Howie Casey
Encyclopedia
Howard William "Howie" Casey (born 12 July 1937) is a British
rhythm and blues
and rock
saxophonist. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as a member of Derry and the Seniors
, the first rock and roll
band from Liverpool
to play clubs in Germany
, and later, as leader of the renamed Howie Casey and the Seniors, the first Liverpool group to record an LP
. In the 1970s, he was featured on several albums by, and toured with, Paul McCartney
and Wings
, among others.
in 1955, played in a military band
, and, after hearing early rock and roll
records by Little Richard
, Fats Domino
and others, formed a rock group before leaving the Army in 1958. Back in Liverpool, he first joined the Rhythm Rockers, a group led by drummer Frank Wibberley, and then another group, the Hy-Tones.
, a black British
singer who had previously sung with the Hy-Tones. As Derry and the Seniors, the group performed in local venues, and in May 1960, after appearing in a show headed by Gene Vincent
, were invited to audition for the role of backing band for Liverpool star Billy Fury
. Although they did not win the audition, they were invited by Fury's manager Larry Parnes
to go to London to perform at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho
.
A few weeks later, they played at the 2i's, and happened to be seen there by Bruno Koschmider
, a visiting German club owner who was looking for acts that he could use in his Hamburg
club, the Kaiserkeller
. The Seniors travelled to Germany and played regularly in Hamburg over the summer of 1960, later being joined there by rival Liverpool group, the Beatles. However, as the group members did not have work permits or visas, they were repatriated to the UK in October 1960. At the start of 1961, the group reformed using the name Howie Casey and the Seniors, with Frank Wibberley on drums, and Wilkie sharing vocals with Freddie Fowell, who later changed his name to Freddie Starr
. They then signed a recording deal with Fontana Records
, becoming the first beat group from Liverpool to record an LP. The album, Twist At The Top, was issued in February 1962, together with a single, "Double Twist". Two further singles followed, "I Ain't Mad At You" and "The Boll Weevil Song", but they were not hits. The group broke up in mid 1962.
, who were based in Hamburg. The group recorded there for the Philips
label, and also for Polydor
. The Polydor album, Let's Do the Slop, Twist, Madison, Hully Gully..., was released under the pseudonym of "The Shakers", and three singles from it - "Money
", "Whole Lotta Lovin'", and "Hippy Hippy Shake
" - were released in the UK. Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes, with Casey, also acted as backing group for Alex Harvey
, before returning to the UK to back Chuck Berry
and Carl Perkins
on tour in 1964. Soon afterwards, the group split up, with Taylor returning to Germany and the other band members staying in the UK.
However, Casey soon returned to Germany with another band, the Pawns, and then joined The Krew, who performed in France
, Italy
and Switzerland
. Casey also played with his own band in Europe, before returning to live in London in 1970.
, working particularly in association with record producer
Tony Visconti
, on records for Marc Bolan
and many others, and touring with Bolan. Visconti then asked him to work with Paul McCartney
- who Casey had not met for several years, since the Beatles
' success - on the album Band On The Run
, recorded in 1973. He appeared on several tracks on the album, including "Band on the Run
", "Jet
" and "Bluebird
". He also played with Wings
on the 66-show Wings Over the World
tour in 1975-76, on the albums Wings at the Speed of Sound
(1976) and Back to the Egg
(1979), and as part of the "Rockestra" at the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea
at the end of 1979. He also toured with The Who
in 1979. He was scheduled to take part in McCartney's next world tour, but it was abandoned after McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana in Japan
at the start of 1980.
to live in 1979.
In the early 1980s Howie and Sheila Casey formed The Slobs, a rhythm and blues
, soul
and rock and roll band comprising locally-based session musicians. With a varying line-up, The Slobs continue to perform in southern England and to tour more widely.
in 2010.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
saxophonist. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as a member of Derry and the Seniors
Derry and the Seniors
Derry and the Seniors were a British rock and roll group of the early 1960s. They were the first band from Liverpool to play the club scene in Germany, paving the way for The Beatles and others...
, the first rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to play clubs in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and later, as leader of the renamed Howie Casey and the Seniors, the first Liverpool group to record an LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
. In the 1970s, he was featured on several albums by, and toured with, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, among others.
Early life
He was born in Huyton, Liverpool, and starting playing saxophone in his teens. After a period working in engineering, he was called up for national serviceNational service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in 1955, played in a military band
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
, and, after hearing early rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
records by Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
and others, formed a rock group before leaving the Army in 1958. Back in Liverpool, he first joined the Rhythm Rockers, a group led by drummer Frank Wibberley, and then another group, the Hy-Tones.
The Seniors
He formed his own band, the Seniors, at the end of 1959. Other original members of the group were Billy Hughes (rhythm guitar), Stan Foster (piano) - both of whom had been in the Hy-Tones - together with Brian Griffiths (lead guitar), Paul Whitehead (bass) and Jeff Wallington (drums). They soon added lead singer Derry WilkieDerry and the Seniors
Derry and the Seniors were a British rock and roll group of the early 1960s. They were the first band from Liverpool to play the club scene in Germany, paving the way for The Beatles and others...
, a black British
Black British
Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
singer who had previously sung with the Hy-Tones. As Derry and the Seniors, the group performed in local venues, and in May 1960, after appearing in a show headed by Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
, were invited to audition for the role of backing band for Liverpool star Billy Fury
Billy Fury
Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
. Although they did not win the audition, they were invited by Fury's manager Larry Parnes
Larry Parnes
Laurence Maurice "Larry" Parnes was an English pop manager and impresario. He has been described as "the first major British rock manager... Parnes' stable encompassed most of the most successful pre-Beatles British rock singers."...
to go to London to perform at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
.
A few weeks later, they played at the 2i's, and happened to be seen there by Bruno Koschmider
Bruno Koschmider
Bruno Koschmider was a German entrepreneur in Hamburg, Germany best known for employing The Beatles in the early 1960s...
, a visiting German club owner who was looking for acts that he could use in his Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
club, the Kaiserkeller
Kaiserkeller
Kaiserkeller is a night club in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg, Germany, near the Reeperbahn. It was opened by Bruno Koschmider on October 14, 1959. The Beatles had a contract with Kaiserkeller to play there in 1960.-Biography:...
. The Seniors travelled to Germany and played regularly in Hamburg over the summer of 1960, later being joined there by rival Liverpool group, the Beatles. However, as the group members did not have work permits or visas, they were repatriated to the UK in October 1960. At the start of 1961, the group reformed using the name Howie Casey and the Seniors, with Frank Wibberley on drums, and Wilkie sharing vocals with Freddie Fowell, who later changed his name to Freddie Starr
Freddie Starr
Freddie Starr is an English comedian who became famous in the early 1970s. He is also an impressionist and singer, with a chart album After the Laughter and UK Top 10 single, "It's You", in March 1974 to his credit.-Early career:Under his real name, he appeared as a teenager in the film Violent...
. They then signed a recording deal with Fontana Records
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
, becoming the first beat group from Liverpool to record an LP. The album, Twist At The Top, was issued in February 1962, together with a single, "Double Twist". Two further singles followed, "I Ain't Mad At You" and "The Boll Weevil Song", but they were not hits. The group broke up in mid 1962.
In Europe
In 1963, Casey travelled to Germany and joined Kingsize Taylor and the DominoesKingsize Taylor and the Dominoes
Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes were a British rock and roll band, formed in Liverpool in the late 1950s. One of the first beat groups in the Merseyside area, they were a locally popular and influential group who were contemporaries and rivals of The Beatles, and featured Cilla Black as a singer...
, who were based in Hamburg. The group recorded there for the Philips
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
label, and also for Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
. The Polydor album, Let's Do the Slop, Twist, Madison, Hully Gully..., was released under the pseudonym of "The Shakers", and three singles from it - "Money
Money (That's What I Want)
"Money " is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, distributed nationally on Anna Records. The song was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, and became the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise....
", "Whole Lotta Lovin'", and "Hippy Hippy Shake
Hippy Hippy Shake
Hippy Hippy Shake is a song written and recorded by Chan Romero in 1959. That same year, the song reached number three in Australia.A cover version by Italian rocker Little Tony appeared in the same year and found moderate success in the United Kingdom and Italy.A version by UK-based band The...
" - were released in the UK. Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes, with Casey, also acted as backing group for Alex Harvey
Alex Harvey (musician)
Alex Harvey was a Scottish rock musician. With The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, he built a reputation as an exciting live performer during the 1970s glam rock era.-Biography:...
, before returning to the UK to back Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
and Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
on tour in 1964. Soon afterwards, the group split up, with Taylor returning to Germany and the other band members staying in the UK.
However, Casey soon returned to Germany with another band, the Pawns, and then joined The Krew, who performed in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Casey also played with his own band in Europe, before returning to live in London in 1970.
As session musician and with Wings
He soon became successful as a session musicianSession musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, working particularly in association with record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Tony Visconti
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
, on records for Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
and many others, and touring with Bolan. Visconti then asked him to work with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
- who Casey had not met for several years, since the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' success - on the album Band On The Run
Band on the Run
Band on the Run is an album by Paul McCartney & Wings, released in 1973. It was Wings' third album. It became Wings' most successful album and remains the most celebrated of McCartney's post-Beatles albums...
, recorded in 1973. He appeared on several tracks on the album, including "Band on the Run
Band on the Run (song)
"Band on the Run" is the title song from Paul McCartney & Wings' acclaimed Band on the Run album. The single sold one million copies in 1974 in the United States, where it reached number 1, and it went to number 3 in the United Kingdom...
", "Jet
Jet (song)
"Jet" is a song by Paul McCartney & Wings from their album Band on the Run. The song peaked at number 7 in both the British and American charts on 30 March 1974. Along with "Helen Wheels" and "Junior's Farm", it is another McCartney song where his primary inspiration for composing the song arose in...
" and "Bluebird
Bluebird (song)
"Bluebird" is a song credited to Paul and Linda McCartney that was originally released on the Paul McCartney and Wings' album Band on the Run. According to author John Blaney, it was written during a vacation in Jamaica...
". He also played with Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
on the 66-show Wings Over the World
Wings Over the World tour
In 1975 and 1976, Wings embarked on the ambitious Wings Over the World tour.-History:In contrast to Wings' two low-profile, smaller-scale outings of 1972, this was a major, highly publicised concert tour that took place mostly in arenas...
tour in 1975-76, on the albums Wings at the Speed of Sound
Wings at the Speed of Sound
Wings at the Speed of Sound is the fifth album by Wings and was recorded and issued in 1976 in the midst of a large world tour as the follow-up album to the popular Venus and Mars.- History :...
(1976) and Back to the Egg
Back to the Egg
Back to the Egg is the seventh and final studio album by Wings, released in 1979. It is also Wings' first album for Columbia Records after leaving long-time United States distributor Capitol Records in 1978...
(1979), and as part of the "Rockestra" at the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea is a double album from Wings, The Who, Queen, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, The Clash, The Specials, and many more artists of the highlights from the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea held at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England to raise money for the...
at the end of 1979. He also toured with The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
in 1979. He was scheduled to take part in McCartney's next world tour, but it was abandoned after McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
at the start of 1980.
Later life
Casey's wife Sheila sang with her sister Jeanette as the McKinley Sisters, who made several records and toured in the early 1960s, and provided backing vocals for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Hollies and others. The couple moved to BournemouthBournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
to live in 1979.
In the early 1980s Howie and Sheila Casey formed The Slobs, a rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and rock and roll band comprising locally-based session musicians. With a varying line-up, The Slobs continue to perform in southern England and to tour more widely.
Recordings
An expanded CD version of the album Twist At The Top by Howie Casey and the Seniors was released by Bear Family RecordsBear Family Records
Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label that specializes in reissues of archival material ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks.-History:...
in 2010.