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Big Al Downing
One Of A Kind
Hayden's Ferry Records
By B.J. Weikert
 There's been
a rich history of black artists doing country music that goes
way back to the beginning of The Grand Ole Opry when Deford Baily
blew harp and had the listeners enthralled with his "Pan
American Blues." Baily was one of the Opry's most beloved
performers and appeared on the show during a career that lasted
fifteen years (1926-1941). During the string-band era, African-American
jug-bands such as Taylor's Kentucky Boys, The Georgia Yellow
Hammers, The Dallas String Band, and The Memphis Sheiks were
displaying elements of early country music with their fiddles,
banjos and finger-picked guitars. Leadbelly, with his mastery
of the 12 string guitar played many different styles of song
and several were in a country music vein, examples being "Midnight
Special" and "Rock Island Line." Many soul music
artists dipped into the country western songbook during the 60's
and 70's. Wynonie Harris did Hank Penny's "Bloodshot Eyes"
and Fats Domino covered Hank William's "You Win Again".
The Supremes released an album entitled The Supremes Sing
Country, Western and Pop and Ray Charles released Modern
Sounds In Country And Western Music, Volumes I & II.
Charley Pride, America's foremost modern black country singer
released his first single "Snakes" without a publicity
photo. Everyone thought he was white, and when he walked out
on stage the first time he opened his show with "Ladies
and gentlemen, I realize it's a little unique me coming out here
on a country show wearing this permanent tan." It didn't
matter; he had already gained the majority of country fan's respect..
Other black artists who have made country music are Stoney Edwards,
with "Hank And Lefty Raised My Country Soul," O.B.
McClinton.doing "Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You."
Dobie Grey singing "From Where I Stand" and Barrence
Whitfield covering "Irma Jackson," a song originally
written by Merle Haggerd about a white man in love with a black
woman. Then, around about 1958 on the small Challenge Records
label, a black artist who went by the name of Big Al Downing
released what was to become a rockabilly standard, "Down
On The Farm." Although a rockabilly song, it carried the
weight of a lot of country songs that had been listened to while
Big Al Downing was indeed: "down on the farm."
Big Al Downing was born in Centralia, Oklahoma in 1940, but
grew up on a farm in Lenapah. As Big Al worked driving truckloads
of hay and alfalfa all day, he would listen to the radio incessantly.
He listened mostly to Country music and rhythm and blues. He
listened to the likes of Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams and Porter
Wagoner over WSM's Grand Ole Opry. He also tuned in Fats Domino
and other Louisiana R&B artists broadcast over Nashville's
WLAC. These two genres would soon meld to become the centerpiece
of Big Al's entire career, which is still going strong after
fifty years.
Big Al started out singing in the gospel choir at about the
age of ten with his father and 11 brothers and sisters. It was
around this time that the family found a broken down piano at
a dump and loaded it up into the truck to take home to be used
as firewood. Big Al intervened at the thought of the instrument
going up in smoke, and eventually taught himself to play the
old piano, even though it was missing several keys. There also
came a day when Big Al walked over to an 80 year black woman's
house who taught piano to try his hand at some lessons. After
hearing Big Al play for a bit, she stopped him abruptly and dismissed
him with these words: "Son, you've got a gift from God,
and I ain't touchin' that!" Later on at the age of 14, Big
Al won a talent contest singing Fats Domino's "Blueberry
Hill." In later years Domino himself would record two hit
songs written by Downing, "Mary, Oh Mary" and "Heartbreak
Hill."
Downing's considerable talents were soon recognized and he
was asked to join up with a Rockabilly Band called The Poe Kats.
This band eventually managed to become the backing band for up
and coming rockabilly philly Wanda Jackson. Being a black artist
in an all white rockabilly band during the 1950s must have been
a daunting undertaking indeed and Big Al says, "Very often
after a show, they would have to smuggle me into the motel room
in the bass fiddle body bag." It was while playing with
Wanda Jackson that Big Al had the opportunity to open for such
Country stars as Red Sovine, Dottie West, Don Gibson and Marty
Robbins, for whom Big Al also recorded.
After a bit of flailing around in the 70's doing rock, sentimental
and disco stuff, Big Al decided to return to his roots and in
1978 he signed to the Warner label. Al recorded several hit singles
during this period but Warner refused to finance a full album
of material, nor would any other Nashville labels. This was the
beginning of Big Al's disillusionment with the music business.
Downing says, "They'd tell me I was black and that it was
a handicap. That isn't a handicap; a handicap would be if I couldn't
sing. That was just plain prejudice." He also went on to
say, "It's not the fans, it's the people who put up the
money. They'd tell me that there wasn't a market for a black
guy singing country music anymore. But I refused to let that
get me down. You can't do shows and watch white audiences give
you standing ovations, and then have some guy sittin' on his
butt in a suit tell you that you're not marketable." Not
marketable? Downing wrote every one of his top 20 hits, which
are "Touch Me (I'll Be Your Fool Once More)," which
peaked at No. 18 in 1979, "Mr. Jones" which peaked
at No. 20 in 1979, and "Bring It On Home", which peaked
at No. 20 in 1980.. Big Al had 15 Billboard Country Chart Hits
between 1979 and 1989 and he was also named Billboard Magazine's
Number One New Male Country Singles Artist in 1979.
Now we have One Of A Kind, Big Al's first album of
all new material since 1994's Back To My Roots. This is
a satisfying album that incorporates everything that's made Big
Al the artist he is up to this day-- mostly country, rhythm and
blues and a little rockabilly. In his fifth decade Big Al is
still going strong as ever, and One Of A Kind glows with
his giant personality. You can sense his big, barrel-chested
laughter in these songs, and the fact that he's just plain enjoying
himself and making the kind of music that he loves is self-evident
on every track.
The opening track, "Home Town America" is a moving
tribute to the country many of us call home and take for granted.
The song's lyrics are agreeably descriptive of various regional
settings and never bogs down into over-sentimentality. Big Al
gives a nod to the American Indians as well as the veterans who
have fought in wars for this nation and his gratitude rings of
truth.
'Cause we're hometown America proud to live in America
Born and raised in America the land of the free
God bless America
So beautiful is America
Any place in America is hometown to me
"A cigarette, A Bottle And A Jukebox" is straight
up honky-tonkin' at it's best. This song shows off Downing's
ability to write a country song that could have playing on the
radio in 1945. If I hadn't known that Downing wrote this one,
I'd think that I was listening to an old Ernest Tubb or Lefty
Frizzle tune. This is Big Al at his best.
"Jesus It's Only Me Johnny" is a gospel type ballad
that makes an important statement about how one leads one's life
and how one turns to prayer in time of trouble. The song follows
"Johnny" from child-hood to adulthood and then to his
deathbed, and the ending of this one will make that little devil
on your left shoulder take a leap. "Talkin' The Talk"
is solid southern soul that brings to mind Al Green and some
of those other 1970s Motown and Stax artists.
Next we get "I'm Too Green To Be Blue." This song
is an indictment against prejudice and unjustness in today's
society and how we all need to get our priorities straight and
wise-up. When Big Al sings this one with his distinctive, full-size
emotive voice, you can't help but perk up and listen.
People dying in the streets
Children abused and crying in their sleep
There's no strolling through the park anymore
Everyone's afraid of living, even behind locked doors
Kids getting high and skipping out of school
A whole generation of uneducated fools
"Joe's Truck Stop" lightens the mood with Big Al's
tribute to truck drivers. This song is another honky-tonk style
country number that's funny, danceable and a bit bawdy with lyrics
such as the following, "Both the girls and the coffee come
in oversize cups" and later, "Ain't nothing beats making
love in an eighteen wheeler." Yehah! Fasten your seatbelt
for the next cut. "Boogie Woogie Roll" is a great piano
boogie number that brings to mind the likes of Fats Domino and
will have ya cutting a rug in no time at all. If you don't like
this one you must be wearing a toe-tag.
"She's A Miracle To Me" is a love song written by
Big Al to his wife. You can really tell by Downing's delivery
of this one that he means every word. The country weeper "Goodbye
My Love" has George Jones written all over it and the tragic
love lyrics work well. "I'm Raising Hell" is another
hard country winner that goes on all about heaven and hell, drinking,
juke-boxes, loose women and the devil kicking you in the behind,
in a nutshell: all the things that make hard country songs so
damn intoxicating. The final cut on the album is "Rock Me
Baby." This song is Big Al trying his hand at the blues,
it's okay but it's evident to me that Blues is not Big Al's strong
point. He was probably just having some fun though, since it's
the final track on the album. All in all this is a great album
and return to form that goes to show that Big Al Downing is as
good as he ever was, if not better.
Although black country music artists are relatively rare,
especially in today's marketability arena, there must be a niche
for them somewhere; it's just not on corporate country radio.
Big Al has a lot of fans that appreciate his music and would
pay to see and hear him play his songs, but the majority of these
fans are overseas, particularly in European countries. I'm hoping
that the release of his new album One Of A Kind on Hayden's
Ferry Records will open a few more doors for him, and perhaps
develop further interest in his brand of country music, stateside.
Contact BJ Weikert at bj-at-rockzilla.net
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