Cecil Gant
| Cecil Gant | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Pvt. Cecil Gant "The G.I. Sing-sation" Gunter Lee Carr |
| Born |
April 4, 1913 Columbia, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | February 4, 1951 (aged 37) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | R&B, blues, boogie-woogie |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, pianist, songwriter |
| Years active | 1930s–1951 |
| Labels | Bronze, Gilt-Edge, King, Bullet, Down Beat, Swing Time, Imperial, Decca |
Cecil Gant (April 4, 1913 – February 4, 1951) was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist, whose recordings of both ballads and "fiery piano rockers" were successful in the mid- and late 1940s, and influenced the early development of rock and roll. His biggest hit was the 1944 ballad, "I Wonder".
Gant was born in Columbia, Tennessee, but was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He returned to Nashville, Tennessee and worked there as a musician, as well as touring with his own band, from the mid-1930s until he joined the army during World War II. In 1944, after performing at a War Bond rally in Los Angeles, California, he recorded his composition "I Wonder" for the tiny black-owned Bronze record label. When it started to become locally popular, he re-recorded it for the newly-established white-owned independent Gilt-Edge record label. His recording of "I Wonder" was released under the name "Pvt. Cecil Gant", as were later releases on the label.
The Gilt-Edge release of "I Wonder" sold well. It reached number one on the Billboard Harlem Hit Parade (the former name of the R&B chart), and number 20 on the national pop chart (as synthesized by Joel Whitburn); and its B-side, the instrumental "Cecil Boogie", reached number 5 on the R&B chart. Gant wrote most of his own songs. Billed as "The G.I. Sing-sation", his two follow-up records on Gilt-Edge, "The Grass Is Getting Greener" and "I'm Tired", also made the R&B chart. Arnold Shaw identified "I Wonder" as the song that "ignited the postwar blues explosion", and the success of Gant's records helped stimulate the establishment of other independent labels immediately after the war.
...
Wikipedia