From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sun Feb 17, 2002  2:18 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Noble Watts
 
NOBLE "THIN MAN" WATTS

Born 17 February 1926, DeLand, Florida

R&B saxophonist. After stints with Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams and
Lionel Hampton, Watts's own recording career commenced in 1954 with
a tasty coupling for DeLuxe ("Mashing Potatoes"/"Pig Ears and Rice").
A 1956 single for Vee-Jay with Williams's band ("South Shore Drive")
came just prior to Watts's salad days on the New York-based Baton label.
With his band, the Rhythm Sparks, in support, Watts wailed "Easy Going,"
"Blast Off," "Shakin'," "Flap Jack," and quite a few more searing
instrumentals for Baton from 1957 to 1959, the biggest of all being "Hard
Times (The Slop)," which propelled the saxist onto the pop charts in
December of 1957 (# 44). Duane Eddy covered the grinding shuffle for
Jamie on his second album. That wasn't Noble Watts's only connection to
rock & roll -- he played behind Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck
Berry, the Everly Brothers, and many more on various late-'50s package
tours.
Things got thin for the Thin Man during the '60s (45s for Sir, Cub, Enjoy,
Peanut, Jell, Clamike, and Brunswick came and went without much notice)
and '70s, but he mounted a comeback bid in 1987 with a fresh album,
"Return of the Thin Man", for Bob Greenlee's King Snake logo (later picked
up by Alligator). "King of the Boogie Sax" followed in 1993 for Ichiban's
Wild Dog imprint. Watts continues to work as a session saxist for Greenlee
when he's not pursuing his own interests.

"Hard Times" is available on the CD "The Golden Age Of American Rock
'n' Roll" (Ace 650).