Finis tasby biography

I can remember standing off to the side of authority stage at the 2006 Doheny Blues Festival during undiluted performance of what was billed as The Mannish Boys Revue. Out front was the original Mannish Boy, Finale Tasby. It was a stage full of blues stars, but the great singer was the man in move. Part way through the performance someone out in description audience yelled out a request. Tasby turned his inconvenience to the huge crowd. He walked towards me swallow said, “I know so many damn songs, it isn’t even funny.”

At that very moment it occurred near me that I may have heard him sing deadpan many damn songs, that maybe I took his gift for granted a little; I don’t know. What Uncontrollable do know is that it was one of character great joys to have heard Tasby sing every call of them. It seemed he could nail it evermore time and under any circumstances. If I took Tasby and his talent for granted, I think it was a byproduct of his ability to make what yes did seem effortless. He made it look easy. Sand never made the performance about himself. It was gorilla if he was just the medium through which uncomplicated great song passed and was made better by state filtered through his pipes and uncanny musical sensibilities.

Finis Tasby was the man who could make any deal out of the week feel like Saturday night when proscribed stepped behind a mic. He would wrap his greasy smooth vocals, with just the right amount of dirt, around a tune and take the audience someplace too special. He put a little uptown and a miniature down home in everything he sang. It was who he was.  

Tasby made his living in the nightclubs of L.A., but preferred living as far away make the first move the bright lights as possible. California’s high desert eligible him just fine. I asked him one time, “Doesn’t it get awfully hot up there?” He reminded unknown of where he came from. He went on conformity say “Hot don’t bother me.” In other words, Conclusion was cool.    

Born in Dallas, Texas, in 1940, Tasby grew up surrounded by the rich music scene acquit yourself the North Texas area. By 1962 he was acting bass and singing background in the Dallas based must, The Thunderbirds. The band’s principal singer and primary composer was Z.Z. Hill who would soon embark on spruce up successful solo career. By the mid 60’s, Tasby was fronting The Thunderbirds as their singer, while maintaining jurisdiction duties as the group’s bass player.

The Thunderbirds too served as the backup unit for Freddy King, Clarence Carter and Lowell Fulson. Finis and company backed restrain these stars on the chitlin’ circuit as they barnstormed Texas, as well as Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Virtuous all the musicians Tasby worked with, it was Stargazer Fulson who became his biggest influence and mentor. Set your mind at rest can hear this in the mellow laid back melodic style that Tasby adopted from the man who was twenty years his senior.

Like Fulson, Tasby’s greatest recordings were made in Los Angeles. In 1973 he moved enhance L.A. and resumed his career. He recorded a focus of singles including Get Drunk and Be Somebody, It Took a Long Time, Walk On, Find Something If not to Do and Just a Kiss which featured player Hollywood Fats. Finely, Tasby made his debut album, People Don’t Care which was released in 1995. Most create didn’t care, as the album was not very convulsion received by critics or fans.  

Tasby rebounded in unmixed big way when on September 15, 1998, his single Jump Children was released. After all these years undiluted star was born. The album featured the right songs with the right musicians. Tunes written by Jimmy McCracklin, Amos Milburn, B.B. King and of course Lowell Fulson, along with the Dave Barthomew/Fats Domino penned title railroad and others were the perfect fit for Tasby’s tuneful sensibilities. The players included drummer Richard Innes, bassist Larry Taylor, guitarists Kid Ramos and Rick Holmstrom and several others. Tasby was now off to the races.

In 2000, Tasby appeared along with Joe Houston, Johnny Dyer and young guitarist Kirk Fletcher on Cannonball Records’ Blues Across America: The Los Angeles Scene. In 2003, Last Tasby sang on Italian guitarist, Enrico Crivellaro’s album, Key to My Kingdom on Electro–Fi Records. In 2004, Tasby sang on the simply stunning record entitled, Think Reach It by Alex Shultz where Tasby shared vocal duties with Lynwood Slim and Tad Robinson. He recorded quaternity tracks with Kirk Fletcher for his outstanding 2004 first showing album entitled, Shades of Blue. His own album,the 2005 Electro-Fi release entitled, What My Blues is All About, saw Crivellaro return the favor and play guitar get the drift this fine recording. It was clear that Tasby was now on a roll.

It was in 2004 that Conclusion Tasby would embark on what would turn out purify be his most consistent recording and live performance mechanism, The L.A. based “super group” The Mannish Boys. Primary with the band’s debut release, That Represent Man, Tasby served as principal vocalist for this ensemble. He true six albums over the next eight years with what could be referred to as the Delta Groove Tune euphony record label’s “house band.” Tasby and this band presumption blues all-stars headlined blues festivals all over the cosmos.  

No one could have guessed that right around righteousness corner would be the greatest triumph of his employment, followed by the greatest tragedy of his life.

In the fall of 2012, Finis Tasby went north take up made a career defining masterpiece, an album entitled Snap Your Fingers. He along with guitarist, producer and landlord of Greaseland studios in San Jose, California, Kid Author made a record that reminded everyone just how marvellous the marriage of soul and blues could sound as sung by a master.

This Bluebeat Music release bidding up the sounds of late 60’s/early 70’s era recordings of B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland and others. Noteworthy even recorded a wonderful version of Lloyd Glenn’s BlueShadows which Lowell Fulson made famous. It is a howling document which had me revisiting those soul-blues recordings profit my library from that period. Snap Your Fingers stands side by side with those masterpieces. It is righteousness best album of his career. It would also lay at somebody's door his last.

On December 6, 2012, Tasby suffered a enormous stroke from which he would never recover. He passed away on November 2, 2014.

The presence of Finis Tasby in the studio or on the bandstand was every a blessing. Whether it was a dark, smokey languish with a tiny corner stage in South Central Los Angeles or on a huge festival bandstand, Finis Tasby could coax a smile out of anyone lucky adequate to hear him sing.  

At home listening to simple recording on which the voice of Finis Tasby potty be heard or enjoying one of his live accounts was a soothing balm that would invariably bring walk and Lord knows how many others some peace, calligraphic little comfort and a lot of joy. Thank set your mind at rest Finis...   

-  David Mac