Lonely Avenue
Encyclopedia
"Lonely Avenue" is a popular song written by Doc Pomus
that became a rhythm and blues
hit for Ray Charles
in 1956. The song drew the attention of the music business to Doc Pomus, who had previously had little success as a songwriter.
Jimi Hendrix
recorded a version in 1969 which was released in 2010 on West Coast Seattle Boy
.
Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder, better known as Doc Pomus , was a twentieth-century American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into...
that became 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...
hit for Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
in 1956. The song drew the attention of the music business to Doc Pomus, who had previously had little success as a songwriter.
Covers
- Stanley TurrentineStanley TurrentineStanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family...
performed an instrumental version on his 1968 album Common TouchCommon TouchCommon Touch is an album by jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine featuring Shirley Scott recorded for the Blue Note label in 1968 and performed by Turrentine with Shirley Scott, Jimmy Ponder, Bob Cranshaw and Leo Morris.-Reception:...
. - Van MorrisonVan MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
covered this song on his 1993 album Too Long in ExileToo Long in ExileToo Long in Exile is the twenty-second album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1993 . It was one of Morrison's most commercially successful albums in years, due in part to a cover of "Gloria", one of his own songs originally recorded by Them...
, and was later included in the double live album A Night in San FranciscoA Night in San FranciscoA Night in San Francisco is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison...
as the first song in a medleyMedley (music)In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
that lasted just under fifteen minutes. Biographer John Collis says "The 15-minute sequence billed as "Lonely Avenue/4 O'Clock in the Morning (Try for Sleep)", does indeed begin with the Pomus song and includes the Morrison blues in the title, but also wheels on Jimmy WitherspoonJimmy WitherspoonJimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...
for his own medley and also throws in passing quotes from "Be Bop a Lula", Sly StewartSly StoneSly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
's "Family AffairFamily Affair (Sly & the Family Stone song)"Family Affair" is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by Sly & the Family Stone for the Epic Records label. Their first new material since the double a-sided single "Thank You "/ "Everybody is a Star" nearly two years prior, "Family Affair" became the fourth and final number-one pop hit for the...
" (with Jonn Savannah contributing a falsettoFalsettoFalsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
) and Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
's "Down the Line" among other references." - The AnimalsThe AnimalsThe Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
covered it on the 1977 reunion album Before We Were So Rudely InterruptedBefore We Were So Rudely InterruptedBefore We Were So Rudely Interrupted is a 1977 reunion album from The Animals, billed here as The Original Animals.-History:This was a reunion of the five original Animals from the group's first incarnation — Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Hilton Valentine, Chas Chandler, and John Steel, in their first... - Los LobosLos LobosLos Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
covered it on Till the Night is Gone: A Tribute to Doc Pomus released March 28, 1995. It is also included in the Los LobosLos LobosLos Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
box set El Cancionero Mas y MasEl Cancionero Mas y MasEl Cancionero Mas y Mas is a box set by Los Lobos. The set was the subject of an essay by author Nick Hornby in his collection Songbook-Disc 1: 1977 - 1987:# "Guantanamera" - 4:52...
on Disc 3. - Colin JamesColin JamesColin James is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, who plays in the blues, rock, and neo-swing genres. He grew up as a Quaker.-Early years:...
released the song on his album Colin James & The Little Big Band 3Colin James & The Little Big Band 3Colin James & The Little Big Band 3 is the tenth studio album by Canadian blues/rock musician Colin James and the third Little Big Band album with its swing/jive themes...
. - Stephen MarleyStephen Marley (musician)Stephen Robert Nesta "Raggamuffin" Marley is a Jamaican American musician and the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley. He is a five-time Grammy award winner as an artist, producer, and member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.-Life and career:Marley was born in Wilmington,...
covered the song on his album Mind Control. - John HermannJohn HermannJohn "JoJo" Hermann was born in New York City. He toured the South extensively with the band Beanland until 1992, when he went to Athens, Georgia to play keyboard with Widespread Panic....
of Widespread PanicWidespread PanicWidespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...
covered the song on his 2001 album Smiling Assassin. The version features Widespread Panic front man John BellJohn Bell (musician)John Farmer Bell is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the American rock band Widespread Panic, where he is known for his raspy southern drawl that hits a variety of octaves. He is frequently called JB by fans...
.
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
recorded a version in 1969 which was released in 2010 on West Coast Seattle Boy
West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology
West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology is a posthumous box set by American blues-rock musician Jimi Hendrix. The set was released on November 16, 2010, in the US and includes four discs of previously unreleased studio and live recordings as well as a DVD with a documentary based on the...
.