Happy 86th birthday to the legendary jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis, who’s recorded over 80 albums, five of which went Gold, and earned three Grammy Awards (so far). He was born and raised and still lives in Chicago, where he’s worked with Earth Wind & Fire and a number of other musicians. He was the morning host on jazz station WNUA until that station underwent a format change. In the early ’60’s, he, bassist Eldee Young, and drummer Isaac "Redd" Holt formed The Ramsey Lewis Trio, and in 1965 recorded The In Crowd, a live album, at Bohemian Caverns in Washington, D. C. The title track went to #2 on the R&B chart and #5 on the Hot 100 as well as #6 in Canada and #25 in the UK.
Great song! It used to get played a lot on WLS in Chicago. I was already a fan of the song because of the Dobie Gray version. Ramsay added some more fun to it.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
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Ramsey had some fun with it, didn’t he? The two guys with him, Eldee Young and Redd Holt, started Young-Holt Unlimited, so the music almost doubled. That was a great time for music…
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H was backstage at Orchestra Hall and spotted a harpsichord. He gave us a rare treat by paying The In Crowd on it.
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That must have been a trip…
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Wow! What a blast from the past – love this song!
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He’s still at it, God love him…
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Yes, living to be 86 is amazing.
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Another favorite, John. I remember his albums well.
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Another of those songs that turned me into an early jazz fan…
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I can understand why.
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I should do a playlist…
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I kept hearing “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck. A playlist would be nice.
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I’m woking on it..
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