The Feel It Advent-ure 2020: Door 3

 

I have John Peel to thank for having this record in my collection. 

Back in the 70s John played the A side It's A Man Down There on one of his shows and it stuck in my mind, and it is probably still on one of my mixtapes which were made up of tracks he played. I bought my copy around 15 years ago now, I guess.

There is a copy of this single in John Peel's much publicised “special box” that contains 142 singles in total. Did he acquire his copy when he was living in the USA or later , I wonder? I am sure that he certainly first heard it while he was in the USA because it actually made the Hot 100 in 1965, peaking at 67.

For such a “raw” record with little or nothing in the way of production frills that seems remarkable. It's success may have been due in no small part to famed DJ, John R (Richbourg) in Nashville who pushed the record hard.

Very little is known of George L Crockett, and only one known picture of him exists. Some say his middle initial is actually T. We know for sure G stands for George. The accepted wisdom, such that it is, can be found on Wikipedia.

G L Crockett is buried at Burr Oak Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois. He died in 1967 at the tragically young age of 38, apparently from a cerebral hemorrhage brought on by hypertension, a condition he had suffered from for many years. This was possibly exacerbated by alcohol as it is documented that George had a drink problem. (However, a different, more sinister cause of death is suggested by a possible daughter on some youtube comments – although I know one should be careful when reading youtube comments).

G L Crockett left a recorded work of just four singles on the 4 Brothers label and one early outing on Chief (as G “Davy” Crockett”). G.L.'s drink problem made him difficult to work with apparently and he was dropped by the label after his fourth outing. The Daniels in the credits on this track is Jack Daniels who was the prinicpal operator of the 4 Brothers label that was run out of Barney's Record store in Chicago. (This info comes from Robert Pruter's excellent book Chicago Soul, where there is an in depth write up on 4 Brothers and the artists that appeared on the label).

I'm featuring the B side today. It has a real “live” feel to it. Consistent with the fact that it was probably recorded in one take. I particularly love the meandering guitar.

G.L.Crockett – Every Hour, Every Day 1965