More Steve Gibson and the Red Caps

One of the first posts on this blog was an LP by an early R&B group, Steve Gibson and the Red Caps, that had a particularly gaudy cover. Let's bring Steve back for an encore with the EP above and a selection of 78s.

The record industry has a long history of trying to get you to buy the same things over and over again (new, improved Beatles records, anyone?), and this EP is a good example, containing as it does two songs from the LP I shared previously ("Sentimental Me" and "I'll Never Love Anyone Else").

Otherwise, it contains two songs that later became hits for rock and roll artists. "Blueberry Hill," which first appeared in 1940 on singles by Glenn Miller and others, was a giant hit for Fats Domino in 1956, as much for Fats' great piano and the wonderful reed riff on the bridge as for the song itself. And "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" was a big winner for Elvis. I guess it shows the continuity of musical taste that the latter song was first recorded in 1927, and Elvis' arrangement (including the spoken part) is similar to that of Steve Gibson's 1950 version - which also was recorded at the same time by Blue Barron and Al Jolson.

But what shows the continuity of musical influences just as much are the Red Caps' performances themselves, which include everything from a Count Basie lick and Mills Brothers echoes from the 1930s, to Slim Gaillard and Louis Jordan influences from the 1940s, and pre-echoes of the Treniers and doo-wop groups of the 1950s.

Both the EP and the 78s included in the download were cut in 1949 and 1950. In truth, the 78s are more lively that the EP. One of the 78s is called "I've Been Living for You" on the label (see below), but that's a mistake. It's really "I'm Living for You" - and the Gibson group (called the Toppers at that point) had recorded it several years earlier under that title. (If this doesn't confuse you enough, you can read more about the group's long and convoluted history here.)

Speaking of reusing materials, you will notice that the EP cover above bears a striking resemblance to a figure on the cover the Vic Damone's Amor LP I posted not long ago. The couple there have been transported from the banks of the Seine to Blueberry Hill, where they are about to find their thrill.

Steve Gibson and the Red Caps

Here is a 10-inch LP by Steve  Gibson and the Red Caps that is notable not only for the music found on the record but the cover that encased it.

First, the music. The Red Caps had a very long career (chronicled in detail by Marv Goldberg elsewhere on the web) making music inspired by the Mills Brothers and Ink Spots, as were many other groups of the 40s. These eight sides were cut as singles for Mercury from 1947-50. As you listen you will hear echoes of he Ink Spots' Bill Kenny (high voice) and Hoppy Jones (low voice) and the Mills Brothers' Harry Mills. Like those groups, the Red Caps played their own instruments.

There is nothing about Red Caps' performance - which, if anything, was a bit ironic and detached - to inspire the perfervid goings on shown on the cover. A giant woman in the grip of some nameless passion? Two boppers rapt in admiration? Purple and magenta swirls on a bed of chrome yellow? It's cover art by Fred Steffen!

Steffen is obscure. He does not have the cult following of Jim Flora or Alex Steinweiss, both of whom will be making appearances here in due course. Steffen's art, if it can be called that, was every bit as eccentric as Flora's but I don't believe his career was as long-lived. He did quite a few covers for Mercury - I have examples done for Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Martin, Georgia Gibbs, Lionel Hampton, and probably others. After executing these, he and his garish palette seemed to vanish. Other information about him would be welcome.

During the 10-inch era, Mercury's other specialty in covers was a compete contrast to Steffen's work - bland cartoon illustrations for the likes of Vic Damone, Ralph Marterie, Xavier Cugat, and Steve Gibson - on the Red Caps' only other Mercury album.