Baby Huey & The Babysitters

The Indiana-born Baby Huey is the quintessential lost soul hero, having lived a life littered with tragedy, substance abuse and remarkable music. In 1963, James Ramey (who called himself Baby Huey after a "gigantic and naïve" animated duck created in the early fifties), organist/trumpeter Melvin "Deacon" Jones, and guitarist Johnny Ross founded a band called Baby Huey & the Babysitters, which became a popular local act. They released several 45 singles, including "Beg Me", "Monkey Man", "Messin' with the Kid" and "Just Being Careful". Weighing in at a mighty 350 pounds (rising to 400 at the time of his premature death from a heart attack at the age of 26 in October 1970), Huey cut his teeth on the mid-'60's Chicago soul scene until 1969, when he met Curtom Record's boss Curtis Mayfield, who was impressed with the young singer's vocal range. Subsequent recording sessions saw Huey fall further into rampant heroin addiction, which contributed to his death prior to the release of the "The Living Legend", the only full-length album Huey ever recorded. Today it is a sought-after slice of psychedelic soul, defined by a stunning cover of Sam Cookes "A Change Is Gonna Come" which boasts a clear afrodelic Sly Stone influence during its nine minute-plus running time. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.