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Artist
Percy Mayfield
12+ albums
bluessoulrhythm and bluessinger-songwriter50s
about
Percy Mayfield (12 August 1920 - 11 August 1984) was an American singer & songwriter famous for the songs "Hit the Road, Jack" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love".He was known as “Poet Laureate of the Blues”. Mayfield was born in Minden, Louisiana. As a youth, he showed a talent for poetry, so he thought he would try songwriting and singing. He began his performing career in Texas and had moved to Los Angeles by 1942. He auditioned his song "Two Years of Torture" to Supreme Records (a Los Angeles-area record label) because he thought it would be a good song for Jimmy Witherspoon. The label liked his performance and asked him to record it in 1947. Although his vocal style was influenced by such stylists as Charles Brown, Mayfield did not focus on the white market as did many West Coast bluesmen. Rather, he sang blues ballads, mostly his own songs, in a gentle vocal style. In 1950, he signed with Specialty Records and released several well-received R&B records. His most famous performance: "Please Send Me Someone to Love" was a number one R&B hit in 1950. His career continued to blossom with songs like "Strange Things Happening", "Lost Love," "What a Fool I Was," "Prayin' for Your Return," "Cry Baby," and "Big Question." A 1953 auto accident left him seriously injured, including a facial disfigurement that limited his performing. Mayfield's songs tend to be downbeat and his lyrics tend to be heartbreaking, but his vulnerability and emotional sensitivity prevent songs like
top songs
albums
Poet Of The Blues
The Voice Within: The Speciality Singles 1950-55
Specialty Profiles: Percy Mayfield
Memory Pain, Vol. 2
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The Best Of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour
Poet Of The Blues (Reissue)
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The Blues Collective - Percy Mayfield
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Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues - A Musical Journey (Disc 3)
Live In San Francisco
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Jukebox Mambo
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Specialty Profiles: Lloyd Price
Someone to Love