1/22/11: King Pleasure and the Art of Vocalese

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In jazz, the line separating a singer’s voice and a soloing instrumentalist can often be blurred . Great scat singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme improvised melodies and rhythms using nonsense syllables, creating the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voices. On the other hand, vocalese artists like the Manhattan Transfer or Annie Ross adhere strictly to a previously-improvised jazz instrumental solo and “translate” the notes into words, often choosing lyrics that tell a story about the originating soloist. The vocalese singer must possess just as much agility and fluidity as much as does the scat singer, but while the scat singer roams freely within the broad confines of the tune, the vocalese singer stays true to the original solo, note-for-note.

The best example of scat singing you’ll probably ever witness: And here’s some vocalese:Most sources agree that vocalese was invented by Eddie Jefferson, who put words to James Moody’s sax solo in “I’m in the Mood for Love” around 1949, and later did the same for Lester Young’s solo on “I Cover the Waterfront” and Coleman Hawkins’ turn on “Body and Soul”. (Listen to Jefferson here.)

Although not the originator, the best-known vocalese pioneer is the flamboyant, gold-toothed King Pleasure. His real name was Clarence Beeks, and he was born in Oakdale, Tennessee in 1922. He grew up in Cincinnati and worked outside of the music business until he was almost 30. He seemed to come out of nowhere when he won amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in 1951 singing Jefferson’s “Moody’s Mood for Love”. After his win, Beeks decided to change his name to something a little more interesting, and he succeeded on that count by dubbing himself “King Pleasure”.

Eddie Jefferson had never recorded “Moody’s Mood”, and the Apollo win gave King Pleasure the opportunity to do so. It was a surprise national hit, sitting near the top of Billboard magazine’s “Most Played Juke Box Rhythm and Blues Records” in early ’52, sandwiched in between the Dominos’ “Have Mercy, Baby” and Lloyd Price with “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”. Soon, Jet magazine was reporting that King Pleasure had paid $2500 for a custom-made throne from which he sang on stage. (Listen to “Moody’s Mood” here.)

Pleasure followed up by writing his own words to “Parker’s Mood”, and then turned in memorable versions of “Red Top” (with Betty Carter, based on a Gene Ammons sax solo), and Lester Young’s “Jumpin’ with Symphony Sid” (a tribute to New York disc jockey Sid Torin). He moved to Los Angeles in 1956, cut a few singles that year, and made full albums in ’60 and ’62.

At the age of forty, however, King Pleasure seemed to drop off the face of the earth. When he died in 1982, many people were shocked: They thought he had been deceased for years.

King Pleasure’s complete recorded catalog fits on just three CDs. However, his influence has been much greater than what that rather meager output might suggest. Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, Al Jarreau, and many others closely studied King Pleasure’s technique and have paid obvious homage to him on their own recordings.

…and backstage at Woodstock in 1969, Van Morrison was photographed carrying an LP. It was Original Moody’s Mood by King Pleasure.