Song:Romance Without Finance
Album:Still Stompin' At The Savoy
Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes may have been the first bebop guitarist. He is probably best known for having Charlie Parker in his band in 1944. they recorded several songs including Romance Without Finance. Grimes sings on the record. But on the video, he has a girl singer and no Parker. Well, at least you get to see Grimes play guitar. He was born July 7, 1916 in Newport News, VA. The electric guitar was new at the time and Grimes took it up after hearing Charlie Christian. Before that he played piano and drums. I guess his big gig before starting his own band was with Art Tatum in 1943. Grimes signed with Savoy and he recorded as Tiny Grimes Quintette with Charlie Parker on alto sax, Harold "Doc" West on drums, Jimmy Butts on bass and Sir Charles Thompson. Red Prysock replaced Parker after Parker started his own band. They recorded mostly instrumentals except for two songs including Romance Without Finance. Grimes sings it on the record but when they made the Soundie, they wanted a girl singer. I don't know who she is and I don't know if she ever recorded with Grimes. It may have been recorded just for the Soundie. But as I said, at least you get to see Grimes play guitar. The Grimes recordings turn up on some Parker Savoy sessions box sets. If you are new to bebop, try this various artists comp. Grimes continued to lead his own groups and play as a sideman for other jazz greats. He died on Mar. 4, 1989 at age 72. He's a forgotten legend of electric guitar and certainly he is worth checking out. Here's the Soundie for Romance Without Finance by Tiny Grimes.
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