The Amazing Jimmi Mayes: Sideman to the Stars (American Made Music Series)

Association of Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence Best Research in Recorded Blues, Hip-Hop, Rhythm & Blues Certificate of Merit (2014) For more than fifty years, Chicago drummer Jimmi Mayes served as a sideman behind some of the greatest musicians and musical groups in history. He began his career playing the blues in the juke joints of Mississippi, sharpened his trade under the mentorship of drum legends Sam Lay and Fred Below in the steamy nightclubs of south Chicago, and hit it big in New York City behind such music legends as Tommy Hunt from the Flamingos, Marvin Gaye, and James Brown. Mayes played his drums behind blues giants Little Walter Jacobs, Jimmy Reed, Robert Junior Lockwood, Earl Hooker, Junior Wells, Pinetop Perkins, and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. He lived for a while with Motown sensation Martha Reeves and her family and traveled with the Shirelles and the Motown Review. Jimi Hendrix was one of Mayes's best friends, and they traveled together with Joey Dee and the Starliters in the mid-1960s. Mayes lived through racial segregation, the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the integration of rock bands, and the emergence of Motown. He personally experienced the sexual and moral revolutions of the sixties, was robbed of his musical royalties, and survived a musical drought. He's been a pimp and a drug pusher--and lived to tell the tale when so many musicians have not. This sideman to the stars witnessed music history from the best seat in the house--behind the drum set. "For more than fifty years, Chicago drummer Jimmi Mayes served as a sideman behind some of the greatest musicians and musical groups in history. He began his career playing the blues in the juke joints of Mississippi, sharpened his trade under the mentorship of drum legends Sam Lay and Fred Below in the steamy nightclubs of south Chicago, and hit it big in New York City behind such music legends as Tommy Hunt from the Flamingos, Marvin Gaye, and James Brown. Mayes played his drums behind blues giants Little Walter Jacobs, Jimmy Reed, Robert Junior Lockwood, Earl Hooker, Junior Wells, Pinetop Perkins, and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. He lived for a while with Motown sensation Martha Reeves and her family and traveled with the Shirelles and the Motown Review. Jimi Hendrix was one of Mayes's best friends, and they traveled together with Joey Dee and the Starliters in the mid-1960s. Mayes lived through racial segregation, the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the integration of rock bands, and the emergence of Motown. He personally experienced the sexual and moral revolutions of the sixties, was robbed of his musical royalties, and survived a musical drought. He's been a pimp and a drug pusher--and lived to tell the tale when so many musicians have not. This sideman to the stars witnessed music history from the best seat in the house--behind the drum set." -- from Amazon.com MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Chapter 1: That Blues Shuffle, 1942–60 14 Chapter 2: Little Walter, 1961–62 26 Chapter 3: Tommy Hunt, 1962–63 37 Chapter 4: Joey Dee and the Starliters, 1964–65 54 Chapter 5: Martha and the Vandellas, 1964–65 69 Chapter 6: Jimi Hendrix, September 1965–December 1965 81 Chapter 7: My Friend, 1966–70 99 Chapter 8: The Kousins, Shirelles, and Blood Brothers, 1966–69 113 Chapter 9: Mill Street Depo, 1969—72 127 Chapter 10: Sweet Home Chicago, 1972–2001 142 Chapter 11: Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, 1997–2011 158 Chapter 12: Back Where I Belong, 2011–2012 169 Jimmi Mayes Discography 178 Selected Discography 179 Index 187 A 187 B 187 C 187 D 188 E 188 F 188 G 188 H 189 I 189 J 189 K 189 L 190 M 190 N 191 O 191 P 191 Q 191 R 191 S 192 T 192 U 193 V 193 W 193 Y 193 For more than fifty years, Chicago drummer Jimmi Mayes served as a sideman behind some of the greatest musicians and musical groups in history. Mayes lived through racial segregation, the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the integration of rock bands, and the emergence of Motown. This sideman to the stars witnessed music history from the best seat in the house - behind the drum set.