R.I.P.: Lloyd Price, "Mr. Personality' R&B Artist

Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933-May 6, 2021)

Lloyd Price, the ‘50s R&B vocalist whose early singles were among the first to attract attention from the nascent rock ‘n’ roll audience, died Thursday. He was 88, reports Variety.

Maxwell Entertainment owner Rickey Poppell posted the news on Facebook, saying, “My friend and Lloyd Price’s manager, Tom Trapani, just called to let me know that our friend, Lloyd, passed away last night. Those of us close to Lloyd have been keeping his declining health issues to our selves for the past five years, while Tom kept me up to date along the way. Lloyd was one of the sweetest, caring and kindest man I’ve ever known, I’ll miss him. My prayers go out to his lovely wife, Jackie.”

The New Orleans-born singer burst onto the national scene in 1952 with his first single, the self-penned “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” for the L.A.-based label Specialty Records. Bearing the distinctive Crescent City “stroll” rhythm – the product of an arrangement featuring pianist Fats Domino and drummer Earl Palmer of Dave Bartholomew’s studio band – it leaped to No. 1 on the national R&B chart.

In an interview with writer Andy Schwartz that prefaced his 1998 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Price noted how his hit broke new ground with listeners who previously hadn’t cocked an ear to black music.

Four more top-five R&B singles succeeded that initial hit, but Price’s career screeched to a halt when he was drafted in 1953. Upon his return from the Army, he discovered that in his absence Specialty had devoted its attentions to a wild piano-pounding singer from Georgia: Little Richard.

Seven other 45s – including the chart-toppers “Personality” (which inspired Price’s professional nickname “Mr. Personality”) and “I’m Gonna Get Married,” from 1959 – reached the R&B top 10 through 1960. The modern soul sound displaced Price, but he continued to record through the ‘60s on his own Double L and Turntable imprints.

In later years, Price diversified into other lines of work – building low-income housing, marketing a line of Southern soul food – but he never gave up performing. He issued a new album, “This is Rock and Roll,” in 2017.

Dropping out of high school to pursue music full-time, Price secured a gig for the Blue Boys on New Orleans station WBOK, home of DJ James “Okey Dokey” Smith.