Terrence O. Callier, known as
Terry Callier (born May 24, 1945,
Chicago,
Illinois) is an
American jazz,
soul and
folk guitarist and
singer-songwriter.
Life and career
Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, and raised in the
Cabrini–Green housing area. He learned piano, was a childhood friend of
Curtis Mayfield,
Major Lance and
Jerry Butler, and began singing in
doo-wop groups in his teens. In 1962 he took an audition at
Chess Records, where he recorded his debut single, "Look at Me Now". At the same time as attending college, he then began performing in folk clubs and coffee houses in Chicago, becoming strongly influenced by the music of
John Coltrane. He met
Samuel Charters of
Prestige Records in 1964, and the following year they recorded his debut album. Charters then took the tapes away with him into the
Mexican desert, and the album was eventually released in 1968 as
The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier. Two of Callier's songs, "Spin, Spin, Spin" and "It's About Time", were recorded by the
psychedelic rock band
H. P. Lovecraft in 1968, as part of their
H. P. Lovecraft II album. H. P. Lovecraft featured fellow Chicago folk club stalwart
George Edwards, who would go on to co-produce several tracks for Callier in 1969.
He...
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