See, this is what happens.  Last week I was reminiscing about the tremendous blaring saxophone style of Sil Austin, a man whose work used to frequently cause excitement among my late-night blues radio show listeners.  The wild honking, floor-walking, bar-leaping, blasting and bleating saxophone hysteria offered by the likes of Sam “The Man” Taylor, Chuck Higgins, Joe Houston, Willis “Gator” Jackson, Plas Johnson, Sil Austin, Alvin “Red” Tyler, Noble “Thin Man” Watts, and Big Jay McNeely or any of the numerous other buoyant saxophone workout specialists were just the exciting sort of artists my valued listeners needed to enjoy in the period between 10pm-midnight.  These saxophone men played with an abandon that was apt to shred the wooden reeds on their horns and straighten out the curves of their instruments.  This was thrilling, foundation-rattling music, and it continually caused my audiences to phone me at the station, nearly breathless, as they savored this roof-raising saxophone madness.

So, after writing last week’s artist profile, I naturally dug into my vast music collection and relished listening to more of the uninhibited rides of these saxophone blasters.  One of the maniacal saxophonists whose primal music always struck a chord for my listeners, and for me as well, for the electrifying experience it provided was Red Prysock.  In particular, Prysock’s songs “Hand Clappin’,” “Rock “N” Roll,” “That’s The Groovy Thing,” “Plaid Laces,” “Purple Wail,” “Foot Stompin’’,” “Earth Rock,” “Head Snappin’,” and “Lion’s Den” instantly come to mind as the songs I most readily identify with Prysock, and were certainly those that my radio audience most keenly devoured, and those that most ideally embody Prysock at his hooting and blaring best.  This is saxophone created to party and raise a ruckus!  It is meant to get arms waving and feet moving on the dancefloor!    

Thank goodness, a collection of Prysock’s best forceful saxophone artistry can be heard on the CD entitled Swingsation, an awe-inspiring compilation the Verve label (#314 547 878-2).  There is no exceedingly greater place to start one’s journey into Prysock’s saxophone passion.  Each and every selection on the assemblage simply and undeniably thrills with its saxophone frenzy!

With all of that said, I think a concise outline of Red Prysock’s life and career is due.  Maybe, just maybe, you might steer your consideration toward the honking saxophone that Red Prysock fashioned for an eager and musically zealous public, as a result.

As with many of the wildly talented musicians I explore and research, while they were tremendously influential and carried great significance in the greater annals of blues and related genres of music, oftentimes there is scant little research chronicled about their earliest lives; their formative years. 

What is known is that Wilbert Prysock came into the world in early February, 1926 in Greensboro, North Carolina, a city that is the county seat of Gulford County, a locale in the north central portion of the state.  Research further shows that at an early age Prysock moved north to Buffalo, New York where it has been proffered that his initial interest in music and the saxophone were born, and where he first began to learn to play the instrument.  Some research has offered that Prysock didn’t start playing the saxophone until much later when he entered the U.S. Army in WW II; while this is not an unreasonable notion, given the upcoming success he had in the mid-1940s, this line of thought seems unfounded.  The timeline would be too compressed.

After his leaving the U.S. Army, Prysock continued to develop upon his saxophone skill set, and it was at this time that he joined the extremely popular band of Tiny Bradshaw, the R&B and jazz bandleader, songwriter, singer, piano player, and drummer.  Naturally, this experience only strengthened Prysock’s understanding of musical dynamics and band assimilation, but it also afforded him greater visibility.  This was the door opening for Prysock, as awareness of his skill set on the R&B scene took off.  In Bradshaw’s band, he was often called upon to provide hard-hitting, pulsating solos.  These solo breaks assisted in jutting Bradshaw’s band to national recognition.  This cemented Prysock’s status as one of the foremost R&B saxophone players of the era. 

It was during this period, in 1952, that Bradshaw and his troupe recorded both “Soft” and “Strange” for the King label, and Prysock’s saxophone work in the instrumental “Soft” also indicated that he was swiftly emerging as one of the R&B saxophonists of note.

With this new momentum, it was only natural that Prysock would strike out on his own.  He recorded four sides in 1952 and 1953 for Bobby Robinson’s New York City-based Red Robin imprint before he ultimately signed with Mercury Records, the label for which he produced his most impressive catalog of work.  By now a bandleader in his own right, he was able to showcase for the world his astonishing saxophone prowess.

He recorded six cuts alone for the label in 1954, all fine outings, but it was the 1955 release of “Hand Clappin’” that propelled Prysock to a greater level of awareness.  Now, his 1950’s bands and animated shows were garnering great buzz, and wanting audiences were everywhere.  Prysock was a very appealing bandleader and personality, and his burgeoning success with Mercury Records saw him and his group playing clubs and dates all across the U.S.

One after another, Prysock produced slamming hits for Mercury Records, recording rollicking single after single through 1961 (also with one 1956 release on Wing Records, a Mercury Records subsidiary).

The finest attribute of Prysock was that he could play with a blustery abandon while remaining highly technically expert; he was the complete package. His prolific, strong approach to saxophone playing was rabidly consumed by the R&B-loving public, and he certainly knew how to ideally deliver to their wants.  Prysock was a jukebox darling.

Prysock moved to King Records for four released sides in 1962 and 1963 before again moving labels, this time to Gateway Records for two released cuts in 1964.  From there, Prysock recorded two selections for Chess Records in 1967, and then a four-song Mercury Records EP with Boyd Bennett, plus two sides for Mercury Records, bringing his singles recording career full circle.

Prysock also had four LPs released during his lifetime, two with Mercury Records (1958 and 1961), one with Gateway Records (1964), and one with Forum Circle (1964).  Prysock’s music continues to be available on any number of collections for the discerning collector.

Prysock passed away from the effects of a heart attack in July, 1993 in Chicago, Illinois.

One thing remains firm: Prysock’s feverish saxophone methodology was groundbreaking in the R&B sphere.  His influences continue to be profound right up to the current day.

Prysock’s superb work is very much in bed with the blues.  Check it out for yourselves.