Byrdie Green

Byrdie Green
Green photographed in 1967.
Background information
Birth nameBertha Green
Born1936
Detroit, Michigan
DiedApril 26, 2008
New York City
Genresjazz, R&B, soul, gospel
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, record producer
LabelsEnd Records, Hallmark Records, 20th Century Fox Records, Prestige Records

Byrdie Green (occasionally credited as Birdie Green) (1936 – April 26, 2008) was a jazz and R&B singer from Michigan.

About[edit]

Byrdie Green was born in Detroit, Michigan[1] in 1936.[2] The daughter of a Baptist minister, she sang first in her father's church. Later she went to New York City and performed in clubs, and at one time was a protege of Ruth Brown. She was the first artist signed to Perri Records, who debuted with Green's single "Now is the Time For Love" b/w "Be Anything."[3] She began recording with End Records and 20th Century Fox Records, cutting singles "How Come" b/w "Tremblin'" and "Get a Hold of Yourself" b/w "Don't Take Your Love From Me" in the early 1960s.[2][4] The song "Get a Hold of Yourself" is a blend of blues and gospel, and Billboard calls it "a slew rockaballad" and "her strongest item."[5] Green performed at many popular venues, including The Apollo, Baby Grand, The Cookery and Pier 52, as well as Rutgers University, in Boston[1] and in Bermuda.[6] Around 1965, she was hired by organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith and signed with Prestige Records.[1] Smith's The Stinger Meets the Golden Thrush was released in 1966, with Green singing on "They Call It Stormy Monday" and "If I Ruled The World."[7] Green was acclaimed as "an excellent blues singer", "with a powerfully persuasive voice".[7]

That same year Green released her first solo full-length The Golden Thrush Strikes at Midnight,[8] featuring Smith[1] on organ on "Goin' Out of My Head," "The Shadow of Your Smile" and "Hurt So Bad." Billboard said Green is "a soul singer with a lot to say and who says it well with a touch of the blues, jazz and gospel."[9] Another reviewer said, "Miss Green displays here a skill that enables her to revitalize not only hard-core blues numbers, but also tried pop items .... She sings with much feeling no matter what the tune, and ... she emotes with a conviction few modern blues interpreters have shown."[8] She released two more albums, I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) in 1967, which featured Smith,[1] Houston Person, Thornel Schwartz and Jimmy Lewis, and Sister Byrdie! in 1968,[10] which one reviewer called a "gem of soul, blues, and gospel pinned down with Smith's patented organ grooves."[11] Another described it as "slow and moody with some presentations and steppin' out and really telling you where it's at on the others ... always sounding so very groovy."[10] The same year, she appeared on a Nipsey Russell TV show,[10] and, at a performance in New York, was asked by Frank Sinatra to sing an extra set of songs.[10] Her voice was likened to Dinah Washington.[6][12]

Late career[edit]

Green took a break from her career to raise her two daughters,[6] Deborah A. Murray and Dardenella Braxton.[13] She recalls in a 1986 interview in The New York Times "it was necessary to stop, to give them guidance. I could always start my career up again."[6] Green returned to perform at Carnegie Recital Hall in a show entitled Byrdie Green Sings the Blues on March 7, 1975, and continued to work on tour with The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra.[2][14][15][16][17] A 1977 live review by The New York Times John S. Wilson calls Green "a cool blues singer–crisp and curt, with a wry, ironic touch–and, in the blues, she projects a warmth and understanding."[18] Another reviewer described her as having "strong, beautifully modulated voice" with "a command of dynamics which enables her to bathe a lyric in a running river of sound – soft, loud, gradations between."[12] In the 1980s she sang at Lickety Split, Adam Clayton Powell Blvd, Sutton's and at Jimmy Weston's, sometimes accompanied by Walter Bishop Jr.[6] In 1989 she was referred to by The New Yorker as the "little known singer Byrdie Green" as she was joined on stage by Max Roach, Jimmy Heath and Carl Coleman.[19] She also toured with Broadway musical Black and Blue.

Green died from a chronic illness at St. Luke's Hospital on April 26, 2008, and was eulogized at Mt. Neboh Church in New York City on May 3, 2008.

Samples[edit]

The song "Return of the Prodigal Son" was sampled by Grand Puba for the 1992 track "Lickshot."[20] It also enjoyed an underground DJ following that eventually led to a 45 reissue.[11]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

  • The Stinger Meets the Golden Thrush (Prestige, 1966) - this is a Johnny "Hammond" Smith album with Green as featured singer on 2 tracks
  • The Golden Thrush Strikes at Midnight (Prestige, 1966) - with Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Eddie Diehl
  • I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) (Prestige, 1967) - with Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Thornel Schwartz
  • Sister Byrdie! (Prestige, 1968) - with Johnny "Hammond" Smith, Wally Richardson; includes "Return of the Prodigal Son"

Singles[edit]

  • Now is the Time For Love // Be Anything (Perri, 1962)
  • How Come // Tremblin' (End, 1962)
  • Memories Are Made of This // Tremblin' (End, 1963)
  • Get a Hold of Yourself // Don't Take Your Love from Me (20th Century Fox, 1963)
  • I Found My Place // I Deserve It (20th Century Fox, 1964)
  • Through a Long and Sleepless Night // I Deserve It (20th Century Fox, 1965)
  • Goin' Out of My Head // In The Dark (Prestige, 1966)
  • Don't Make it Hurt // Magic of Your Love (Hallmark, 1969)
  • We Need Christmas Now More Than Any Other Year // We Need Christmas Now More Than Any Other Year (Monologue) (Penda Mungu, 1973)

References[edit]

Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e Buchanan, William (March 17, 1967). "An Almost Gospel Urgency When Byrdie Green Sings". Boston Globe. p. 28. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c NTS Staff 2018.
  3. ^ Billboard Staff 1962.
  4. ^ Lord 1994.
  5. ^ Billboard Staff 1963.
  6. ^ a b c d e Fraser 1986.
  7. ^ a b Lass, Don (July 30, 1966). "Record Previews – Once Upon a Time". Asbury Park Press. p. 4. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Lass, Don (March 4, 1967). "Record Previews". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. 6. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  9. ^ Billboard Staff 1967.
  10. ^ a b c d Buchanan, William (September 8, 1968). "Spins and Needles". Boston Globe. p. A23. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Soul Strut Staff 2015.
  12. ^ a b Nelsen, Don (June 15, 1977). "Byrdie is way over par". Daily News. New York City. p. 57. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  13. ^ "Incognito wants to be well known". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. March 22, 1987. p. G12. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  14. ^ The New Yorker Staff 1975.
  15. ^ Feather, Leonard (April 10, 1978). "Jones/Lewis at Westside Room". Los Angeles Times. p. 8, Part IV. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  16. ^ Wong, Herb (April 16, 1978). "Beautiful Sounds From Jones, Lewis, Akiyoshi, Tabackin". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 27. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  17. ^ Monroe, Stephen A. (August 30, 1978). "Jones, Lewis display fire, charm". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. p. C1. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  18. ^ Wilson 1977.
  19. ^ The New Yorker Staff 1989.
  20. ^ Miyakawa 2005.
Sources

External links[edit]

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