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{{Short description|American singer, pianist and organist (1931–1970)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{for|the basketball coach|Earl Grant (basketball)}}
{{for|the basketball coach|Earl Grant (basketball)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Earl Grant 1967.jpg|thumb|Grant in 1967.]]
[[File:Earl Grant 1967.jpg|thumb|Grant in 1967]]
'''Earl Grant''' (January 20, 1931 – June 10, 1970) was an American pianist, [[Hammond organ|organ]]ist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
'''Earl Grant''' (January 20, 1931 – June 10, 1970) was an American pianist, [[Hammond organ|organ]]ist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s.


Line 17: Line 18:
| url-access= registration
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/135
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/135
}}</ref><ref name =nc>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zsdJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_goNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3458,2222379&dq |title=Earl Grant Killed in Auto Crash |date=June 11, 1970 |page=13A |work=[[The News and Courier]] |access-date=March 7, 2011 |archive-date=May 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505190424/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zsdJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_goNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3458,2222379&dq |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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}}</ref><ref name =nc>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zsdJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_goNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3458,2222379&dq |title=Earl Grant Killed in Auto Crash |date=June 11, 1970 |page=13A |work=[[The News and Courier]]|accessdate=March 7, 2011}}</ref> Grant signed with [[Decca Records]] in 1957 and his first single "The End" reached number 7 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] [[record chart|chart]]. The album ''Ebb Tide (And Other Instrumental Favorites)'' sold over one million copies, gaining [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] status.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> He [[sound recording and reproduction|recorded]] six more singles that made the charts, including "Swingin' Gently" (from ''Beyond the Reef''), and six additional albums (on the Decca label) through 1968. He also recorded the album ''Yes Sirree!'' and the [[instrumental]] album ''Trade Winds'', single-tracked on the [[Hammond organ]] and piano, featuring the love theme from the film ''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'' and [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplin]]'s "[[Eternally (Charles Chaplin song)|Eternally]]". This album featured some realistic-sounding "tropical bird calls" produced by his electric organ. "House of Bamboo" was another big-selling single. In all, Grant recorded 30 albums for Decca, mostly on the Brunswick label, a subsidiary of Decca.<ref name =nc />


⚫
Grant signed with [[Decca Records]] in 1957 and his first single "[[The End (Earl Grant song)|The End]]" reached number 7 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] [[record chart|charts]] on October 13, 1958. The album ''Ebb Tide (And Other Instrumental Favorites)'' sold over one million copies, gaining [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] status.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> He [[sound recording and reproduction|recorded]] six more singles that made the charts, including "Swingin' Gently" (from ''Beyond the Reef''), and six additional albums (on the Decca label) through 1968. He also recorded the album ''Yes Sirree!'' and the [[instrumental]] album ''Trade Winds'', single-tracked on the [[Hammond organ]] and piano, featuring the love theme from the film ''[[El Cid (film)|El Cid]]'' and [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplin]]'s "[[Eternally (Charles Chaplin song)|Eternally]]". This album featured some realistic-sounding "tropical bird calls" produced by his electric organ. "House of Bamboo" was another big-selling single. Grant recorded 30 albums for Decca, mostly on the Brunswick label, a subsidiary of Decca.<ref name =nc />
⚫
Several of his albums featured tenor saxophonist [[Plas Johnson]].<ref>Earl Grant ''Winter Wonderland'' [http://homoerraticradioshow.blogspot.com/2019/02/earl-grant.html LP liner notes]. MCA-15001, 1965</ref>


⚫
Several of his albums featured tenor saxophonist [[Plas Johnson]].<ref>Earl Grant ''Winter Wonderland'' [http://homoerraticradioshow.blogspot.com/2019/02/earl-grant.html LP liner notes]. MCA-15001, 1965</ref>
⚫
Grant also made a few appearances in films and on television, including ''[[Tender Is the Night (1962 film)|Tender Is the Night]]'' (1962),<ref>''[[The New York Times]]'', June 11, 1970 – [https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/11/archives/earl-grant-a-popular-organist-and-record-star-dies-in-crash.html Earl Grant, a Popular Organist And Record Star, Dies in Crash]</ref> ''[[Juke Box Rhythm]]'' (1959),<ref>Library of Congress – [https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200016885/ JUKE BOX RHYTHM]</ref> and ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' (1960).<ref>[[TV.com]] – [http://www.tv.com/shows/the-ed-sullivan-show/august-7-1960-sophia-loren-and-clark-gable-on-film-earl-grant-jack-carter-ken-murray-and-marie-wilson-137626/ The Ed Sullivan Show Season 12 Episode 45]</ref>


⚫
Grant also made a few appearances in films and on television, including ''[[Tender Is the Night (1962 film)|Tender Is the Night]]'' (1962),<ref>''[[The New York Times]]'', June 11, 1970 – [https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/11/archives/earl-grant-a-popular-organist-and-record-star-dies-in-crash.html Earl Grant, a Popular Organist And Record Star, Dies in Crash]</ref> ''[[Juke Box Rhythm]]'' (1959),<ref>Library of Congress – [https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200016885/ JUKE BOX RHYTHM]</ref> ''[[It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series)|It Takes a Thief]]'' (1969)<ref>[[TV.com]] – [http://www.tv.com/shows/it-takes-a-thief/boom-at-the-top-177518/ It Takes A Thief Season 2 Episode 19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117012056/http://www.tv.com/shows/it-takes-a-thief/boom-at-the-top-177518/ |date=January 17, 2021 }}</ref> and ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' (1960, 1961, & 1962).<ref>[[TV.com]] – [http://www.tv.com/shows/the-ed-sullivan-show/august-7-1960-sophia-loren-and-clark-gable-on-film-earl-grant-jack-carter-ken-murray-and-marie-wilson-137626/ The Ed Sullivan Show Season 12 Episode 45] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124215311/http://www.tv.com/shows/the-ed-sullivan-show/august-7-1960-sophia-loren-and-clark-gable-on-film-earl-grant-jack-carter-ken-murray-and-marie-wilson-137626/ |date=January 24, 2020 }}</ref>
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Grant sang the title theme for the 1959 film ''[[Imitation of Life (1959 film)|Imitation of Life]]'' in a way very close to an imitation of [[Nat King Cole]].


⚫
Grant sang the title theme for the 1959 film ''[[Imitation of Life (1959 film)|Imitation of Life]]''.
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He died instantly in a car accident in [[Lordsburg, New Mexico|Lordsburg]], New Mexico, at the age of 39<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> when the car he was driving ran off [[Interstate 10]].<ref name =nc /> He was driving from Los Angeles to an intended destination in [[Juarez, Mexico]]. His 17-year-old cousin was also killed in the accident.<ref name= mj>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=l7tJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rAANAAAAIBAJ&pg=2051,4828346&dq |title=Auto Accident Kills Earl, Grant, Organist-Singer |date=June 11, 1970 |page=10 |work=[[Meriden, CT]] Journal|accessdate=March 7, 2011}}</ref>


⚫
He died instantly in a car accident in [[Lordsburg, New Mexico]], at the age of 39<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> when the car he was driving ran off [[Interstate 10]].<ref name =nc /> He was driving from Los Angeles to an intended destination in [[Ciudad Juárez]], Mexico, for an appearance at the La Fiesta nightclub. His 17-year-old cousin, Roosevelt Woods III, was also killed in the accident.<ref name= mj>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=l7tJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rAANAAAAIBAJ&pg=2051,4828346&dq |title=Auto Accident Kills Earl, Grant, Organist-Singer |date=June 11, 1970 |page=10 |work=[[Meriden Journal]]|location=Meridan-Southington, Connecticut|access-date=March 7, 2011}}</ref>
On June 25, 2019, ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' listed Earl Grant among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the [[2008 Universal fire]].<ref name="Rosen2">{{cite web |last1=Rosen |first1=Jody |title=Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/magazine/universal-music-fire-bands-list-umg.html |website=The New York Times |accessdate=June 28, 2019 |date=June 25, 2019}}</ref>


==Discography==
==Discography==
* ''The Versatile Earl Grant'' ([[Decca Records|Decca]] DL-8672, 1958)
* ''The Versatile Earl Grant'' ([[Decca Records|Decca]] DL-8672, 1958)
* ''[[The End (Earl Grant song)|The End]]'' (Decca DL-8830, 1958)
* ''The End'' (Decca DL-8830, 1958)
* ''Midnight Earl'' (Decca DL-9201, 1958)
* ''Midnight Earl'' (Decca DL-9201, 1958)
* ''Grant Takes Rhythm'' (Decca DL-8905, 1959)
* ''Grant Takes Rhythm'' (Decca DL-8905, 1959)
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* ''This Magic Moment'' (Decca DL-75108, 1969)
* ''This Magic Moment'' (Decca DL-75108, 1969)
* ''A Time For Us'' (Decca DL-75158, 1969)
* ''A Time For Us'' (Decca DL-75158, 1969)
* ''Earl Grant's Golden Favorites'' (Decca DL-75170, 1970)
* ''Earl Grant'' (Decca DL-75223, 1970)
* ''Earl Grant'' (Decca DL-75223, 1970)
* ''The Best of Earl Grant'' (Decca DXSB-7204 [2LP], 1970; reissue: MCA 2-4059 [2LP], 1980)
* ''The Best Of Earl Grant Singin' And Swingin''' (CD) (MCA 008811183820, 1998)
* ''The Best of Earl Grant'' (MCA 2-4096 [2LP], 1976) note: not the same as Decca DXSB-7204/MCA 2-4059, a completely different set of 20 songs.
* ''The Best of Earl Grant: Singin' And Swingin' '' (MCA 11838 [CD], 1998)
* ''Nothin' But The Versatile Earl Grant'' (Jasmine JASCD-197, 2012) 2-CD; reissues ''The Versatile Earl Grant'', ''Nothin' But The Blues'', ''Paris Is My Beat'', ''Ebb Tide (And Other Instrumental Favorites)''.


=== Charted albums ===
=== Charted albums ===
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! rowspan="2"| Title
! rowspan="2"| Title
! colspan="2"| Chart positions
! colspan="2"| Chart positions
! colspan="2"| Release date
|-
|-
! style="width:45px;"|<small>[[Billboard Hot 100|US]]</small>
! style="width:45px;"|<small>[[Billboard Hot 100|US]]</small>
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| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 16
| style="text-align:center;"| 16
| August 1958
|-
|-
| 1959
| 1959
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| style="text-align:center;"| 63
| style="text-align:center;"| 63
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| January 1959
|-
|-
| 1960
| 1960
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| style="text-align:center;"| 88
| style="text-align:center;"| 88
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| January 1960
|-
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1962
| rowspan="2"| 1962
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| style="text-align:center;"| 44
| style="text-align:center;"| 44
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| March 1962
|-
|-
|"Sweet Sixteen Bars"
|"Sweet Sixteen Bars"
| style="text-align:center;"| 55
| style="text-align:center;"| 55
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
| August 1962
|-
|-
| 1965
| 1965
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| style="text-align:center;"| 75
| style="text-align:center;"| 75
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| July 1965
|-
|-
| 1969
| 1966
|"[[Silver Bells]]"
|"[[Silver Bells]]"
| style="text-align:center;"| —{{efn|"Silver Bells" did not chart on the Hot 100 but charted on ''Billboard's'' [[Christmas Singles (chart)|Christmas Singles]] chart for 6 non-consecutive years: 1966 (#15), 1967 (#4), 1968 (#8), 1969 (#3), 1970 (#4), 1972 (#8).<ref>"Christmas Records." Billboard, vol. 75-76, no. 48-52 & 49-52, November 30, 1963-December 26, 1964, pp. 11, 8, 8, 7, 25, 22, 22, 34 & 36.</ref><ref>"Billboard Top Christmas Sellers." Billboard, vol. 77, no. 50-52, December 11, 1965-December 25, 1965, pp. 7, 15 & 12.</ref><ref>"Billboard Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 78-81, no. 49-52, 48-52, 49-52 & 49-52, December 3, 1966-December 27, 1969, pp. 56, 40, 36, 33, 8, 92, 61, 50, 40, 82, 84, 69, 57, 11, 10, 12, & 10.</ref><ref>"Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 82-85, no. 51-52, 51-52, 51-53 & 49-51, December 19, 1970-December 22, 1973, pp. 12, 59, 49, 49, 40, 51, 4, 28, 25 & 22.</ref>}}
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| December 1969
|}
|}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

⚫
* Michel Ruppli, ''The Decca labels: A discography'' (Greenwood Press, 1996)
==Further reading==
⚫
Michel Ruppli, ''The Decca labels: A discography'' (Greenwood Press, 1996)


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.spaceagepop.com/grant.htm Profile of Grant]
*[http://www.spaceagepop.com/grant.htm Profile of Grant]
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/203948 Earl Grant recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Idabel, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:People from Idabel, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:African-American musicians]]
[[Category:African-American pianists]]
[[Category:American organists]]
[[Category:American male organists]]
[[Category:Male organists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Musicians from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Decca Records artists]]
[[Category:Decca Records artists]]
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[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]]
[[Category:20th-century American pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century American pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century organists]]
[[Category:20th-century American organists]]
[[Category:American male pianists]]
[[Category:American male pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
{{Oklahoma-stub}}

Latest revision as of 11:14, 10 November 2024

For the basketball coach, see Earl Grant (basketball).

Grant in 1967

Earl Grant (January 20, 1931 – June 10, 1970) was an American pianist, organist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

Career

[edit]

Grant was born in Idabel, Oklahoma. Though he would be known later for his keyboards and vocals, Grant also played trumpet and drums. Grant attended four music schools, eventually becoming a music teacher. He augmented his income by performing in clubs during his army service, throughout which he was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas.[1][2]

Grant signed with Decca Records in 1957 and his first single "The End" reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts on October 13, 1958. The album Ebb Tide (And Other Instrumental Favorites) sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc status.[1] He recorded six more singles that made the charts, including "Swingin' Gently" (from Beyond the Reef), and six additional albums (on the Decca label) through 1968. He also recorded the album Yes Sirree! and the instrumental album Trade Winds, single-tracked on the Hammond organ and piano, featuring the love theme from the film El Cid and Chaplin's "Eternally". This album featured some realistic-sounding "tropical bird calls" produced by his electric organ. "House of Bamboo" was another big-selling single. Grant recorded 30 albums for Decca, mostly on the Brunswick label, a subsidiary of Decca.[2]

Several of his albums featured tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson.[3]

Grant also made a few appearances in films and on television, including Tender Is the Night (1962),[4] Juke Box Rhythm (1959),[5] It Takes a Thief (1969)[6] and The Ed Sullivan Show (1960, 1961, & 1962).[7]

Grant sang the title theme for the 1959 film Imitation of Life.

He died instantly in a car accident in Lordsburg, New Mexico, at the age of 39[1] when the car he was driving ran off Interstate 10.[2] He was driving from Los Angeles to an intended destination in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, for an appearance at the La Fiesta nightclub. His 17-year-old cousin, Roosevelt Woods III, was also killed in the accident.[8]

Discography

[edit]
  • The Versatile Earl Grant (Decca DL-8672, 1958)
  • The End (Decca DL-8830, 1958)
  • Midnight Earl (Decca DL-9201, 1958)
  • Grant Takes Rhythm (Decca DL-8905, 1959)
  • Nothin' But The Blues (Decca DL-8916, 1959)
  • Paris Is My Beat (Decca DL-8935, 1959)
  • The Magic of Earl Grant (Decca DL-74044, 1960)
  • Ebb Tide (And Other Instrumental Favorites) (Decca DL-74165, 1961)
  • Earl After Dark (Decca DL-74188, 1961)
  • Beyond The Reef (And Other Instrumental Favorites) (Decca DL-74231, 1962)
  • At Basin Street East (Decca DL-74299, 1962)
  • Midnight Sun (Decca DL-74338, 1962)
  • Yes Sirree! (Decca DL-74405, 1963)
  • Fly Me To The Moon (Decca DL-74454, 1963)
  • Just For A Thrill (Decca DL-74506, 1964)
  • Just One More Time (And Other Instrumental Favorites) (Decca DL-74576, 1964)
  • Trade Winds (Decca DL-74623, 1965)
  • Spotlight on Earl Grant (Decca DL-74624, 1965)
  • Winter Wonderland (Decca DL-74677, 1965)
  • Sings and Plays Songs Made Famous By Nat Cole (Decca DL-74729, 1966)
  • Stand By Me (Decca DL-74738, 1966)
  • Bali Ha'i (Decca DL-74806, 1966)
  • A Closer Walk With Thee (Decca DL-74811, 1966)
  • Earl Grant's Greatest Hits (Decca DL-74813, 1967)
  • Gently Swingin' (Decca DL-74937, 1968)
  • Spanish Eyes (Decca DL-74974, 1968)
  • In Motion! (Decca DL-75052, 1968)
  • This Magic Moment (Decca DL-75108, 1969)
  • A Time For Us (Decca DL-75158, 1969)
  • Earl Grant (Decca DL-75223, 1970)
  • The Best Of Earl Grant Singin' And Swingin' (CD) (MCA 008811183820, 1998)

Charted albums

[edit]
Year Title Chart positions
US
1961 Ebb Tide (And Other Instrumental Favorites) 7
1962 At Basin Street East 92
Beyond The Reef (And Other Instrumental Favorites) 17
1964 Just for a Thrill 149
Fly Me to the Moon 139
1965 Trade Winds 192
1968 Gently Swingin' 168
1969 Winter Wonderland 14

Charted singles

[edit]
Year Title Chart positions Release date
US US R&B
1958 "The End" 7 16 August 1958
1959 "Evening Rain" 63 — January 1959
1960 "House of Bamboo" 88 — January 1960
1962 "Swingin' Gently" 44 — March 1962
"Sweet Sixteen Bars" 55 9 August 1962
1965 "Stand by Me" 75 — July 1965
1966 "Silver Bells" —[a] — December 1969

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Silver Bells" did not chart on the Hot 100 but charted on Billboard's Christmas Singles chart for 6 non-consecutive years: 1966 (#15), 1967 (#4), 1968 (#8), 1969 (#3), 1970 (#4), 1972 (#8).[9][10][11][12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 135. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  2. ^ a b c "Earl Grant Killed in Auto Crash". The News and Courier. June 11, 1970. p. 13A. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Earl Grant Winter Wonderland LP liner notes. MCA-15001, 1965
  4. ^ The New York Times, June 11, 1970 – Earl Grant, a Popular Organist And Record Star, Dies in Crash
  5. ^ Library of Congress – JUKE BOX RHYTHM
  6. ^ TV.com – It Takes A Thief Season 2 Episode 19 Archived January 17, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ TV.com – The Ed Sullivan Show Season 12 Episode 45 Archived January 24, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Auto Accident Kills Earl, Grant, Organist-Singer". Meriden Journal. Meridan-Southington, Connecticut. June 11, 1970. p. 10. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  9. ^ "Christmas Records." Billboard, vol. 75-76, no. 48-52 & 49-52, November 30, 1963-December 26, 1964, pp. 11, 8, 8, 7, 25, 22, 22, 34 & 36.
  10. ^ "Billboard Top Christmas Sellers." Billboard, vol. 77, no. 50-52, December 11, 1965-December 25, 1965, pp. 7, 15 & 12.
  11. ^ "Billboard Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 78-81, no. 49-52, 48-52, 49-52 & 49-52, December 3, 1966-December 27, 1969, pp. 56, 40, 36, 33, 8, 92, 61, 50, 40, 82, 84, 69, 57, 11, 10, 12, & 10.
  12. ^ "Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 82-85, no. 51-52, 51-52, 51-53 & 49-51, December 19, 1970-December 22, 1973, pp. 12, 59, 49, 49, 40, 51, 4, 28, 25 & 22.

Further reading

[edit]

Michel Ruppli, The Decca labels: A discography (Greenwood Press, 1996)

[edit]
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