Oliver Sain

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Oliver Sain
Birth nameOliver Sain Jr.
Born(1932-03-01)March 1, 1932
R&B, blues, disco, jazz
Occupation(s)Saxophonist, bandleader, songwriter, record producer
Years active1949–2003

Oliver Sain Jr. (March 1, 1932 – October 28, 2003)

St Louis, Missouri
.

Biography

He was born in

Howlin’ Wolf where he acted as a drummer intermittently for the following decade. After returning from the United States Army draft, serving in the Korean War, he returned to Greenville, and took up the saxophone to rejoin Love in Little Milton's backing band.[3]

Sain moved to

East St Louis, and over time became Little Milton's musical director, as well as performing occasionally with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm. He recruited Fontella Bass as the Little Milton band's keyboard player, only later discovering her singing talents.[3]

After a few years, Sain left Little Milton's band and installed Fontella Bass and

R&B chart hit, "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" recorded at the Chess studios in Chicago and released on the subsidiary Checker label. The song was later covered by Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, on his solo album Laid Back. After Bass left Sain's band for a solo career, she was replaced by Barbara Carr, who continued to sing with Sain until 1972.[3]

He set up his own recording studio, Archway, in St Louis in 1965, and recorded and produced artists such as the Montclairs and

Hot 100. Sain's recordings, including "Bus Stop'", also became successful in British clubs (though it did not reach the UK singles chart), as a result of which he toured in the UK. His final R&B chart entry in the US came with "Feel Like Dancin'" in 1977.[3]

Sain released two further albums, So Good (In the Morning) (1981) and Fused Jazz (1983), but increasingly concentrated on his work as a producer as well as live performances. In 1982, he produced

W. C. Handy Award. In 1987, he composed and produced Johnnie Johnson's debut album Blue Hand Johnnie.[6] In 1986 and 1987, Sain toured Europe with former Kings of Rhythm members Clayton Love, Billy Gayles, Stacy Johnson and Robbie Montgomery (one of The Ikettes) as part of the St. Louis Kings of Rhythm.[7] They were officially appointed as ambassadors for the City of St. Louis by Mayor Vincent Schoemehl.[8] Sain continued to perform and to undertake studio work despite being diagnosed with bladder cancer in the mid-1990s, and is credited with discovering local singer Kim Massie.[9]

Sain died on October 28, 2003, from

bone cancer, which followed on from previous bladder cancer.[3]

Accolades

In 2019, Sain was inducted into the St. Louis Classic Rock Hall of Fame.[10]

References

  1. ISBN 978-0313344237
    .
  2. ^ "Oliver Sain Page". Soulwalking.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Jason Ankeny. "Oliver Sain | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  4. ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995. Record Research. p. 386.
  6. ^ "Blue Hand Johnnie - Johnnie Johnson | Credits". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Kasten, Roy (May 15, 2017). "Stacy Johnson, Singer with Ike Turner and Benny Sharp and the Sharpees, Has Died". Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  8. ^ Baugh, Bob (June 27, 2018). "Jimmy Hinds: The Sound of St. Louis". KDHX.
  9. ^ Terry Perkins, "Kim Massie came home to sing; others will thank her for that gift", St Louis Public Radio, September 19, 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2016
  10. ^ "St. Louis Classic Rock Hall of Fame Vote - Class of 2019". www.stlouisclassicrock.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
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