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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 ZBROWN, Buster(b 11 August 1914, Criss GA; d 31 January 1976) Blues singer, harmonica player. Played and sang in clubs in the South, then on Bobby Robinson's Fire label NYC from '59. 'Fannie Mae' '60 was no. 1 in the soul chart, made top 40 pop; revival of Louis Jordan's 'Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby' made the Hot 100 but not the soul chart; 'Sugar Babe' just made the Hot 100, was top 20 soul, covered in the UK by Jimmy Powell. No more hits despite records on five more labels. [Bobby Robinson (b Morgan Clyde Robinson, 16 April 1917, Union SC; d 7 January 2011 in Manhattan) ran a successful and legendary record shop in Harlem, as well as starting several record labels. When he first saw the Pips, he said 'What the hell's a pip?' But he soon realized that vocalist Gladys Knight was the star and put her name in front on his Fury label, the beginning of one of the longest-lasting acts in black music.] |