Crown Prince Waterford

About

Also known as, Charles Waterford, he was born in Jonesboro, AR October 26, 1916, and was encouraged in his singing career by his parents, who were musicians. By his late teens he was living in Oklahoma City, and in 1936 sang there with Leslie Sheffield's Rhythmaires, a band that included guitarist Charlie Christian, bassist Abe Bolar and drummer Monk McFay. After auditioning in Chicago for Andy Kirk's 12 Clouds of Joy, he joined that band and performed with them as a blues shouter in the late 1930s and early 1940s. By 1944 he was appearing regularly in Chicago nightclubs. He joined Jay McShann's band as a replacement for vocalist Walter Brown, and recorded several tracks with the band for the Philo label in Los Angeles, including "Crown Prince Boogie," after which he started billing himself as "The Crown Prince Of The Blues". He recorded for King Records in Cincinnati in 1949, with both Harold Land and his All-Stars and Joe Thomas, but later only recorded intermittently. He recorded for Excello in 1959, and in the early 1960s attempted to cash in on the twist craze with recordings for the Orbit label credited to "Crown Prince Waterford and his Twistologists". He died February 1, 2007 in Jacksonville, FL