Henry Glover

American songwriter, arranger, producer, trumpet player and A&R man.

Born 21 May 1921, Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA

Died 07 April 1991, St. Albans, New York, USA

Glover's career began as a young trumpet player through high school and college before he joined [a=Buddy Johnson]'s big band in early 1944 on [l=Decca]. It was with [a=Lucky Millinder]'s orchestra, as both a musician and arranger in early 1945, that Glover met [url=http://www.discogs.com/label/King+Records+(3)]King Records[/url] founder [a=Syd Nathan], who hired him as an A&R man. The label became an early pioneer in the cultural and racial integration of American music, from blues and R&B to rockabilly, bluegrass, western swing, and country.

Glover co-wrote "Blues Stay Away from Me" with [url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/Delmore+Brothers,+The]The Delmore Brothers[/url], covered by [a=Bob Dylan], and became one of the first black producers of country music with his input on "The Hucklebuck" by [l=Rama]'s [url=http://www.discogs.com/artist/Paul+Williams+(9)]Paul Williams[/url]. A 1948 Glover instrumental became the theme tune "Moondog", used by DJ [a=Alan Freed]. At King Glover had a run of recordings on its independent Queen Records label before it merged with King at 1540 Brewster Avenue, where Glover then began a series of successful blues fusion/R&B signings and recordings, later moving on to create Jay & Cee Music publishing and to control King's New York operations.

It was in New York that Glover departed King to join [a=Morris Levy]'s [l=Roulette Records] label in 1958, helping revive the [l=Gee] label and introduce R&B to Roulette with the likes of [a=Sarah Vaughan] and [a=Ronnie Hawkins]. He helped [a=The Hawks (2)] produce singles as a new Canadian group, which evolved into [a=The Band]. In 1961 Glover had a co-writing hit with "Peppermint Twist" and for a period in the early 1960s Glover managed his own label, 'Glover', recording [a=Louisiana Red] and [a=Titus Turner] among others. Back with King, after Nathan's death in 1968, Glover ran the company- now much reliant on [a=James Brown]'s work- until its takeover by [l=Starday Records].

Glover then founded RCO Productions with [a=Levon Helm] in 1975, whilst also producing the Grammy-winning [a=Muddy Waters] Woodstock album and helping arrange [url=http://www.discogs.com/Band-The-Last-Waltz/master/14495]The Last Waltz[/url]. Before his death in 1991 Glover was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died of a heart attack, survived by his wife Doris, son Ware ([l=Ware Records, Inc.], [l=Jonware Music]) and daughter Syracuse.