Spread the Social Love:
In 1961, “Quarter to Three” burst through transistor radios with a sound unlike anything else on the AM airwaves. Known as the “Norfolk sound,” its party vibe became the trademark of that Virginia city’s Gary U.S. Bonds. But what did the hip lyrics mean?
The story begins in the early 20th century when fire and brimstone preacher Charles Grace founded the United House of Prayer For All People on Church Street, which ran through the heart of Norfolk’s black neighborhood. Known as Bishop Daddy Grace, the preacher’s highly charged sermons were accompanied by a “shout band.” A church tradition in the southeastern United States, trombone-based shout bands energized the flock with boisterous call-and-response gospel music.
Enter record store owner Frank Guida, who founded the Legrand Records label in 1958 to produce local talent. Hoping to infuse his records with the excitement of the church’s music, Guida built his house band around musicians who had played for Bishop Grace; their name, the Church Street Five, was derived from the church’s address.
One of Legrand’s first artists was a young singer from Jacksonville, Florida named Gary Anderson. The party sound of Norfolk was apparent in his first release, “New Orleans,” but the tiny label’s size made promotion difficult. To generate airplay, Guida changed Anderson’s name to U.S. Bonds as a ploy to trick disc jockeys.
When shipping “New Orleans” to radio stations, Guida would mark the outside of the envelope “By U.S. Bonds,” hoping DJs would mistake the record for a public service announcement and give it a spin. “New Orleans” stormed the Top Ten in 1960, a rousing track that stood out in an era of smooth doo wop harmonies.
But a successful follow-up was hard to come by. Tenor saxophonist Gene Barge had by 1960 joined the Church Street Five; as Daddy “G,” Barge and the band would record a few singles that failed to chart nationally.
Singer-songwriters were rare in the early 1960s, but Bonds would co-write his next big hit. Bonds told AltSounds that he found inspiration in “A Night With Daddy ‘G’,” a two-part instrumental that had been a regional hit for the Church Street Five.
“Guida asked if I could write some lyrics to it. I went, “I think so, OK.” I went into the other room at the studio and wrote down those lyrics. So I came back in, I guess about a half hour later, we all went in and recorded it. And that was it.”
That song, “Quarter to Three,” would top the charts in 1961 and become Bonds’ biggest hit. Its party sound is apparent as soon as the needle hits vinyl, with hand-claps, cross-talk and a raucous count-in to Gene Barge’s honking tenor sax. The party atmosphere, Bonds says, was not faked.
“It wasn’t hard to create this whole party thing because we were already in the party mood. We all hung out at a lot of the clubs together and especially at the little bars together, but when we were at the studio we’d all go and get a half a gallon of whatever we could find and just start playing.”
The unpolished, rough and tumble sound of a Legrand studio track was exactly what Guida wanted: a secular version of the music played at the House of Prayer. Bonds explained that the studio, which only had a two-track recorder, was comprised of one large room, its walls and ceiling covered with cheap soundproofing material. And the booth where Bonds recorded his vocals?
“I did all my vocals in the bathroom,” Bonds revealed. “Most of the time I would sing in there when I had to do the first pass. And the second pass I’d sing out with the band. We didn’t have that many mics. It usually was me and Daddy G and the background singers on one mic.”
“The guitar was separate, but you’d hardly ever hear the guitar anyway in any of the songs. It was all drums and bass and me and Daddy ‘G’.”
Bonds says that “Quarter to Three” was recorded in six or seven takes. “Usually we would just record it until my voice got hoarse and it sounded more interesting when I had that little crackle in my voice.”
Incredibly, Bonds didn’t think “Quarter to Three” would become a hit.
“I hated it, actually. I didn’t know what it was. It was just something loud and raunchy and it didn’t sound right to me,” Bonds said. “It worked, you know. But it wasn’t what I was striving for in the music business. I wanted to be like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson.”
Bonds followed “Quarter to Three” with a string of hits in the 60s that included “School Is Out” and “Dear Lady Twist.” Two decades after he recorded “Quarter to Three,” the song would help rejuvenate his career.
In 1980, Bonds was performing at a New Jersey club, “just doing my regular Holiday Inn act,” when he was told an audience member wanted to join him on stage.
“I said, ‘Sure, bring him up.’ And I mentioned his name over the microphone and the audience went wild. I said, ‘Gee, who the hell is this?’”
It was Bruce Springsteen, who regularly played “Quarter to Three” live as an encore.
“He got up to sing songs and we rocked out for about an hour, hour and a half up there. After that we sat down, had a couple of beers, we became friends and here we are.”
That friendship would lead Springsteen to write “This Little Girl” for Bonds; The Boss and E-Street Band member Steve Van Zandt co-produced the record, which became Bonds’ comeback hit in 1981.
Gary U.S. Bonds and the Roadhouse Rockers will rattle the walls of the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City on Saturday, June 9th during his Fourth Annual Birthday Bash. Special guests include the Soul Survivors and Bobby Bandiera of Bon Jovi.
Don'tcha know that I danced,
I danced till a quarter to three.
A-with the help, that night, with Daddy G.
Everybody was a-happy as a-they could be.
But they were swingin' with a-Daddy G.…
A-let me tell you that I never had it so good.
Yeah, and I know you never could,
Until you get hep an' a-with that jive,
An' dig a band like the Church Street Five.
Enter record store owner Frank Guida, who founded the Legrand Records label in 1958 to produce local talent. Hoping to infuse his records with the excitement of the church’s music, Guida built his house band around musicians who had played for Bishop Grace; their name, the Church Street Five, was derived from the church’s address.
One of Legrand’s first artists was a young singer from Jacksonville, Florida named Gary Anderson. The party sound of Norfolk was apparent in his first release, “New Orleans,” but the tiny label’s size made promotion difficult. To generate airplay, Guida changed Anderson’s name to U.S. Bonds as a ploy to trick disc jockeys.
When shipping “New Orleans” to radio stations, Guida would mark the outside of the envelope “By U.S. Bonds,” hoping DJs would mistake the record for a public service announcement and give it a spin. “New Orleans” stormed the Top Ten in 1960, a rousing track that stood out in an era of smooth doo wop harmonies.
But a successful follow-up was hard to come by. Tenor saxophonist Gene Barge had by 1960 joined the Church Street Five; as Daddy “G,” Barge and the band would record a few singles that failed to chart nationally.
Singer-songwriters were rare in the early 1960s, but Bonds would co-write his next big hit. Bonds told AltSounds that he found inspiration in “A Night With Daddy ‘G’,” a two-part instrumental that had been a regional hit for the Church Street Five.
“Guida asked if I could write some lyrics to it. I went, “I think so, OK.” I went into the other room at the studio and wrote down those lyrics. So I came back in, I guess about a half hour later, we all went in and recorded it. And that was it.”
That song, “Quarter to Three,” would top the charts in 1961 and become Bonds’ biggest hit. Its party sound is apparent as soon as the needle hits vinyl, with hand-claps, cross-talk and a raucous count-in to Gene Barge’s honking tenor sax. The party atmosphere, Bonds says, was not faked.
“It wasn’t hard to create this whole party thing because we were already in the party mood. We all hung out at a lot of the clubs together and especially at the little bars together, but when we were at the studio we’d all go and get a half a gallon of whatever we could find and just start playing.”
The unpolished, rough and tumble sound of a Legrand studio track was exactly what Guida wanted: a secular version of the music played at the House of Prayer. Bonds explained that the studio, which only had a two-track recorder, was comprised of one large room, its walls and ceiling covered with cheap soundproofing material. And the booth where Bonds recorded his vocals?
“I did all my vocals in the bathroom,” Bonds revealed. “Most of the time I would sing in there when I had to do the first pass. And the second pass I’d sing out with the band. We didn’t have that many mics. It usually was me and Daddy G and the background singers on one mic.”
“The guitar was separate, but you’d hardly ever hear the guitar anyway in any of the songs. It was all drums and bass and me and Daddy ‘G’.”
Bonds says that “Quarter to Three” was recorded in six or seven takes. “Usually we would just record it until my voice got hoarse and it sounded more interesting when I had that little crackle in my voice.”
Incredibly, Bonds didn’t think “Quarter to Three” would become a hit.
“I hated it, actually. I didn’t know what it was. It was just something loud and raunchy and it didn’t sound right to me,” Bonds said. “It worked, you know. But it wasn’t what I was striving for in the music business. I wanted to be like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson.”
Bonds followed “Quarter to Three” with a string of hits in the 60s that included “School Is Out” and “Dear Lady Twist.” Two decades after he recorded “Quarter to Three,” the song would help rejuvenate his career.
In 1980, Bonds was performing at a New Jersey club, “just doing my regular Holiday Inn act,” when he was told an audience member wanted to join him on stage.
“I said, ‘Sure, bring him up.’ And I mentioned his name over the microphone and the audience went wild. I said, ‘Gee, who the hell is this?’”
It was Bruce Springsteen, who regularly played “Quarter to Three” live as an encore.
“He got up to sing songs and we rocked out for about an hour, hour and a half up there. After that we sat down, had a couple of beers, we became friends and here we are.”
That friendship would lead Springsteen to write “This Little Girl” for Bonds; The Boss and E-Street Band member Steve Van Zandt co-produced the record, which became Bonds’ comeback hit in 1981.
Gary U.S. Bonds and the Roadhouse Rockers will rattle the walls of the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City on Saturday, June 9th during his Fourth Annual Birthday Bash. Special guests include the Soul Survivors and Bobby Bandiera of Bon Jovi.
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