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Connor's first professional work as a drummer came in 1950, at the age of 15, when he was hired by [[Professor Longhair]] to play drums with him at [[New Orleans Mardi Gras|Mardi Gras]]. Over the next three years, Connor played drums with [[Smiley Lewis]], [[Guitar Slim]], [[Jack Dupree]], and [[Shirley and Lee]]. At the age of 18, in 1953, Connor became the drummer of [[Little Richard]]'s new, hard-driving rhythm & blues road band, [[The Upsetters (American band)|The Upsetters]].<ref name="biography" /> The Upsetters began to tour successfully, even without a bass player on songs, forcing drummer Connor to thump "real hard" on his bass drum in order to get a "[[bass fiddle]] effect."{{sfn|White|2003|pp=38–39}} Connor continued to drum for Richard as his fame increased throughout the 1950s, drumming on records such as "Lucille”, “She’s Got It, "[[Keep A-Knockin']]", and "[[Ooh! My Soul]]".<ref name="biography" /> On 1957's "Keep A-Knockin'", Connor played a sixteen - bar drum intro (known as the "flattened out double [[shuffle note|shuffle]]"<ref name="Glass">{{cite web|last=Glass|first=Daniel|title="Keep A-Knockin" - Little Richard - 1957|url=http://www.drummerworld.com/Drumclinic/danielglassskeepaknockin.html|publisher=Drummerworld|accessdate=1 May 2012}}</ref>) that [[John Bonham]] later imitated in the opening of [[Led Zeppelin]]'s "[[Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)|Rock and Roll]]".<ref name="biography" /><ref name="Glass" /><ref name="Wynn 2007 194">{{cite book|last=Wynn|first=Neil A|title=Cross the water blues : African American music in Europe|url=https://archive.org/details/crosswaterbluesa00wynn|url-access=limited|year=2007|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|location=Jackson|isbn=1578069602|page=[https://archive.org/details/crosswaterbluesa00wynn/page/n206 194]|edition=1.}}</ref> At times when Connor was not working with Richard, he drummed with [[James Brown]], after Richard connected [[The Famous Flames]] with his [[Promoter (entertainment)|promoter]] [[Clint Brantley]]. Brown described Connor, while playing in Richard's mid-1950s band, as "the first [drummer] to put funk into the rhythm".<ref name="Goldmine">{{cite web|title=Drum legend Charles Connor keeps on knockin'|url=http://www.goldminemag.com/article/drum-legend-charles-connor-keeps-on-knockin|work=Goldmine Magazine|publisher=F+W Media|accessdate=May 1, 2012}}</ref>
Connor's first professional work as a drummer came in 1950, at the age of 15, when he was hired by [[Professor Longhair]] to play drums with him at [[New Orleans Mardi Gras|Mardi Gras]]. Over the next three years, Connor played drums with [[Smiley Lewis]], [[Guitar Slim]], [[Jack Dupree]], and [[Shirley and Lee]]. At the age of 18, in 1953, Connor became the drummer of [[Little Richard]]'s new, hard-driving rhythm & blues road band, [[The Upsetters (American band)|The Upsetters]].<ref name="biography" /> The Upsetters began to tour successfully, even without a bass player on songs, forcing drummer Connor to thump "real hard" on his bass drum in order to get a "[[bass fiddle]] effect."{{sfn|White|2003|pp=38–39}} Connor continued to drum for Richard as his fame increased throughout the 1950s, drumming on records such as "Lucille”, “She’s Got It, "[[Keep A-Knockin']]", and "[[Ooh! My Soul]]".<ref name="biography" /> On 1957's "Keep A-Knockin'", Connor played a sixteen - bar drum intro (known as the "flattened out double [[shuffle note|shuffle]]"<ref name="Glass">{{cite web|last=Glass|first=Daniel|title="Keep A-Knockin" - Little Richard - 1957|url=http://www.drummerworld.com/Drumclinic/danielglassskeepaknockin.html|publisher=Drummerworld|accessdate=1 May 2012}}</ref>) that [[John Bonham]] later imitated in the opening of [[Led Zeppelin]]'s "[[Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)|Rock and Roll]]".<ref name="biography" /><ref name="Glass" /><ref name="Wynn 2007 194">{{cite book|last=Wynn|first=Neil A|title=Cross the water blues : African American music in Europe|url=https://archive.org/details/crosswaterbluesa00wynn|url-access=limited|year=2007|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|location=Jackson|isbn=1578069602|page=[https://archive.org/details/crosswaterbluesa00wynn/page/n206 194]|edition=1.}}</ref> At times when Connor was not working with Richard, he drummed with [[James Brown]], after Richard connected [[The Famous Flames]] with his [[Promoter (entertainment)|promoter]] [[Clint Brantley]]. Brown described Connor, while playing in Richard's mid-1950s band, as "the first [drummer] to put funk into the rhythm".<ref name="Goldmine">{{cite web|title=Drum legend Charles Connor keeps on knockin'|url=http://www.goldminemag.com/article/drum-legend-charles-connor-keeps-on-knockin|work=Goldmine Magazine|publisher=F+W Media|accessdate=May 1, 2012}}</ref>


In his later career, Connor drummed with [[Sam Cooke]], [[Jackie Wilson]], [[The Coasters]], [[Big Joe Turner]], [[Larry Williams]], [[Don Covay]], [[Papa Lightfoot|George Lightfoot]], and [[Dee Clark]].<ref name="biography" /> During the 1980s, Connor put together a new group, Charles Connor’s Upsetters.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=HMyRAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA1967|title=A Blues Bibliography|publisher=Routledge|date=March 31, 2008|last=Ford|first=Robert|isbn=9781135865078}}</ref> Connor and Richard reunited in 1990 after a hiatus of three decades, performing “The Girl Can’t Help It” in on stage in [[Malmö]], Sweden.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=|date=July 27, 2020|title=Charles Connor performing w/ Little Richard (Malmö, Sweden 1990)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gykTdJyZYI|access-date=August 1, 2021|publisher=YouTube}}</ref>
In his later career, Connor drummed with [[Sam Cooke]], [[Jackie Wilson]], [[The Coasters]], [[Big Joe Turner]], [[Larry Williams]], [[Don Covay]], [[Papa Lightfoot|George Lightfoot]], and [[Dee Clark]].<ref name="biography" /> During the 1980s, Connor put together a new group, Charles Connor’s Upsetters.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=HMyRAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA1967|title=A Blues Bibliography|publisher=Routledge|date=March 31, 2008|last=Ford|first=Robert|isbn=9781135865078}}</ref> Connor and Richard reunited in 1990 after a hiatus of three decades, performing "The Girl Can't Help It" in on stage in [[Malmö]], Sweden.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=|date=July 27, 2020|title=Charles Connor performing w/ Little Richard (Malmö, Sweden 1990)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gykTdJyZYI|access-date=August 1, 2021|publisher=YouTube}}</ref>


Connor issued two books, ''Keep A Knockin’'' (2015)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Connor |first1=Charles |title=Keep a Knockin': The Story of a Legendary Drummer |date=August 2015 |publisher=Waldorf Publishing |isbn=978-1-63443-264-1 |url=https://books.google.ca/books/about/Keep_a_Knockin.html?id=ajoczgEACAAJ |language=en}}</ref> and ''Don’t Give Up on your Dreams'' (2008)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Connor |first1=Charles |title=Don't Give Up Your Dreams: You Can Be a Winner Too! |date=May 16, 2008 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=978-1-4678-6163-2 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Don_t_Give_Up_Your_Dreams/VGhUqwvkwCoC |language=en}}</ref>, the latter an inspirational tome. He was inducted to the [[Louisiana Music Hall of Fame]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Charles Connor 2010 |url=https://louisianamusichalloffame.org/charles-connor/ |website=Louisiana Music Hall of Fame |access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref> He released his album ''Still Knocking'' in 2013. Connor was working on an autobiographical documentary up until his death.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|title=Charles Connor, drummer for Little Richard, dies at age 86|url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-little-richard-f6d3a800e8982d15755df9902f73294c|date=August 1, 2021|access-date=August 1, 2021|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
Connor issued two books, ''Keep a Knockin{{'}}'' (2015)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Connor |first1=Charles |title=Keep a Knockin': The Story of a Legendary Drummer |date=August 2015 |publisher=Waldorf Publishing |isbn=978-1-63443-264-1 |url=https://books.google.ca/books/about/Keep_a_Knockin.html?id=ajoczgEACAAJ |language=en}}</ref> and ''Don’t Give Up on Your Dreams'' (2008)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Connor |first1=Charles |title=Don't Give Up Your Dreams: You Can Be a Winner Too! |date=May 16, 2008 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=978-1-4678-6163-2 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Don_t_Give_Up_Your_Dreams/VGhUqwvkwCoC |language=en}}</ref>, the latter an inspirational tome. He was inducted to the [[Louisiana Music Hall of Fame]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Charles Connor 2010 |url=https://louisianamusichalloffame.org/charles-connor/ |publisher=Louisiana Music Hall of Fame |access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref> He released his album ''Still Knocking'' in 2013. Connor was working on an autobiographical documentary up until his death.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|title=Charles Connor, drummer for Little Richard, dies at age 86|url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-arts-and-entertainment-little-richard-f6d3a800e8982d15755df9902f73294c|date=August 1, 2021|access-date=August 1, 2021|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref>


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==

Revision as of 14:14, 3 August 2021

For the Irish Unionist MP, see Charles Connor (MP). For people of a similar name, see Charles Connors (disambiguation).

Charles Connor
Born(1935-01-14)January 14, 1935
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedJuly 31, 2021(2021-07-31) (aged 86)
Glendale, California, U.S.
GenresRhythm and blues, rock 'n' roll
Occupation(s)Musician (drummer), songwriter
InstrumentDrums
Years active1950–2021
WebsiteOfficial website

Charles Connor (January 14, 1935 – July 31, 2021) was an American drummer, best known as a member of Little Richard's band.[1] Richard's shout of "a-wop bop-a loo-mop, a-lop bam-boom" at the beginning of "Tutti Frutti" is said to be a reference to Connor's drum rhythms.[2] James Brown described Little Richard and his band, with Connor as the drummer, as "the first to put funk into the rhythm."[3][4]

Early life

Connor was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.[5] His father was a merchant mariner from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and his mother was a native Louisianan.[5] As a young boy, Connor was inspired by his father singing calypso songs and by the marching bands playing Dixieland jazz near his home in New Orleans' French Quarter, as well as by Bob Alden, Art Blakey, Charles Otis, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, and Max Roach. He received his first drum kit at the age of five.[5]

Career

Connor's first professional work as a drummer came in 1950, at the age of 15, when he was hired by Professor Longhair to play drums with him at Mardi Gras. Over the next three years, Connor played drums with Smiley Lewis, Guitar Slim, Jack Dupree, and Shirley and Lee. At the age of 18, in 1953, Connor became the drummer of Little Richard's new, hard-driving rhythm & blues road band, The Upsetters.[5] The Upsetters began to tour successfully, even without a bass player on songs, forcing drummer Connor to thump "real hard" on his bass drum in order to get a "bass fiddle effect."[6] Connor continued to drum for Richard as his fame increased throughout the 1950s, drumming on records such as "Lucille”, “She’s Got It, "Keep A-Knockin'", and "Ooh! My Soul".[5] On 1957's "Keep A-Knockin'", Connor played a sixteen - bar drum intro (known as the "flattened out double shuffle"[7]) that John Bonham later imitated in the opening of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll".[5][7][8] At times when Connor was not working with Richard, he drummed with James Brown, after Richard connected The Famous Flames with his promoter Clint Brantley. Brown described Connor, while playing in Richard's mid-1950s band, as "the first [drummer] to put funk into the rhythm".[9]

In his later career, Connor drummed with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, The Coasters, Big Joe Turner, Larry Williams, Don Covay, George Lightfoot, and Dee Clark.[5] During the 1980s, Connor put together a new group, Charles Connor’s Upsetters.[10] Connor and Richard reunited in 1990 after a hiatus of three decades, performing "The Girl Can't Help It" in on stage in Malmö, Sweden.[11]

Connor issued two books, Keep a Knockin' (2015)[12] and Don’t Give Up on Your Dreams (2008)[13], the latter an inspirational tome. He was inducted to the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2010.[14] He released his album Still Knocking in 2013. Connor was working on an autobiographical documentary up until his death.[15]

Personal life

Connor was married to Zenaida for over three decades until his death.[5] They reconnected in 1981, having first met while he toured the Philippines with Little Richard's band.[16] Together, they had a daughter named Queenie.[5][15]

Connor died on July 31, 2021, at his home in Glendale, California, under hospice care. He was 86, and suffered from normal pressure hydrocephalus prior to his death.[15]

References

  1. ^ "On This Day in Louisiana Music History". Satchmo. Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  2. ^ Coleman, Rick (2006). Blue Monday : Fats Domino and the lost dawn of rock 'n' roll (1st Da Capo Press ed.). Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 9. ISBN 0306814919.
  3. ^ "Little Richard Biography | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  4. ^ Palmer 2011, p. 139.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Biography". Legendary Drummer. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  6. ^ White 2003, pp. 38–39.
  7. ^ a b Glass, Daniel. ""Keep A-Knockin" - Little Richard - 1957". Drummerworld. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  8. ^ Wynn, Neil A (2007). Cross the water blues : African American music in Europe (1. ed.). Jackson: Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 194. ISBN 1578069602.
  9. ^ "Drum legend Charles Connor keeps on knockin'". Goldmine Magazine. F+W Media. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  10. ^ Ford, Robert (March 31, 2008). A Blues Bibliography. Routledge. ISBN 9781135865078.
  11. ^ Charles Connor performing w/ Little Richard (Malmö, Sweden 1990). YouTube. July 27, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  12. ^ Connor, Charles (August 2015). Keep a Knockin': The Story of a Legendary Drummer. Waldorf Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63443-264-1.
  13. ^ Connor, Charles (May 16, 2008). Don't Give Up Your Dreams: You Can Be a Winner Too!. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4678-6163-2.
  14. ^ "Charles Connor 2010". Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "Charles Connor, drummer for Little Richard, dies at age 86". Associated Press. August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  16. ^ Heutmaker, Megan (September 27, 2017). "Keep A Knockin': Charles Connor". Ponderosa Stomp. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
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