Don Hosea

Don Hosea

Blue Eyed Soul From Memphis, TN

When you think of Memphis and Rock 'N' Roll four names come to mind right away.  Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.  When you think of Memphis recording studios three names that come to mind very quickly are Sun, Stax and Hi.  

Today we are going off the unbeaten path away from the major labels, studios and artists and looking at guy you probably never heard of in your life but should of.  His name is Don Hosea.  Plus he just looks cool holding a guitar.  

Don made his way from Cape Girardeau, Missouri in 1956 bound for Memphis.  Cape Girardeau at the time had a population of 25,000 and was also the home to a five year old Rush Limbaugh.  There is no evidence whether Don Hosea ever babysat Rush Limbaugh but I'll go ahead and just say he did. It makes for a more interesting story.  

Cape Girardeau is 2 hours south of St. Louis and 3 hours north of Memphis.  Don had to choose whether to go to north and become a Cardinals fan or head south for some of the tastiest barbeque known to man.  He liked the sound of Elvis and the music of Memphis so he made that 3 hour drive to Memphis with just a guitar and some clothes in his car. 

Cotton Club

West Memphis, AR

His first stop was at The Cotton Club which was the most happening club around Memphis and located just across the Mississippi Bridge in Arkansas.  Just look at the picture.  It's apparent that you must bow down to the guitar player in the band or pay the wrath.  The crowd seems to love it.  I also think the guy on the floor wasn't able to get up till many hours later.  

Snearly Ranch Boys

It's obvious they were trying to match their shirts with the drapes

While at The Cotton Club he met Stan Kesler, who was the leader of The Snearly Ranch Boys, and they were the house band at the time.  Stan would be the person to meet if you wanted to make it in the Memphis music scene.  Stan had a lot of connections.  Stan soon offered him a job to become a Snearly Ranch Boy and before he knew it, he was hanging out at Sun with Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana.  When he became a Snearly Ranch Boy I just hope his shirt matched the drapes.

First Record 

It would take him couple of years of being a Snearly Ranch Boy before he would get the chance to record his first record.  In February 1958 he got that chance.  Don released on the Crystal Label a song called Everlasting Love.  Guess who wrote it?  That's right, the leader of The Snearly Ranch Boys, Stan Kessler.  If you are going to make a record you better make sure it is a song written by the guy who gave you your start in Memphis.  

A little history about the Crystal label.  It was owned by Drew Canale who was a pretty big deal in Memphis.  He also owned the National Tobacco Company and Canale Amusement.  You make this guy mad there goes your cigarettes and amusement.  Who do you think he chose to run his record label?  Good ol' Stan.  

The record never did much but was a great start for Don Hosea.  He had been in Memphis for two years and had a record to show for it.  He decided to move away from Crystal records and go to the head man in Memphis, Sam Phillips.

Sam Phillips

In May of 1958 Sam Phillips, owner of Sun Records, would eventually give him a shot with an old folk tune called John Henry and a couple of songs that Don wrote himself.  Sam probably should since earlier that month his number one star, Jerry Lee Lewis, was in a lot of trouble for marrying his 13 year old cousin.  Hey what's wrong with that?  

Playing bass for Don on that recording session was his old boss Stan Kesler.  Stan at the time took up residence at Sun and you could find him their at all hours.  Playing guitar on that session was Roland Janes.  He's about to become important to Don very soon.  In the end though Sam decided against releasing the songs.

He would leave Sun and wouldn't record again until August 1960 when the number one song on the Billboard Charts was Tossin' And Turnin' by Bobby Lewis.  He needed something fun just like that if he wanted to make it.  

What did he choose to record?  An old Folk song called John Henry.  The same song from two years ago that Sam Phillips decided to pass on.  John Henry was a steel driving man how could he go wrong with that?

Rita Records was a label formed by Jerry Lee Lewis' guitar player, Roland Janes, and Billy Lee Riley.  See I told you Roland would become important very soon.  All the sides for Rita were recorded at Hi Studio, in Memphis, which would eventually become Royal Studios.  They were famous for recording some guy called Al Green.

  

John Henry by Don Hosea

Click Link To Hear The Song

Give this song a listen and tell me Don didn't make folk fun in 1960.  Even though I love this song the record didn't do much.  Don would eventually go on the road singing for The Bill Black Combo.

In August of 1961 Don got a call from Sam and he wanted to put a record out with him.  Sam loved the song John Henry on the Rita label and decided Don deserved another chance. They just had to decide what to record.  

Sam sent Don over to Echo Studio where he would eventually record his next hit.  Just so you know Echo was located very close to Sun and Sam had part ownership in it but that was kept under wraps.  The song would be recorded here but released on Sun.    

You Don't Love Me

Willie Cobbs was a blues singer from Smale, Arkansas.  A year earlier he had recorded his break through hit for Billy Lee Riley's and Stan Kesler's label, Mojo, titled You Don't Love Me.  There is that Stan guy again.  

The song would become a hit and eventually be released on Vee-Jay Records.  Vee-Jay Records would go on to huge success with Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons in 1962.  Willie's song would eventually be covered by such groups as The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead and even Sonny & Cher.  I know what you're thinking but actually the Sonny & Cher's version has a great groove to it.  

Why am I mentioning all this?  Because this would be the song that Don would record for Sun.  He loved rhythm and blues and wanted to give it a shot.  Before anybody else recorded a cover of this tune, Don was first.  I also think his version blows Sonny & Cher's away.

This would be the only record he would release on Sun with a tune called Since I Met You on the B side.  He also changed the title to from You Don't Love Me to Uh Nuh Unh.  Which to me is a cooler name for a song.

Don Hosea Uh Nuh Unh

Click Link To Hear The Song

The record again would do nothing and Don would eventually make his way to Nashville in 1967 leaving Memphis behind.  He would eventually become a songwriter in Nashville with some of his songs being recorded by George Jones, Faron Young and Charlie Pride. 

Don Hosea was once quoted as saying "The Memphis days were the best of all.  We weren't out for money, we were out to entertain.  Now it's all business.  It was fun then.  We'd get in an old limo, have the best time in the world."

This sounds like a guy I would love to hang out with.  I'm not sure where Don is today.  I don't even know if he is still alive.   

I do know the next time I'm on my way to St. Louis and pass through Cape Girardeau, I'm going to think about Don Hosea and the many nights he spent baby sitting Rush Limbaugh.