Artist

Babs Gonzales

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A limited but enthusiastic singer, Babs Gonzales did what he could to popularize bop. He had brief stints with <a href="spotify:artist:4SPws2VXOmZIiRTp75mzsb">Charlie Barnet</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2PjgZkwAEk7UTin4jP6HLP">Lionel Hampton</a>, and then led his own group (Three Bips & a Bop) during 1946-1949. They recorded 24 numbers during 1947-1949, including the earliest version of "Oop-Pop-A-Da" and such songs as "Weird Lullaby," "A Lesson in Bopology," "Professor Bop," and "Prelude to a Nightmare"; among his sidemen on these dates were <a href="spotify:artist:4w8eKJO83kKgKRLbMKM2zB">Tadd Dameron</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3wtfcI8iPGKBmnalt0013v">Tony Scott</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1tGINpEJVUsQXssRC28ugo">Roy Haynes</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4aEpM8RuVFDhH7ry8TUn4M">James Moody</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3hZ5sdhYTvgrmXIwtVwqmS">J.J. Johnson</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0HthAxjeS1Ce3X62Gqh6Iq">Julius Watkins</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1VEzN9lxvG6KPR3QQGsebR">Sonny Rollins</a> (making his recording debut), <a href="spotify:artist:3GpMtIOC5ZLvMBMI7IxPvA">Art Pepper</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5ncBRFyyylFng7kQJaRXN0">Wynton Kelly</a>, and even <a href="spotify:artist:4xgDy82aqLHAG2Is3ELRWv">Don Redman</a>. However, once the bop "fad" ended, Gonzales became more of a cult figure. He worked with <a href="spotify:artist:4aEpM8RuVFDhH7ry8TUn4M">James Moody</a> (1951-1953), recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:5GXruybcLmXPjR9rKKFyS6">Jimmy Smith</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:52cM6vrM4MJ8g4H7Ibo5fZ">Johnny Griffin</a>, ran his own label (Expubidence), and wrote two autobiographies that were more colorful than accurate. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

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