In belated appreciation of his short-lived career, Larry Manuel was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in May, and delighted fans with a performance of his "Comanche Rock and Roll," a tune that wasn't released until 2001.
The history of Memphis music is littered with stories of stillborn careers, of talented artists who found themselves in the right place at the wrong time.
Larry Manuel is one of them.
In belated appreciation of his short-lived career, Larry Manuel was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in May, and delighted fans with a performance of his "Comanche Rock and Roll," a tune that wasn't released until 2001.
The Larry Manuel Band in the mid-1950s (from left): Bobby Stewart, Larry Manuel, Johnny Pate and Claude Rose Jr.
Among the yellowing pages of old newspaper clippings that Manuel keeps is a Dec. 9, 1958, Press-Scimitar article about an original tune that was set to be his debut record.
"Satellite Records likes a song written by (the) 19-year old Memphis singer," declared the story, "and is looking for a choral group to back him up on the recording."
The recording, of course, was never made. Not long after the article was published, Satellite Records would abruptly change direction and give up on white hillbilly music in favor of black R&B -- and the company would eventually transform itself into Stax Records. Manuel, meanwhile, would go on and record just one single for the local Stompertime label, before giving up his fledgling music career to become a firefighter.
Manuel's story does have a happy ending, however, as he would go on to achieve belated acclaim as a cult favorite, rediscovered by a generation of rock and roll fans halfway across the world. On Wednesday, the 70-year-old Manuel will make a rare local appearance, performing at the Delta Fair, leading a handpicked all-star rockabilly band.
A second-generation musician, Manuel's father was a well-known hillbilly singer, Joe Manuel. The elder Manuel was a fixture on live local radio from the 1930s to the 1950s. In 1953, he founded the "Saturday Night Jamboree," a weekly showcase at the Goodwyn Institute Auditorium in Downtown Memphis that hosted early performances by the likes of Johnny Burnette, Charlie Feathers and Johnny Cash.
"I started out playing accordion in Dad's band when I was 13 years old," Manuel recalls of his early show biz career.
After he graduated from high school and served a stint in the Army, Larry Manuel began his solo career.
He soon fell in with a local banker and part-time country fiddler named Jim Stewart, who had a studio and label called Satellite Records, which he operated out of a tiny old concrete building in Brunswick, Tenn.
In the late-'50s, Manuel began working with Stewart with an eye toward making his first record.
But before they were able to cut anything, Manuel found out that the Satellite studio had been shuttered and that Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton, were in the process of buying the old Capitol Theater in South Memphis with an eye toward turning the building into a bigger studio facility and record shop.
"He said I should come down so we could talk," recalls Manuel. "So I went down there a couple nights later and (Stewart) was telling me, 'I think things are fixing to change in the music business, and I think we're going to change with them. We're getting out of the hillbilly and rockabilly business.'
"He said, 'Lemme play you something. It's a young girl, she's getting out of high school, and she's the daughter of one of the deejays in town.' He played me several songs with this girl, and he said 'I think this is what the future's gonna be.' And that was Carla Thomas."
For Stewart and Satellite -- which would soon change its name to Stax Records and begin its historic journey as an R&B and soul label -- it was just the beginning. For Manuel, it was a sudden end.
"Jim said, 'It's nothing personal against you. It's not a case of talent, it's a case of timing. You're coming in at the end of the era, so to speak.' And of course, he turned out to be right," says Manuel.
Although he was disappointed, Manuel soon found a new benefactor in rockabilly musician, Stompertime label owner and all-around impresario Eddie Bond.
Bond found a pair of songs, "Don't Try To Call Back Tomorrow" and "So I'm Still In Love With You," and insisted Manuel record them as his debut single for Stompertime.
"And I wasn't gonna argue with Eddie," says Manuel. The A-side proved to be a minor hit during 1959-1960.
Although Manuel would go on to tour and play package shows with singers like Sun Records great Warren Smith and Tommy Tucker (of "Hi-Heel Sneakers" fame), within a year, the writing was on the wall.
"It was right about 1960 that the bottom dropped out of rock and roll and rockabilly as far as the music business was concerned. It just wasn't working, and none of us was getting booked anymore," he says. "So everyone stated looking around for a day job."
Manuel found his calling as a member of the Memphis Fire Department, where he would work from 1960 until his retirement in 1993.
In the years since, Manuel's once-forgotten career has been given a second chance. In the early '90s, U.K. rockabilly enthusiast Dave Travis bought the rights to Eddie Bond's old Stompertime label and began reissuing its catalog on CD, with Manuel helping on several projects.
Manuel's own music was highlighted on the 2001 Stompertime compilation Memphis Rockabillies, Hillbillies & Honky Tonkers. Several previously unreleased Manuel songs like "Pinstripe Suit" and "Comanche Rock 'n' Roll" soon caught the ear of English rockabilly fans.
"And they've picked up a cult following across Europe. Whenever I go to these rockabilly events now and I introduce myself to them, they'll say, 'Hey you're the guy that wrote that 'Comanche Rock and Roll,'" says Manuel, laughing. "Yeah, that's me."
For Manuel, the belated appreciation for his brief career culminated with his induction into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame this past May.
"I'm just happy that there's people who appreciate some of the songs I've written," he says. "And maybe there's a few more people who'll discover this stuff down the road."
The Larry Manuel Band
Performing at the Delta Fair and Music Festival at 7 p.m. Wednesday; Main Stage.
Delta Fair and Music Festival
Today through Sept. 13 at Agricenter, 7777 Walnut Grove.
Hours: 2-11 p.m. today and Sept. 11; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and Sept. 12; noon-11 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Monday; 2-10 p.m. Tuesday though Thursday; noon-10 p.m. Sept. 13.
Tickets: $8 adults; $5 seniors 62 and older; $5 children 5 to 12; free for ages 4 and younger. Senior Day is Wednesday (Sept. 9) with $4 admission for 62 and older from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Featured music acts: Eddie Money, the Bellamy Brothers, Vince Gill, Touch of Soul and "American Idol" finalist Jasmine Murray.
Other highlights: Junior livestock competition, mixed martial arts fight, ostrich races, and FFA Children's Barnyard.
Details: For a complete listing of events, go to deltafest.com.
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