THE LIST NEVER SLEEPS

Chalmers, second from left, at a Etta James session, Fame Studio

Ten years ago, I would have heard "The Sidewinder" and not had the slightest clue about its origins. I probably wouldn't have even recognized the song. It might not even register how unusual it was for a song recorded at Fame Studios to be released on Chess Records and have liner notes by Jerry Wexler. But here it is and it's a nice reminder that if you taste test stuff you're not familiar with you can still learn about music, or anything really, no matter how much you've consumed over the years. I never set out to recognize a cover version recorded by some sax player named Charlie Chalmers. I never even sought out the original by Lee Morgan. I never made a point of learning about Fame Studio, that they were known mostly for the soul music recorded there, and that a large part of that music was released on Atlantic Records. And, shit, I've known Chess Records for ages (thank you Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters), but never imagined that Jerry Wexler, a journalist turned producer mainly affiliated with Atlantic Records, would write liner notes for an LP on Chess Records. Tomorrow I'm sure I'll learn that he did it all the time. But enough about me. Charlie Chalmers played sax.

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Listen:
Charles Chalmers - The Sidewinder mp3 at Groove Addict
Charles Chalmers - Velvet Soul mp3 at Groove Addict
Visit:
The Horn Arranging Secrets of Muscle Shoals, Aretha Hits at AL.com Lengthy interview with Chalmers