ALL THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE BLUES AND SOUTHERN SOUL INDUSTRY.
JUNE 8,2008: SOUTHERN SOUL BLUES ARTIST,BILL CODAY DEAD AT AGE 66 It saddens me to report that longtime southern soul blues artist,Bill Coday has passed away.He wasn't just an artist to me he was also a good friend of mine.I met Bill Coday and his lovely wife Anna about six(6) years ago at Club Ebony when he accompanied longtime friend Denise Lasalle at one of her performances.He always greeted me with a big smile and hug whenever I saw him.My prayers go out to his wife Anna and their entire family.Here is a biography of my friend Bill Coday.
BIOGRAPHY: Soul singer Bill Coday first came to fame with the hit single "Get Your Lies Straight" during the early spring of 1971. Signed to Crajon Productions, owned by the husband and wife team of Bill and Denise Jones (who recorded under the name Denise LaSalle and scored a 1971 gold single, "Trapped by a Thing Called Love"), Coday was the perfect vehicle for LaSalle's blues-oriented R&B songs. Born May 10, 1942, in Coldwater, MS, Coday began his singing career as a teenager, performing in juke joints around Blytheville, AK, with a band that included Son Seals.
In 1961, he relocated to Chicago, IL, donning the name Chicago Willie. LaSalle spotted the singer while he was performing at the Black Orchid club. She teamed him with Memphis, TN, soul music producer Willie Mitchell whom she often worked with on her releases for Detroit, MI's Westbound label and for those of other Crajon artists (the Sequins' hits "Hey Romeo" and "The Third Degree"). Mitchell went on to have hits with another Chicago singer, Syl Johnson, and gold and platinum-laced success with Al Green on Hi Records. Coday's first Crajon singles, "Sixty Minute Teaser" and "I Get High on Your Love," were regional hits. The third single, "Get Your Lies Straight," proved to be the breakthrough, going to number 14 R&B on Billboard's charts in early 1971. On the flipside was "You're Gonna Want Me." As was the custom on a fast-selling national record, the independently-distributed Crajon leased Coday's single to the much larger Galaxy label, a subsidiary of Berkeley, CA's Fantasy Records, for wider distribution.
The follow-up, issued on Galaxy, the Denise LaSalle song "When You Find a Fool, Bump His Head," made it to number 48 R&B in summer 1971. There were other Galaxy singles, but none charted nationally. Coday enjoyed a regional hit on Crajon with "I'm Back to Collect" in the first half of 1973. Some of his Galaxy/Crajon releases can be found on the compilations All Night Long They Played the Blues (1992), Bad Bad Whiskey (1993) -- both from U.K. label Ace Records -- and an '80s collection of Coday's Crajon singles on Japanese label Vivid Sounds. In 1973, he signed with Epic Records and the single "I Don't Want to Play This Game" was issued. It was later included on the 1975 Epic compilation Lost Soul, reissued as a 1994 CD by Sony Legacy.
In 1984, Coday began to tour with Denise LaSalle as her opening act. He began recording again after several years away from the studio. Signing with Memphis-based label Ecko Records, his first release was the appropriately titled Sneakin' Back album. The tracks "Her Love Is Good Enough to Put in Collard Greens," "I Can Move the Hoochie Coochie Man," "Doctor Thrill Good," and a remake of "Get Your Lies Straight" became favorites with blues lovers and blues-formatted radio stations. His second Ecko CD, Can't Get Enough, included "In the Room Next to the Room" and "Not a Word" with labelmate Barbara Carr. Coday's third Ecko CD, 1999's Put Me in the Mood, gave his fans more of his tasty blend of spicy, bluesy Southern soul.
FEBRUARY 26,2006: JAMES WHITE PLEADS GUILTY IN THE KILLING OF JACKIE NEAL! James White, who last month rejected a plea deal that would have saved him from a possible death sentence changed his mind again on Wednesday (February 22, 2006). James White, 39, admitted in court Wednesday that he shot and killed his former girlfriend, musician Jackie Neal, on March 10, 2005 while she was inside a Florida Boulevard nail salon. State District Judge Richard Anderson sentenced White to life plus 50 years in prison as part of the plea deal.
White pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Nealís death and attempted first-degree murder for shooting Angela Myers who attempted to flee the salon. White was expected to take the plea deal Jan. 18. At the last minute, with Nealís family watching, White changed his mind. Prosecutor Tracey Barbera warned him then that the offer would be taken off the table if he rejected it. Whiteís decision to plead guilty Wednesday to the crimes came as a surprise to Barbera and defense attorney Nelvil Hollingsworth. Both expected the Wednesday hearing to be about routine pre-trial matters. On Wednesday, Barbera said she agreed to the deal because Nealís family members told her it would help bring closure. Hollingsworth said after court he thinks White was scared during the January hearing. After the January hearing, a disappointed Shirley Neal, Jackieís mother, said she wanted this ordeal to be finished.
On Wednesday, Shirley Neal took the witness stand and told White she does not hate him, but she does hate the fact that he took her daughterís life.White apoligized to the Neal family in court.Neal is the daughter of Baton Rouge blues man Raful Neal and the sister of musician Kenny Neal.
JUNE 8,2008: SOUTHERN SOUL BLUES ARTIST,BILL CODAY DEAD AT AGE 66 It saddens me to report that longtime southern soul blues artist,Bill Coday has passed away.He wasn't just an artist to me he was also a good friend of mine.I met Bill Coday and his lovely wife Anna about six(6) years ago at Club Ebony when he accompanied longtime friend Denise Lasalle at one of her performances.He always greeted me with a big smile and hug whenever I saw him.My prayers go out to his wife Anna and their entire family.Here is a biography of my friend Bill Coday.
BIOGRAPHY: Soul singer Bill Coday first came to fame with the hit single "Get Your Lies Straight" during the early spring of 1971. Signed to Crajon Productions, owned by the husband and wife team of Bill and Denise Jones (who recorded under the name Denise LaSalle and scored a 1971 gold single, "Trapped by a Thing Called Love"), Coday was the perfect vehicle for LaSalle's blues-oriented R&B songs. Born May 10, 1942, in Coldwater, MS, Coday began his singing career as a teenager, performing in juke joints around Blytheville, AK, with a band that included Son Seals.
In 1961, he relocated to Chicago, IL, donning the name Chicago Willie. LaSalle spotted the singer while he was performing at the Black Orchid club. She teamed him with Memphis, TN, soul music producer Willie Mitchell whom she often worked with on her releases for Detroit, MI's Westbound label and for those of other Crajon artists (the Sequins' hits "Hey Romeo" and "The Third Degree"). Mitchell went on to have hits with another Chicago singer, Syl Johnson, and gold and platinum-laced success with Al Green on Hi Records. Coday's first Crajon singles, "Sixty Minute Teaser" and "I Get High on Your Love," were regional hits. The third single, "Get Your Lies Straight," proved to be the breakthrough, going to number 14 R&B on Billboard's charts in early 1971. On the flipside was "You're Gonna Want Me." As was the custom on a fast-selling national record, the independently-distributed Crajon leased Coday's single to the much larger Galaxy label, a subsidiary of Berkeley, CA's Fantasy Records, for wider distribution.
The follow-up, issued on Galaxy, the Denise LaSalle song "When You Find a Fool, Bump His Head," made it to number 48 R&B in summer 1971. There were other Galaxy singles, but none charted nationally. Coday enjoyed a regional hit on Crajon with "I'm Back to Collect" in the first half of 1973. Some of his Galaxy/Crajon releases can be found on the compilations All Night Long They Played the Blues (1992), Bad Bad Whiskey (1993) -- both from U.K. label Ace Records -- and an '80s collection of Coday's Crajon singles on Japanese label Vivid Sounds. In 1973, he signed with Epic Records and the single "I Don't Want to Play This Game" was issued. It was later included on the 1975 Epic compilation Lost Soul, reissued as a 1994 CD by Sony Legacy.
In 1984, Coday began to tour with Denise LaSalle as her opening act. He began recording again after several years away from the studio. Signing with Memphis-based label Ecko Records, his first release was the appropriately titled Sneakin' Back album. The tracks "Her Love Is Good Enough to Put in Collard Greens," "I Can Move the Hoochie Coochie Man," "Doctor Thrill Good," and a remake of "Get Your Lies Straight" became favorites with blues lovers and blues-formatted radio stations. His second Ecko CD, Can't Get Enough, included "In the Room Next to the Room" and "Not a Word" with labelmate Barbara Carr. Coday's third Ecko CD, 1999's Put Me in the Mood, gave his fans more of his tasty blend of spicy, bluesy Southern soul.
FEBRUARY 26,2006: JAMES WHITE PLEADS GUILTY IN THE KILLING OF JACKIE NEAL! James White, who last month rejected a plea deal that would have saved him from a possible death sentence changed his mind again on Wednesday (February 22, 2006). James White, 39, admitted in court Wednesday that he shot and killed his former girlfriend, musician Jackie Neal, on March 10, 2005 while she was inside a Florida Boulevard nail salon. State District Judge Richard Anderson sentenced White to life plus 50 years in prison as part of the plea deal.
White pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Nealís death and attempted first-degree murder for shooting Angela Myers who attempted to flee the salon. White was expected to take the plea deal Jan. 18. At the last minute, with Nealís family watching, White changed his mind. Prosecutor Tracey Barbera warned him then that the offer would be taken off the table if he rejected it. Whiteís decision to plead guilty Wednesday to the crimes came as a surprise to Barbera and defense attorney Nelvil Hollingsworth. Both expected the Wednesday hearing to be about routine pre-trial matters. On Wednesday, Barbera said she agreed to the deal because Nealís family members told her it would help bring closure. Hollingsworth said after court he thinks White was scared during the January hearing. After the January hearing, a disappointed Shirley Neal, Jackieís mother, said she wanted this ordeal to be finished.
On Wednesday, Shirley Neal took the witness stand and told White she does not hate him, but she does hate the fact that he took her daughterís life.White apoligized to the Neal family in court.Neal is the daughter of Baton Rouge blues man Raful Neal and the sister of musician Kenny Neal.