Don Robey: Berry Gordy before Berry Gordy and J. Prince before J. Prince

The southwest leg of the circuit was dominated by the promoter, businessman, and sometimes gangster Don Robey.
Berry Gordy before Berry Gordy; J. Prince before J. Prince.

“What Don Robey did by being the first black man in America to own his record label opened the doors for me to make it happen in Houston when I started my label.” Prince founded Rap-a-Lot in 1986. “It was just something in the air; you didn’t mess with Don Robey ever,” says former musician and producer Steve Terrell.

Don Robey was born on November 1st, 1903 in 5th ward Houston Texas to a white mother and black father. according to an Oxford American article, Robey boasted of his prowess to handle challenging situations, “I’m a white man and a black man. So, I can outsmart you and kick your ass.”

As a youth Robey worked on cotton farms, before the construction of the port of Houston, and at the Galveston Port before dropping out of school early to start a gambling career that he would continue well into adulthood.
Matthew Harris, AKA Pig, an older man who operated many businesses in the 5th Ward and has lived there for decades, remembers Robey when he was much younger. Harris admitted Robey was no person to play around with.

Robey would spend days gambling in some of the most dangerous parts of 5th ward which at that time was a maze of houses that would double as underground gambling and drinking spots. This is where the legend and myth of Don Robey started: a businessman that was a gangster and a millionaire that managed to remain part of the people. Robey would spend several years in Los Angeles, California gaining experience operating a nightclub called ”The Harlem Grill” before returning to Houston to open his own club called Sweet Dreams Cafe in 1933.

By 1934, he had opened the Lenox Club and changed the name of Sweet Dreams to Harlem Grill (this one in Houston) where he would book some of the biggest black live acts to perform in the Bayou City, all of South Texas, and through Louisiana which would become the southwestern leg of the chitlin circuit after he started building a relationship with Denver Ferguson.

In 1945, he opened the Bronze Peacock Dinner Club. Located on the seedier side of town in Houston patrons could find any kind of enjoyment from alcohol, women, reefer sticks, and illegal gambling. The Peacock had the top chefs, catering, goods, and drink in the south and the peacock is where he found his first act to a management deal.
Harris remembers Robey as “shrewd and that he was a millionaire who didn’t act like he was rich.”
Matinee club

“Robey was a hustler. He ran gambling; he brought all the famous singers into town like Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin.” Harris further said Robey’s record labels and the owner of Club Matinee had an essential impact on the music and entertainment business.

Robey created his empire in a larger-than-life Texas style. “He wore great big diamonds on his hand and he was always chewing this big cigar, cussin’ at me ’round the end of it,” said Little Richard. Mornings after a lucrative night in his club, Robey liked to bundle his cash in burlap sacks, pop two shells into his 12-gauge shotgun, and head downtown. Out on the sidewalk of a busy street, he slung the weapon over his shoulder and lugged his moneybags, armed like an outlaw to take bills to the bank.

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown would be the first act signed to Buffalo Booking Agency owned by Robey and run by his cuisines partner Merrit and business manager Evelyn Johnson. Robey would establish Peacock Records after Brown’s failed record deal at Aladdin records.

Robey would sign a stable of R&B artists to his Peacock label. He had a practice of not only signing his artists to exclusive booking and management deals but also would take credit as a songwriter under the name Deadric Malone. Often he would purchase a songwriter’s copyright for $25 or $50. These were not uncommon practices back then and are not uncommon practices now.

This, along with a reputation for using violence and intimidation to conduct business, would lead to a reputation of unfair business practices among songwriters and business associates. There were claims of Robey using threats, violence, and even murder to manage his many businesses.

Johnny Ace started his music career on Memphis’ Beale Street as a shy piano player who became destined for stardom after a chance recording. The artist that would come to be known as Bobby “Blue” Bland was struggling with the lyrics to a song causing Dave Mattis to record an impromptu debut “My Song” which was a take on Ruth Brown’s hit song “So Long” was developed and nurtured on Robey’s leg of the chitlin circuit with the song “My song” that would go to No 1 on Billboard’s r&b chart.

Johnny wasn’t the best singer but he had something that was unique. Robey and Mathis had partnered with one another to form Duke and Peacock Records and the label’s first star, but Robey handled all of the manufacturing, distribution, and collection. Legend has it that Mathis showed up unannounced to Robey’s office and after Robey stared him down with a barrel of a .45, Mathis accepted $10k for his share of the company leaving Robey with complete control of the label the rising star.

Johnny Ace would eventually meet his fate when he shot himself in the head before a performance on Christmas day. As Johnny’s fame grew he developed a habit of spinning his empty revolver cylinder, snapping it into place, and then cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger with the muzzle pressed against his temple. This pose has been duplicated by countless rappers over the years On Christmas day 1954, Johnny was playing with his pistol before going on stage. He spun the barrel, snapped into place, and this time he pointed it at his girlfriend pulling the trigger with a loud click. Everyone yelled for him to stop.

He said not to worry b/c the gun wouldn’t shoot as he placed the muzzle against his right temple, pulled the trigger, and blew a penny size hole through his head. His body crashed to the floor among some empty whiskey bottles with a smile on his face as a pool of blood began to surround his body. The room cleared and Johnny Ace was dead at the young age of 25.

Rumors would circulate through the underworld that johnny’s sales were beginning to slipRobey had paid fledgling artist Big Mama Thornton to slip a bullet into the empty .22 that Johnny played with, but does not hold up to any scrutiny considering she couldn’t be sure that Johnny would aim the gun at himself before harming an innocent bystander. This conspiracy most likely evolved from the fact that Robey took full advantage of the death of his star artist. He organized a big funeral in Memphis and hired a news crew to photograph and write about the service for publication across the negro press.

“Pledging my love” would reach #1 on Billboard r&b, but Robey wanted crossover success and offered up half of the publishing revenue with Wemar music if they could get a white pop act to cover the song. They were able to get Teresa Brewer to cover the song which resulted in Johnny’s version reaching №17 while Brewer’s simultaneously charted at №30.

In 1952 he purchased the Memphis imprint Duke records which became the largest and most successful black record label until Motown took the crown in the 1970s. He would change the label name from Peacock to Duke-peacock and closed down the Bronze peacock and changed it into a rehearsal and recording studio for his acts. Robey quickly consolidated the entire supply chain by opening a record store to control sales, and building a pressing plant and print shop to control manufacturing, his newest night club, the Continental Showcase would provide all of the promotion that his acts would need to make Robey the first black music mogul.

The biggest hit off of the Peacock label would be “Hound Dog” by big mama Thornton thanks to Elvis Presley covering the song and releasing it 3 years later. The merger between Duke and Peacock would also bring Bobby Blue bland to the label who would bring the label a string of hits “touch of blues” and “here’s the man” which would cause the label to close out the 50s with huge sales. The singles “Dreamer” and “Ain’t no love in the heart of the city” would come after RCA purchased the label but would be hit singles that would be replayed by Whites snake in 1978 and sampled by Kanye West for the production of “heart of the city” on Jay’s Blueprint album.

Don’s ear for gospel-influenced music with secular lyrics would provide the foundation sound that would later be called “Country rap tunes’’ by Pimp C. Bobby Blue Bland’s deep growls and falsetto shrieks would influence Pimp C and many other Houston blues, r&b, and rap artists. The blues instrumentation provided by skilled guitarists and keyboard players would serve as one of the heavy influences on UGKs magnum opus “Ridin’ Dirty”.

Solomon Burke the trumpeter, who had several releases that included Don Robey as a writer and composer would serve as an early influence on Pimp C and the sound that he developed and would later label as “country rap tunes”.