Larry Darnell
Encyclopedia
Larry Darnell was a successful American singer who was instrumental in the formation of the New Orleans style of R&B in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
As a teenager he left home to work as a dancer with a burlesque
road show, the Brownskin Models, but soon settled in New Orleans, where he worked as a singer in the Dew Drop Inn. In 1949 he was signed up by Fred Mendelsohn for the Regal
label in New Jersey. His first two recordings, "I'll Get Along Somehow" and "For You My Love", both hit the R&B charts in November 1949, with "For You My Love", written by Paul Gayten
, staying at the # 1 spot for eight weeks.
The follow-ups "I Love My Baby" and Louis Prima
's "Oh Babe!" were also hits, and Darnell's powerful and passionate voice contributed to the development of a trend in popular music soon marketed nationwide as rock & roll. However, after Regal collapsed in 1951, his records became less successful. By now known as "Mr. Heart & Soul", he appeared in the 1955 movie Harlem Rock & Roll Revue, and spent the rest of the decade recording for various labels, gradually fading from the scene.
In 1969 he made his final recordings, for the Instant label in New Orleans. Receding from professional activity, he continued to sing in church and at charitable events. In 1979 he was mugged, receiving severe injuries. The doctors operating on him to save his life discovered he had lung cancer, from which he died in 1983.
As a teenager he left home to work as a dancer with a burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
road show, the Brownskin Models, but soon settled in New Orleans, where he worked as a singer in the Dew Drop Inn. In 1949 he was signed up by Fred Mendelsohn for the Regal
Regal Records
Regal Records may refer to:*Regal Records - a British record label, founded by the Columbia Graphophone Company*Regal Records - a Spanish record label*Regal Records - a United States company...
label in New Jersey. His first two recordings, "I'll Get Along Somehow" and "For You My Love", both hit the R&B charts in November 1949, with "For You My Love", written by Paul Gayten
Paul Gayten
Paul Gayten was an American R&B bandleader, pianist, songwriter, producer and record company executive.-Career:Gayten was born in Kentwood, Louisiana, the nephew of blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery...
, staying at the # 1 spot for eight weeks.
The follow-ups "I Love My Baby" and Louis Prima
Louis Prima
Louis Prima was a Sicilian American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then successively leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the...
's "Oh Babe!" were also hits, and Darnell's powerful and passionate voice contributed to the development of a trend in popular music soon marketed nationwide as rock & roll. However, after Regal collapsed in 1951, his records became less successful. By now known as "Mr. Heart & Soul", he appeared in the 1955 movie Harlem Rock & Roll Revue, and spent the rest of the decade recording for various labels, gradually fading from the scene.
In 1969 he made his final recordings, for the Instant label in New Orleans. Receding from professional activity, he continued to sing in church and at charitable events. In 1979 he was mugged, receiving severe injuries. The doctors operating on him to save his life discovered he had lung cancer, from which he died in 1983.