Percussionist who was born in Clarksville, Mississippi and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Taking influence from artists such as Chano Pozo he honed his talent for playing a variety percussive instruments with his a particular flair on the congas and bongos that led him to becoming a successful professional musician.
He moved to Detroit, playing in gigs at various venues there, and first went to Motown Records as Marvin Gaye’s valet originally in the very early 1960s. It wasn’t long before he became a member of their in-house band known as the Funk Brothers and performed on the majority of recordings made by the label, even though he couldn’t read music. He performed on releases that include 26 No.1 chart hits between 1961 and 1973.
Some of these No. 1 hits are “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” by The Four Tops, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, “My Girl” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” by The Temptations, “The Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, “War” by Edwin Starr and “Where Did Our Love Go” by The Supremes.
In the mid 1970s he moved to California and performed with the jazz ensemble known as Brass Fever. He also performed on tour with Liza Minnelli and Marvin Gaye.
Performing with numerous artists during the course of his career he worked with singers and groups such as The Blackbyrds, The Brothers Johnson, Dennis Coffey, Sonny Criss, Yvonne Fair, Gloria Gaynor, Lesley Gore, John Handy, Phyllis Hyman, LaToya Jackson, Al Johnson, Martha & The Vandellas, The Miracles, Wilson Pickett, Valerie Simpson, Jimmy Smith, Stargard, Syreeta, Tower of Power, Stanley Turrentine, Mary Wells and Lenny Williams.
The album releases that he performed on are countless but a select few of them include Time Is Running Out by Brass Fever, Now We May Begin by Randy Crawford, Black Bach by Lamont Dozier, High on Sunshine by The 5th Dimension, Nature Planned It by The Four Tops, 20thCentury Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best Of.. by The Funk Brothers, What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye, Intimate by Leon Haywood, I Heard That! by Quincy Jones, King Size by B.B. King, Ultimate Collection by Gladys Knight, That’s What Friends Are For by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams, 35th Anniversary Collection by Smokey Robinson, David – The Unreleased Album by David Ruffin, Posh by Patrice Rushen, Smokin’ O.Ps by Bob Seger, Sweet Beginnings by Marlena Shaw, Stronger Than You Think I Am by Edwin Starr, House of Love by Candi Staton, Sky’s the Limit by The Temptations, Back Street Boogie by Junior Walker, Roads of Life by Bobby Womack and Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder and the soundtracks of Grease and Standing in the Shadows of Motown.
In 1984 Eddie passed away in Los Angeles after suffering heart problems when he was just 52 years old.
Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams recordings
Emotions (Barry Gibb/Robin Gibb)
S CBS 6164B (UK 45)
He performs on the congas here with Marvin Gaye in a live performance of “What’s Going On”…
Sources:
- http://www.standingintheshadowsofmotown.com/funksbio.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_%22Bongo%22_Brown
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eddie-bongo-brown-p59941/biography
- http://www.soullyoldies.com/best-eddie-bongo-brown-performance.html
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eddie-bongo-brown-p59941/credits
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eddie-bongo-brown-p59941/credits/date-asc/100