I Am The Lord Lord Luther

£12.56

Genre:
Rhythm & Blues
Label:
Ace Records
Format:
CD
Catalogue Id:
CDCHD 1258

The town of Salinas is located two hours south of San Francisco in Monterey Country, an area colloquially known as America’s Salad Bowl, thanks to its rich soil. In the 1950s, the region was also the fertile fiefdom of “Lord Luther” McDaniels, a unique personage who rose from leader of respected vocal group the 4 Deuces to assume the mantle of Bay Area rock royalty. Luther started at the top with ‘W-P-L-J’, but true to his self-effacing demeanour, the man was never hung up on the what-ifs of becoming a record star, and for most of his fifteen years as an entertainer, remained resolutely focused on just that: entertainment.

If Lord Luther was one of the scenes most colourful characters in the 50s and early 60s, he was also amongst its most colourblind, boasting integrated bands and audiences that blended white, black and Hispanic into a happy, thrilled throng. As the writer and lead singer on the Deuces’ bluesy vocal group classic ‘W-P-L-J’, Luther was already known on the local chitlin’ circuit, but it was as a solo artist with a rabble rousing, tremendously exciting stage show that the Lord came into his “comfort zone”. Promoting his own revues on the Monterey Peninsula, Luther was an unpretentious rock’n’roll pioneer, one that many local musicians still reminisce about fondly.

Lord Luther’s vintage catalogue covers a decade’s worth of singles, that stretch from the doo wop of the Deuces to his own unique blend of R&B and rock’n’roll, on highly regarded records like ‘Teenage Creature’, ‘A Thinkin’ Man’s Girl’, ‘Just One More Chance’ and ‘Tremble’. All of these and a host of unissued vintage sides are featured on “I Am The Lord!”, covering the artists collectable recordings for the Music City, Frantic and Gedinsons labels between 1955 and 1964. It’s a crude and crazy rockin’ pot-pourri that is a must for fans of black rock’n’roll. Most importantly, this is the first time his legendary ‘W-P-L-J’ has been officially reissued, with the master tape sound quality that vocal group aficionados have hitherto only been able to dream about.

With continued interest in the Deuces, the Lord has recently returned to the stage, wowing audiences at East Coast doo wop/oldies shows, most of whom know little of the legend of Luther the entertainer, beyond ‘W-P-L-J’. Produced with the singer’s full co-operation with an extensively annotated and illustrated booklet, “I Am The Lord!” thus pays tribute to this fascinating artist, whose vintage recordings capture some of the pioneering excitement of rock’n’roll’s greatest era.

Note: Luther’s $500 Northern rarity ‘My Mistake’ will be featured on an upcoming Kent Records collection, and further sides by the 4 Deuces are slated for Ace’s Music City vocal group series.

By Alec Palao

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Side 1

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We offer free P&P to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

We use Royal Mail First Class for UK deliveries and standard Air Mail for all other territories, very large orders will usually be sent via parcelforce. You may cancel your order at any time prior to your order being dispatched by emailing us at orders@acerecords.com ensuring that you quote your name, address and order reference number or by telephoning +44 (0) 208 453 1311 between 9am and 5pm GMT/BST, Monday to Friday. Please note: As music downloads are dispatched immediately after purchase, there is no possibility of cancelling these orders.

In the event that any products supplied to you by us are damaged or defective, we agree to replace or repair the damaged or defective products or refund the amount you paid for such goods (including postage & packaging) providing you notify us (either via post at or e-mail: orders@acerecords.com ) and return the goods within 28 days of purchase. Physical goods should be sent back to us in the same condition you received them to: “Returns” Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the e-mail address above including a copy of your notification.

You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

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