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Funky 45's
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The Music of
Jerry J. Murray |
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 | Trying
to tell the story of Jerry-O through anything but his records is a fools
game. Even though he recorded regularly for most of the 60's, and even
had a Top 40 hit in 1967, he's a cipher. What we do know, is that
between 1964 and 1971 he was responsible, as a singer, writer and
producer for records that were building blocks of funk. Born in October 1939 in St. Louis, he was first and foremost part of the Chicago scene, but did much of his recording in Detroit. I've seen it mentioned that he was a DJ, though I haven't been able to confirm that. However, some of his running buddies - Bernie Hayes and E. Rodney Jones - were jocks at WVON ('The Voice Of The Negro') the Chess Records owned Chi-Town soul radio giant. It is true that he was writing/producing and releasing records on other acts as early as 1964. That year he took the Dukays (who had recorded 'Duke Of Earl' and seen it released under the name of their lead singer Gene Chandler - who had left by this time) into the studio to record The Jerk b/w Mo' Jerk for his own Jerry-O records. The disc, an upbeat tune reminiscent of the Impressions was a local hit in Chicago. In 1965, he formed the duo Tom & Jerrio with Robert 'Tommy Dark' Tharp, a former member of the Ideals. In 1965 they had their first hit (making it to #11 on the national R&B charts) with their first single Boo-Ga-Loo b/w Boomerang on ABC / Paramount. The tune (vocal a-side, re-titled instrumental on the b) featured what would become Jerry-O trademarks - a strong beat and his constant exclamations of 'Papaaaa-Shooooooo!'. It also got them into legal trouble withBerry Gordy and Motown who claimed the copyright. It's important to note that Jerry-O rarely 'sang', favoring a role as a kind of emcee/rapper calling out dance steps and various funky jive. |
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| Above:
The Dukays with Gene Chandler (top center) and their Jerry-O 45. Right: Tom & Jerrio and their first 45 on ABC/Paramount | ||
