 'Sugarfoot Stomp' (Swing Era hit from King Oliver's 'Dipper Mouth Blues') etc, some of these copyrighted by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Another brother, Franklyn Taft Melrose (b 26 Nov. 1907, Sumner; d Sep. 1941, murdered near Hammond IN) was a jazz pianist, worked with Wingy Manone, Bud Freeman, Johnny and Baby Dodds '28-9; he recorded solos '29. |