Early Morning Blues - Archibald

Archibald was one of the last in the long line of traditional New Orleans pianist entertainers. It had seemed that he had a promising future ahead of him when his first record, "Stack-A-Lee", sold well enough on Imperial to enter the R&B charts in October 1950. The record was in two parts and Archibald had plenty of scop to perform this old folk song as he must have done many times before in the bars and clubs of New Orelans, including a healthy ration of his delightful piano work. A tour of the West Coast was organized but this was cancelled when Archibald fell sick with ulcer trouble. Although he had further records on Imperial and Colony, he never had the chance again and was not recorded after 1952. Johnny Vincent tried to record him for his Ace label in the late 1950s, but said Archibald's voice had gone; Archibald himself said Vincent did not offer enough money. Archibald was born Leon T. Gross in 1912 on September 14 at 12:16 a.m., just off Plum and Hillary in New Orleans, as he used to delight in telling. When he started playing fraternity houses and the wild parties in the early days he was known as "Archie Boy" and he was mainly influenced by Burnell Santiago, the self-styled "King of Boogie" as well as other pianists like Eileen Dufeau, Miss Isobel and Stack-O-Lee. He was drafted into the Army in the war years and on his return continued playing in New Orleans before he was signed by Al Young, the talent scout for Imperial in 1950. "Stack-A-Lee" was his first record. He was a resident at the Poodle Patio Club on Bourbon Street for many years, but when a small party visited him in 1970 at his small, wooden one-storey home on 4th Street, it was clear times were not exactly good. He was suspicious, but after passing a bottle of whisky his confidence improved and he sat down at his battered piano and proceeded to give as good a show as one could wish for on a wet Saturday April morning. He sang in a Kansas City shouting style, fond of scat improvisation, and among the songs he played were "Stack-A-Lee", "Blueberry Hill", "Swanee River Hop", "Early Morning Blues", "Pinetop's Boogie", "Muskrat Ramble", and an amazing "Hungarian Rhapsody Boogie". Even singing and playing in his own living room, he had tremendous presence, and it was easy to imagine his popularity in the bar clubs of New Orleans. Somehow, Archibald's importance as one of the last links of the old New Orleans piano style has been overlooked, and now it's too late becuase he died of a heart attack in 1973 (January 8). So sadly, his music must remain a relic of the past, a magnificent pianist whose boogieing New Orleans style never came to grips with the rock & roll age. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Stack-A'Lee Part II - Archibald

When most people think of the song "Stagger Lee," as it's usually spelled, they think of Lloyd Price and his 1958 chart-topping single. Eight years before Price's version, however, a single on Imperial Records (spelled "Stack-a-Lee"), credited to and featuring the pounding piano of Archibald, reached the R&B Top Ten and gave the song its first unified national exposure in a single rendition. If Archibald never followed this up, it wasn't for lack of talent or a lot of years in the business of making music. He was born Leon T. Gross in New Orleans, LA, in 1912 and took up the piano as a child, initially entertaining at parties under the name "Archie Boy," which became Archibald. His major influences included Burnell Santiago, Tuts Washington, and Eileen Dufeau, among his barrelhouse piano predecessors. Gross enjoyed a healthy career into his late thirties, despite the interruption of military service during World War II, happily playing at the bars in New Orleans and earning a living and a lot of local respect.
In 1950, he was signed to Imperial Records, part of the same wave that brought Dave Bartholomew and Fats Domino onto the company's roster, and Archibald made his first recordings in March 1950. During the summer of that year, he enjoyed his only national hit with the single "Stack-a-Lee," produced by Dave Bartholomew. He never saw the national charts again with any of his sides, recording for Imperial until 1952, and his subsequent attempts at making records were undermined by poor health, union disputes, and record-company difficulties. Ironically, though Archibald's early-'50s sides, such as "Ballin' With Archie," "Shake Baby Shake," and "Crescent City Bounce" -- all of which featured Bartholomew's brash trumpet playing, Joe Harris, and Clarence Hall, respectively, on alto- and tenor-sax, and as solid a rock & roll beat as anything on Imperial -- could have found an audience as late as 1958, they were forgotten and mostly overlooked after their initial release; and despite the fact that his playing and sound were clearly an influence on the work of such figures as Huey "Piano" Smith and Dr. John, Archibald wasn't even on the periphery of the rock & roll boom and never participated in recording even as an elder statesman in the manner of his slightly younger contemporary Professor Longhair (who cut whole albums for Paul McCartney's MPL imprint and for Alligator in the 1970s). Archibald never had a comeback, but he enjoyed long residences at such venues as the Poodle Patio Club, the Court of Two Sisters, and the Balloy Club. He died of a heart attack at the age of 60, mostly remembered by R&B scholars for his handful of sides for Imperial, and by his audience in New Orleans.
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