Stick McGhee
Encyclopedia
Granville Henry McGhee, also known as Stick (or Sticks) McGhee, (March 23, 1917 – August 15, 1961) was an African-American jump blues
guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues
song
, "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee".
, Tennessee
, United States
, and Granville received his nickname
during the early years when he was pushing his older brother, Brownie McGhee
, who was stricken with polio
in a wagon with a stick. Granville began playing the guitar when he was thirteen years old. After his freshmen year, Granville dropped out of high school
and worked with his father at Eastman Kodak
. In 1940, Granville quit his job and moved to Portsmouth
, Virginia
, and then he relocated to New York
. There he entered into the military service in 1942 and served in the Army
during World War II
. In 1946, Granville was discharged and settled in New York.
of the song were as follows:
Drinkin’ that mess is our delight,
And when we get drunk, start fightin’ all night.
Knockin’ out windows and learnin’ down doors,
Drinkin’ half-gallons and callin’ for more.
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Pass that bottle to me!
This song was one of the earliest prototypical rock and roll songs, and was covered
by Jerry Lee Lewis
and Mike Bloomfield
's Electric Flag (as "Wine"). The song lent its name to the alcoholic fruit drink, spodi. In 1946, Granville and Brownie McGhee collaborated and modified the song into a clean cut version for Harlem Records. The song was released a year later in January 1947 at the price of 49 cents. The song did not get much airplay
time until two years later, when Granville recreated the song for Atlantic Records
. As a result, it rose to Number 3 on the Billboard
R&B
chart
.
His songs attracted countless covers
over the years. The first cover was by Lionel Hampton
featuring Sonny Parker
, then Wynonie Harris
, and lastly, Loy Gordon & His Pleasant Valley Boys with their hillbilly-bop rendition. His song "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" maintained its popularity throughout the 1950s by various artists, including Malcolm Yelvington
in 1954, Johnny Burnette
in 1957, and Jerry Lee Lewis
in 1959.
McGhee continued to make records for Atlantic and created popular songs such as "Tennessee Waltz," "Drank Up All the Wine Last Night," "Venus Blues," "Let's Do It," and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" but his music career overall was not successful. McGhee moved from Atlantic to Essex
to create a record called "My Little Rose". The record
failed so he moved to King
in 1953. There he recorded a number of rock and roll
songs such a "Whiskey, Women and Loaded Dice," "Head Happy With Wine," "Jungle Juice," "Six to Eight," "Double Crossin' Liquor," "Dealin' from the Bottom," and "Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter". However, he was unable to make money out of his records so he left King to record for Savoy
in 1955, but retired from the music industry in 1960 because he lost his passion for music.
, New York, on August 15, 1961 of lung cancer
, at the age of forty-four, and he left his old guitar to Brownie's son before he died.
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee".
Early life
He was born in KnoxvilleKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Granville received his nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
during the early years when he was pushing his older brother, Brownie McGhee
Brownie McGhee
Walter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
, who was stricken with polio
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...
in a wagon with a stick. Granville began playing the guitar when he was thirteen years old. After his freshmen year, Granville dropped out of high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and worked with his father at Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
. In 1940, Granville quit his job and moved to Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and then he relocated to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. There he entered into the military service in 1942 and served in the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1946, Granville was discharged and settled in New York.
Entertainment career
In the military, Granville often played his guitar. One of the songs that McGhee was best known for was "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee". The original lyricsLyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
of the song were as follows:
Drinkin’ that mess is our delight,
And when we get drunk, start fightin’ all night.
Knockin’ out windows and learnin’ down doors,
Drinkin’ half-gallons and callin’ for more.
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’wine!
Goddam!
Pass that bottle to me!
This song was one of the earliest prototypical rock and roll songs, and was covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
and Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
's Electric Flag (as "Wine"). The song lent its name to the alcoholic fruit drink, spodi. In 1946, Granville and Brownie McGhee collaborated and modified the song into a clean cut version for Harlem Records. The song was released a year later in January 1947 at the price of 49 cents. The song did not get much airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
time until two years later, when Granville recreated the song for Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. As a result, it rose to Number 3 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
.
His songs attracted countless covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
over the years. The first cover was by Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
featuring Sonny Parker
Sonny Parker (musician)
Sonny Parker was an American blues and jazz singer, dancer, and drummer....
, then Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
, and lastly, Loy Gordon & His Pleasant Valley Boys with their hillbilly-bop rendition. His song "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" maintained its popularity throughout the 1950s by various artists, including Malcolm Yelvington
Malcolm Yelvington
Malcolm Yelvington was an American rockabilly and country musician. Born in Covington, Tennessee, he released a record on Sun Records in 1954, just after Elvis Presley....
in 1954, Johnny Burnette
Johnny Burnette
John Joseph "Johnny" Burnette was an American rockabilly musician. Along with his older brother Dorsey Burnette, and also a friend named Paul Burlison, Burnette was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He was the father of 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.-Early life:Johnny Burnette...
in 1957, and Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
in 1959.
McGhee continued to make records for Atlantic and created popular songs such as "Tennessee Waltz," "Drank Up All the Wine Last Night," "Venus Blues," "Let's Do It," and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" but his music career overall was not successful. McGhee moved from Atlantic to Essex
Essex Records
Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951 by David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and gospel. Jack Howard was the promotion manager. The label had little popular success. They issued a 1954 single called "Oh, Mein...
to create a record called "My Little Rose". The record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
failed so he moved to King
King Records (USA)
King Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
in 1953. There he recorded a number of 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...
songs such a "Whiskey, Women and Loaded Dice," "Head Happy With Wine," "Jungle Juice," "Six to Eight," "Double Crossin' Liquor," "Dealin' from the Bottom," and "Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter". However, he was unable to make money out of his records so he left King to record for Savoy
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
in 1955, but retired from the music industry in 1960 because he lost his passion for music.
Death
McGhee died in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York, on August 15, 1961 of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, at the age of forty-four, and he left his old guitar to Brownie's son before he died.