[Deathwatch] Huey Long, musician, 105

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Former Ink Spot guitarist Huey Long dies at 105
By MONICA RHOR
June 12, 2009

HOUSTON ? Huey Long, a jazz guitarist whose sprawling career included
stints with musical giants Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker and as
part of the famed Ink Spots vocal group, has died. He was 105.

Long died Wednesday in a nursing home in Houston, surrounded by his
daughter, Anita Long, and the female caregivers who often called him
"Poppa," his daughter said Friday.

In his final moments, Long listened as his daughter sang melodies they
once harmonized on, including the Ink Spot classics "If I Didn't Care"
and "I'll Get By." During her rendition of "Amazing Grace," Long shed a
single tear, his daughter said.

"Music was always a mainstay for him," said Long, who opened a museum
in Houston dedicated to preserving her father's musical legacy. "The
music, that was his life. If it didn't have to do with music, he wasn't
interested."

Long was first drawn to music as a teenager when a group of minstrels
visited his hometown of Sealy, a small Texas town about 20 miles west
of Houston. He began playing the banjo and joined the Frank Davis
Louisiana Jazz Band in the mid-20s.

In the 1930s, Long ? by then a guitarist ? went to Chicago where he
recorded with pianist Lil Armstrong and joined with Fletcher
Henderson's orchestra, who brought him to New York in 1943.

There, Long joined Earl "Fatha" Hines, whose big band included
Gillespie, Parker and Sarah Vaughn. In 1945, Long was leading his own
trio when vocalist Bill Kenny invited him to join the Ink Spots, whose
velvet harmonies and flashy performing style had helped them become one
of the first black groups to gain acceptance among white listeners.

The Ink Spots, whose recordings included "My Prayer," "I Cover the
Waterfront" and "Java Jive" and others later reinvented for newer
generations, were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1987 and
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. They are often credited
with having a direct influence on the evolution of doo wop groups and
rhythm and blues.

After his stint with the Ink Spots, Long went on to form his own combo
and studied music in California. He also lead a version of the Ink
Spots in the 1960s.

But for Long, the high point of his career was his time as a teacher in
New York City, his daughter said.

"That was the pinnacle for him in a lot of ways," she said. "Teaching
was truly something that was his passion. He did that with everyone who
came in front of him."

In his final years, Long often sat with his daughter in the museum
named after him, The Original Huey "Ink Spot" Long Living History Music
Museum, directing her where to place pieces of his musical memorabilia.
He also delighted in every milestone. On April 25, his last birthday,
Anita Long recalled, he looked forward with glee to his birthday cake.

Funeral arrangements are pending as Anita Long, whose savings went to
support her father and the museum, seeks assistance for her father's
burial. In addition to his daughter, Long is survived by two sons, Rene
and Shiloh Long, of San Jose, Calif.

Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary