Search - Nappy Brown :: Night Time Is the Right Time

Nappy Brown began his career as one of early rock's best vocalists. "Don't Be Angry," the 1955 breakthrough that kicks off this double-disc set of 36 sides for the Savoy label, displays his brilliant stylistic tics: melismas, stutters, a powerhouse vibrato, and the trademark "li-li-li-li-li" that he used to make his steel-edged baritone recognizable to the teen audience. These were techniques he adapted from singing in church as a boy in North Carolina and, later, touring in gospel groups. They served him well. "Don't Be Angry" reached the top of the R&B chart and became a No. 25 pop hit. But this is the eight-year story of how he became one of the great blues shouters of the 1950s, along with Wynonie Harris and Roy Brown. After tunes like disc one's "Goody Goody Gum Drop" threatened to turn his rubber-lipped fillips to self-parody, Brown matched his roots in spiritual singing to the corporal themes of the blues--much as Ray Charles did to ignite soul music. The result was hard-hitting numbers like disc two's "Down in the Alley" and "Baby, I Got News for You." These still ring with maturity and depth--and rock the house--40 years later. --Ted Drozdowski