With a psychedelic brand of soul and a vocal style that drew comparisons to Otis Redding, the 300-400 pound Baby Huey was set to break out of the Chicago scene with the release of his debut album. Unfortunately, his weight... more » and taste for drugs resulted in a fatal heart attack that prevented him from seeing the release of the disc. Featuring Curtis Mayfield's Hard Times and Mighty Mighty Children plus a cover of Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come,Baby Huey's lone album (recorded in 1970 and released in 1971) has become a sought-after collectible among soul fanatics.« less
With a psychedelic brand of soul and a vocal style that drew comparisons to Otis Redding, the 300-400 pound Baby Huey was set to break out of the Chicago scene with the release of his debut album. Unfortunately, his weight and taste for drugs resulted in a fatal heart attack that prevented him from seeing the release of the disc. Featuring Curtis Mayfield's Hard Times and Mighty Mighty Children plus a cover of Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come,Baby Huey's lone album (recorded in 1970 and released in 1971) has become a sought-after collectible among soul fanatics.
CD Reviews
A soul/blues.funk/psychedelic classic.
Ferguson | Evolving | 08/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"'Huey, a chicago native, was a protege of Curtis Mayfield (who produced this album and released it via his Curtom imprint) and somewhat of an eccentric. He was 400 pounds, had a huge afro, a King Tut beard and dressed flamboyantly. The picture on the back of this album is priceless : him in a pinstripe suit with a huge ankle length robe over it standing reading a cookbook. He recorded a handul of singles and died of a heartattack aged 26 before this album came out in 1970
He took his cues from Chicago groups like The Impressions (the group Curtis Mayfield fronted before going solo), Mayfield himself, the psychedelic blues albums by Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf released on legendary Chicago label Chess Records in the late 60's and then mixed them with some raw, ballsy Stax soul via Booker T & The M.G's melting pot to create something that only Mayfield, Issac Hayes, James Brown, Funkadelic and Sly Stone managed to better.
You have the driving, gritty soul of "listen to me" & "hard times", the funked-up psychedelic blues of "mighty mighty" & "runnin'" (which Mayfield wrote and later recorded but the Huey original is the definitive version), instrumental jams like "mama get yourself together" & "one dragon, two dragon" and, finally, you have what have to be two of the greatest cover versions ever recorded : his funked up version of "california dreamin'" and his staggering 9 minute + version of Sam Cooke's "a change is gonna come" which has to be heard to be believed.
Rap fiends should definately check this album as it's been sampled to death over the years and "listen to me" was a party favorite back in the days of Bronx block parties in the 70's. If you're a fan of blues or Hendrix and would like to start investigating soul/funk but find James Brown too dancefloor friendly or Marvin Gaye too polished then this would a good starter along with the first 3 Curtis Mayfield studio albums."
One of the greatest soul singers that ever lived.!
SOLOMON J NASSER | New York, New York USA | 11/03/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jimmy was his real name, an unbelievable performer. I had the pleasure of listening to him, and the babysitters back in the late 60s early 70s. I worked at a club in New York City I was the sound man for the club, where they were at the opening act for two weeks. The first couple of days was for James Brown, but Mr. Brown after listening to him perform. He refused to go on stage, because the four piece band that made up the babysitters sounded a hundred times better than the 17 piece band that Mr. Brown had with him at the time. If you decide to purchase this album, I assure you, you will not be disappointed. I am extremely happy to find this album on Amazon. I have purchased four copies of it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, because it has been a long time since I heard it. I lost the original LP on my one of my moves about 27 years ago. Thank you Amazon for having it. One more thing he used to have a rap on stage, that was. I may not be brother James Brown on my feet. But when it comes to taking care of business in the sheets I am an expert, the other was I am like Southern fried chicken I am finger licking good. He weighed over 400 pounds."
Great Album! What's with the title?
curtis martin | Redmond, WA, USA | 10/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Why did they name the album "The Living Legend" if he died before it came out?
Besides that oddity, this is one GREAT album that any soul/funk/r&b lover will love!"
Straight from Richmond Indiana...
Louisa Wimberley | Northern Virginia | 01/07/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this CD for my boyfriend's father who grew up in Richmond Indiana with James Ramey(Baby Huey). Ramey's mother worked for my boyfriend's father and when Ramey passed he was a pallbearer at his funeral. My boyfriend's father said he used to go to Baby Huey and the Babysitter shows all the time but couldn't recall if they'd ever put an album out. For Christmas this year I did a little research and found this album and had to purchase it for him. There are a few tracks on Youtube that I listened to before the album arrived in the mail. It is some really great music. Funky and soulful and boy can Baby Huey scream!"
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1