Born Morris Dollison, Jr. in New Madrid,
Missouri on January 28, 1941, Cash McCall spent his early years
on Chicago’s North Side. From there, the family moved to
Mississippi, where Cash first learned to play guitar—on a piece of baling
wire nailed to the side of their home. As a young man, he served
his country in the US Army, where he was seriously injured while training
to be a paratrooper.
After completing his military service, Dollison returned to Chicago where
he began his gospel career, singing and playing guitar or electric
bass with well-regarded quartets including the Jubilee Hummingbirds,
the Pilgrim Jubilees, the Gospel Songbirds, and the Five Blind Boys of
Mississippi. By 1964, he’d appeared on singles by the Jubilee
Hummingbirds and the Gospel Songbirds.
After dabbling in the secular world as a sideman, Dollison recorded his
single, “The Earth Worm,” for One-derful’s M-Pac! imprint. He
continued working for One-derful! as a songwriter & session
guitarist, writing several songs for Otis Clay including his hit “That’s
How It Is (When You’re In Love)”. By 1966, Dollison had written a
new single, "When You Wake Up," and took it to Thomas Records
where he cut it with the house rhythm section. Later, Monk
Higgins added horns and background vocals and Thomas Records issued the
single under the fictitious name of Cash McCall. Unbeknownst to Dollison,
he learned of his new alias when first hearing his song on WVON
radio. “When You Wake Up” became a national R&B hit.
When Thomas folded in 1967, Higgins convinced McCall to join him at
Chess Records. In addition to writing two singles of his own—“S.O.S.” and
“It’s Not How Good You Make It”— Cash wrote for many of the label’s major
names, including Little Milton (his hits “More And More” and “Let Me Down
Easy”), Etta James (“I Prefer You”), and Rotary Connection, as well as
Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor and many gospel stars. McCall was also a
session guitarist on countless Chess/Checker records.
It wasn't until 1974 that McCall released his first full-length album,
"Omega Man," on Paula Records (where he also did some
producing). When Minnie Riperton offered him a gig as guitarist with Los
Angeles-based Rotary Connection, McCall and his wife relocated to
L.A. Cash later released albums "No More Doggin’"
for L+R in 1983, "Cash Up Front" on Stone in 1988 and "The
Vintage Room" in 2007 on Dixon Landing. His strong connection with Willie
Dixon brought McCall one of his proudest moments when he played on
Dixon’s Grammy-winning 1988 album "Hidden Charms." He also
played on Dixon’s Grammy-nominated soundtrack album "Ginger Ale
Afternoon" the next year.
In the early 90’s, McCall and his family moved to Memphis,
Tennessee. In 2018, upon reuniting with longtime friend Benny
Turner, the two returned to the studio to pay homage to their Windy City
Roots on the acclaimed album, "Going Back Home," released on
Nola Blue Records in 2019.
(excerpts from bio by
Bill Dahl, Music Journalist, on www.cashmccallmusic.com)
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