"When Camille played the piano, it stayed played." (30 October 1993)
Camille Howard (1914-1993) was an R&B pianist and singer from Galveston, Texas. She learned her craft at an early age and was a member of a group called the Cotton Tavern Trio for five years. In her teens, she moved to southern California in search of work, and joined Roy Milton in firstly the Roy Milton Trio, which expanded to the Solid Senders after having a big 1945 hit with The R.M Blues. This became a bestseller when reissued on the Juke Box label (later to become Specialty and which would be renowned as Little Richard's home label).
Her style, fast and complex boogie-woogie with dexterous fingerwork and irresistible drive, was first showcased on the track Camille's Boogie, and the single Big Fat Mama / Thrill Me (the latter a vocal number) persuaded Specialty president Art Rupe to allow her to record under her own name, and after X-Temperaneous Boogie, improvised on the spot as the last item in a December 1947 recording session, made her arguably a bigger draw than the band she was with, she went solo, cutting the track she is now probably best remembered for, Fireball Boogie (which Peel would subsequently name as one of his favourite records of all time). In addition, she was fond of updating classical themes to the new style (Song Of India Boogie is a reworking of Rimksy-Korsakov).
She spent the early 50s performing with a host of legendary names including Jimmie Witherspoon, Johnny Ace, Willie Mae Thornton, Joe Tex and Little Willie John. Her decision to leave Specialty in 1953, on the eve of the explosion of rock'n'roll, and sign for Federal, resulted in lower sales but a profile that was still high enough for her to found her own nighclub in Los Angeles (although she left the label shortly afterwards). She made her final recordings for Vee-Jay in 1956. In a twist of irony, the music she presaged, rock'n'roll, would end her career (although her strong religious faith was also a contributory factor), and in later life she was reticent about her career in boogie-woogie.
It is doubly ironic that Peel only discovered her music a few months before her death at the age of almost 79, and in fact initially presumed that she was either dead or extremely elderly. He was immediately struck by the energy inherent in her recordings, and programmed a track a day into his legendary stint in Jakki Brambles' lunchtime spot in April 1993. Additionally, he contrasted another discovery, Conlon Nancarrow, with her by playing the two back to back. In view of this enthusiasm, it is somewhat odd that none of her music was selected for inclusion in the Peelenium, as it contained elements that would drive the early history of rock'n'roll.
Festive Fifty Entries
- None
Sessions
- None
Plays
- Unless otherwise mentioned, all plays come from the compilation CD 'Specialty Legends Of Boogie Woogie' on Ace.
- 1993
- 08 January 1993: 'Instantaneous Boogie / Miraculous Boogie'
- 09 January 1993: Ferocious Boogie (album - Legends Of Boogie-Woogie Speciality Legends Of Boogie Vol. 2) Ace CDCHD 422
- 15 January 1993: 'Fireball Boogie'
- 16 January 1993: 'Million Dollar Boogie'
- 22 January 1993: 'X-Temperaneous Boogie'
- 23 January 1993 (BFBS): 'Instantaneous Boogie'
- 31 January 1993 (BFBS): 'Fireball Boogie'
- 01 February 1993 (Ö3): 'Fireball Boogie'
- 06 February 1993: Ferocious Boogie
- 07 February 1993 (BFBS): 'X-Temperaneous Boogie'
- 12 February 1993: Miraculous Boogie (v/a album - Specialty Legends Of Boogie-Woogie) Ace CDCHD 422
- 19 February 1993: Fireball Boogie
- 21 February 1993 (BFBS): 'Ferocious Boogie'
- 26 February 1993: 'Miraculous Boogie'
- 08 March 1993 (Ö3): 'Fireball Boogie'
- 05 April 1993 (John Peel Is Jakki Brambles): 'Fireball Boogie'
- 06 April 1993 (John Peel Is Jakki Brambles): 'Miraculous Boogie'
- 07 April 1993 (John Peel Is Jakki Brambles): 'X-Temperaneous Boogie'
- 08 April 1993 (John Peel Is Jakki Brambles): 'Instantaneous Boogie'
- 09 April 1993 (John Peel Is Jakki Brambles): 'Ferocious Boogie'
- 11 June 1993: 'Fireball Boogie'
- 26 June 1993: Fire-Ball Boogie (v/a CD Specialty Legends Of Boogie-Woogie) Ace - CDCHD 422
- 30 October 1993: 'Fireball Boogie'
- 1994
- 28 January 1994: You Used To Be Mine CD: Rock Me Daddy ACE CDHCD 511
- Peel's Esoterica: Boogie in "G" (album - Vol. 1: Rock Me Daddy) CDCHD 511 sometime before 19th September 1994
- 10 September 1994: 'Fireball Boogie'
- 1995
- 08 September 1995: 'Fireball Boogie'
- 1996
- 17 February 1996: Miraculous Boogie (v/a album - Specialty Legends Of Boogie-Woogie) Ace CDCHD 422
- 1997
- 16 February 1997: 'Fireball Boogie'
- 1998
- 28 April 1998: 'Instantaneous Boogie'
- 1999
- 06 May 1999: Fireball Boogie (v/a album - Specialty Legends Of Boogie-Woogie) Ace CDCHD 422
- 12 May 1999: Miraculous Boogie (v/a album - Specialty Legends Of Boogie-Woogie) Ace CDCHD 422
- 13 May 1999: Miraculous Boogie (v/a album - Specialty Legends Of Boogie-Woogie) Ace CDCHD 422
- 20 May 1999 (Radio Eins): Miraculous Boogie (v/a album - Specialty Legends Of Boogie-Woogie) Ace CDCHD 422
- 2000
- 04 January 2000: 'Fireball Boogie'
- 16 February 2000: 'Song Of India Boogie (Compilation LP-Rock Me Daddy Vol. 1)' (Ace)
- 19 February 2000 (BFBS): 'Song Of India Boogie (Compilation LP-Rock Me Daddy Vol. 1)' (Ace)
- 01 March 2000: 'Old Baldy Boogie (Compilation LP-Rock Me Daddy Vol. 1)' (Ace)
- 09 March 2000 (Radio Eins): 'Old Baldy Boogie (Compilation LP-Rock Me Daddy Vol. 1)' (Ace)
- 2001
- 29 March 2001: 'Fluff Boogie (LP - X-Temperaneous Boogie)' (Specialty)
- 12 April 2001 (Radio Eins): 'Modulation Boogie (CD - X-Temperaneous Boogie)' (Specialty)
- 19 April 2001: 'Modulation Boogie (CD - X-Temperaneous Boogie)' (Specialty)
- 28 June 2001: X-Temperaneous Boogie' (Pig's Big 78 2001)
- 27 September 2001: 'X-Temperaneous Boogie' (Pig's Big 78 2001)
Others
- Peel January 1993: 'Million Dollar Boogie'
- Peel Out In The States (programme 3): 'Fireball Boogie'