Ojai - Music

Joseph Woodman "Joe" Lutcher 23 December 1919 - 29 October 2006 Was An American R&B Saxophonist And Bandleader The Younger Brother Of Singer Nellie Lutcher. He Performed And Recorded Successfully In The 1940s But Later Abandoned A Commercial Musical Career And Became An Outspoken Member Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church. He Was Born In Lake Charles Louisiana One Of Ten Surviving Children Out Of 15 Of Isaac And Susie Lutcher. Isaac And His Children Formed A Small Band In Which Joe Played Saxophone. By 1941 He Had Moved To Los Angeles California Joining His Sister Nellie Who Had Relocated There In The Mid-1930s. He Was Drafted Into The US Navy In 1942 Leaving In 1945 And Returning To Los Angeles. He Led The House Band At The Look Café In Los Angeles Before Relocating To The More Prestigious Café Society Where His Band Were Renamed The Society Cats. He Also Worked As A Bandleader For Nat King Cole Sammy Davis Jr. And The Mills Brothers. In 1947 He Was Heard By Art Rupe Who Signed Him To His New Record Label Specialty. However Lutcher Was Unhappy With Rupe's Request That He Only Record Slow Blues And At The Behest Of His Sister Nellie Also Recorded As "Joe Lutcher's Jump Band" For Capitol Records. Joe Lutcher's First Hit Was "Shuffle Woogie" On The Capitol Label Which Reached # 10 On The Billboard "Race Records" Chart In March 1948. "Rockin' Boogie" On Specialty Reached # 14 In September 1948. Besides Lutcher On Alto Saxophone And Occasional Vocals Members Of His Band Included Karl George On Trumpet Bill Ellis And Leon Beck On Saxes Harold Morrow On Piano Bill Cooper On Bass And Novelty Vocals And Drummer Dick "Booker" Hart Sometimes Augmented With Vocals By Actor Cliff Holland. It Has Been Written Of Lutcher That Many Of His Recordings "have Unusually Moody Complex And Sometime Humorous Arrangements That Are Reminiscent Of Frank Zappa's Later Recordings." In 1949 He Signed With Modern Records Where He Recorded His Own Composition "Mardi Gras". Lutcher's Version Reached # 13 On The R&B Chart But The Tune Became Better Known In Later Modified Versions By Professor Longhair And Fats Domino. He Later Recorded For Peacock Records In Houston Texas And For Several Smaller Labels But With Diminishing Success. In 1953 Lutcher Joined The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Los Angeles And Abandoned The Music Business Refusing To Pay Musicians' Union Dues Because Church Tenets Prohibited Union Membership. In 1957 He Discussed Religious Matters With Little Richard Penniman Following Which During A Tour Of Australia Little Richard Resolved Also To Give Up Playing What Was Described As "the Devil's Music". Lutcher Joined Penniman In Bible Studies And They Toured The Country Together As The Little Richard Evangelistic Team Preaching The Word Of God To Reportedly Enthusiastic Crowds. Lutcher Later Set Up A Gospel Record Shop And A Record Label Jordan Records Which Released Recordings By Himself And By The Gospelaires And The Jordan Gospel Singers. In 1974 He Agreed To Lead The Watts Community Symphony Orchestra In A Series Of Concerts Bringing Him Into Legal Conflict With The Musicians' Union. In Later Years He Refused All Requests To Discuss His Earlier Secular Music Career. He Died In Los Angeles In 2006 Aged 86. read less