From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Sep 17, 2002  1:18 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Sil Austin
 
SIL AUSTIN (By Dave Penny)

Born Sylvester Austin, 17 September 1929, Dunnellon, Florida
Died 1 September 2001, Atlanta, Georgia

(Obituary, first published on the Rockinrecords list, message 7453, Sept. 7,
2001)

Sil Austin, one of the great r&b tenormen, died on 1st September in
Atlanta of natural causes. He was 71.
Born Sylvester Austin on 17th September 1929 in Dunnellon, a small Florida
town about 25 miles south-west of Ocala, young Sil moved north to New York
City in 1941 to live with his uncle. He caused a sensation playing "Danny
Boy" at one of the Apollo's infamous amateur nights in 1948 and in short
order joined Roy Eldridge's band. A spell in Cootie Williams' Orchestra
followed, but he remained largely obscure until he was hired by Tiny
Bradshaw in early 1953 where he recorded such classic r&b instrumentals
as "Ping Pong", "Later" and "Spider Web". He can also be heard on The
Midnighters' "Sexy Ways" session from 1954.
Having made his name, he left to pursue his own career in June 1954,
recording for Jubilee (cf: "Titanic" - Westside WESM 539) and Mercury (cf:
"Swingsation" - Verve CD 5478762), scoring a #3 r&b hit and a #17 Pop hit
with "Slow Walk" in late 1956. During his long tenure with Mercury (1956-64)
he starred on recording by Buddy Johnson and Red Prysock as well as
enjoying regional hits with "Balin' Wire", "Birthday Party" and "Shufflin'
Home" but nothing to match "Slow Walk".
After leaving Mercury, Sil moved into the lucrative jazz and funk (and even
disco!) markets, recording extensively for Shelby Singleton's SSS Records
in the 1960s and 1970s, scoring a minor hit with the LP "Honey Sax" in 1974
(the best of his SSS material can be found on "Great Sax" - Sun SRC CD
70122). The 1980s were quiet for Sil, but in 1990 he re-emerged as one of
the Tri-Saxual Soul Champs, whose Black Top album "Go Girl!" was very well
received.