From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sat Oct 12, 2002  1:23 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Nappy Brown

NAPPY BROWN (By Jean-Marc Pezet)

Born Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp, 12 October 1929, Charlotte,
North Carolina

Nappy's father was a deacon in the Mount Zion Baptist Church and
disapproved when young Nappy slipped away to watch jazz and blues
shows by such as Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway, Lucky Millinder and
Roy Brown. However, Nappy first followed his father's path and joined
a gospel group called The Golden Crowns featuring his cousins. He
soon joined The Golden Bell Quintet with whom he probably made his
recording debut and then The Selah Jubilee Singers out of Raleigh, NC,
in the early 1950s, with whom he toured heavily for a few years. He finally
joined The Heavenly Lights who auditioned for Savoy Records.
But Nappy was eager to go secular, as playing the blues meant money.
He was discovered by Savoy A&R man Freddie Mendelsohn, and by January
1954, had signed a contract with Savoy. The first recording session took
place in March 1954 (at the same time as also recording with The Heavenly
Lights).
The first single "That Man"/"I Wonder" shows a mature Nappy with a huge
and powerful voice, accompanied by the best New York session men (Al
Sears, Sam Taylor, Mickey Baker). However, it was another single, "Don't Be
Angry", from 1955, originally written by Nappy, and which first showed off his
trademark "Lili Lili" gimmick , that gave him his first hit, reaching # 2 on the
R&B and # 25 on the pop chart. The follow up, "(My Heart Goes) Pitter, Patter"
rose to # 10 on the R&B chart.
Nappy hadn't signed the most artist-friendly contract, and with lack of
recording royalties, had to hit the road. He was booked in package shows
and travelled all over the country. Hard life led to booze.
During this time, Nappy returned once or twice a year to the studio, but the
hits fell dry. His last big one for Savoy was "Night Time Is The Right",
apparently an old standard from the 1930s that Nappy revived and that was
copied note for note by Ray Charles, who grabbed the hit.
He continued recording and touring during the early 60s. He also reportedly
had some problems with the law and seems to also have gone a bit "out of
control" during this period. Anyway, his career was revived when he was
contacted by the Swedish label Route 66 in 1979. He made appearances on
the blues circuit in Europe and made some more recordings for Landslide,
Ichiban, New Moon and Black Top.
Nappy's music is deeply rooted in Gospel and Rhythm & Blues and represents
an essential link to 60s Soul.

Recommended listening:
"Night Time Is The Right Time" Double CD Atlantic-Savoy 92908-2, 2000
(There is also a CD release from 1994, "Don't Be Angry" on Savoy Jazz
SV-0259, which appeared previously on vinyl in 1984. 16 tracks.)
More info: http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/NapBrown.html
Official website: http://www.nappybrown.com