(Hezekia Early)
&
The House Rockers
(James Baker, Leon “Peewee” Whittaker)
(LP/CD)
BIOGRAPHY
By 1963 they had permanently added Peewee Whittaker on trombone, and
the band would play continuously throughout the Natchez, Mississippi,
area until 1978, when Ware decided to leave music to join the church. In
his place, they added guitarist James Baker, who would wholeheartedly
take on Ware’s style to ensure the band kept as close to their original
sound as possible.
The last addition to the band would be in 1979, when Hezekiah decided
to add harmonica. In order to do so, he would tape a harmonica to his
vocal microphone, thus allowing him to still play drums at the same
time. This addition was actually inspired by famous boxer Muhammad Ali,
whom Hezekiah had met following his successful audition for the film
Freedom Road. During the filming, Ali noted that Hezekiah was “too good
to lay the instrument aside.”
By the time of their Highwater album, the group had begun to mix all
of their musical experiences. These ranged from ragtime to disco, with
of course a large foundation of blues under it all. This variation
comes from the various members, with Peewee (being the oldest member)
having a long history in ragtime, minstrel and circus bands, as well
as a strong jazz background. Hezekiah was raised into the country
blues tradition, as well as the fife and drum music of his part of
Mississippi. Finally, James Baker added in boogie woogie, rhythm and
blues, rock and roll, country music, and disco.
The 1980’s would be highly productive for the band, with them
recording their album for High Water Records, as well as several major
concerts and tours. This included several folk festivals throughout
the South, and culminated in two European tours in 1986. Sadly,
though, Peewee’s health would decline in 1988, and Baker began to find
the distance between himself and Hezekiah’s homes too far to regularly
make it to gigs. Hezekiah would eventually replace the two and
continue touring for some time.