He rasped through Ray Charles's songs like a prototype Joe Cocker.The Dennisons, who took their name from a Liverpool street, were billed as "five 17-year-old Aintree stormtroopers" and the group consisted of Parry, Scragg, Steve McLaren (lead guitarist), Terry "Tex" Carson (bass) and Clive Hornby (drums). They had been formed at Liverpool Collegiate and Scragg worked for a tailor before turning professional. Hornby's parents became their management, although Mr Hornby found the noise hard to take after a day's work as a marine engineer.The Dennisons made their début at the Cavern on 5 September 1962 because the original billtoppers, the Beatles, had gone to London to record their first Parlophone single, "Love Me Do". The Dennisons' own first single, "Come On Be My Girl", was an archetypal Merseybeat record that made the Top Fifty in August 1963. Their second single, "Walkin' the Dog", was recorded on a free day during a national tour with Gerry and the Pacemakers and Ben E.
King, and the B-side, "You Don't Know What Love Is", was written for them by King. "'Walkin' the Dog' was played on Juke Box Jury," recalled Scragg, "and Sid James said, 'If I knew who that feller was, I'd buy him a drink.' He thought there was something similar about our voices." "Walkin' the Dog" reached No 36 and outsold the original version by Rufus Thomas.The Dennisons were featured on a live album from the Cavern, but Parry left the group in 1965. For a year, the Dennisons performed soul music and they disbanded a year later. Scragg went into insurance, working for over 25 years for the Prudential. Steve McLaren became one of Liverpool's best classical guitarists, while Clive Hornby found fame as an actor, portraying Jack Sugden in Emmerdale.In 1990 the Dennisons reformed for a charity concert to assist Terry Carson, who had multiple sclerosis.
Both Carson and Parry died shortly afterwards and in 1997 Scragg was diagnosed with lung cancer. He determined to make the best of his remaining time and formed a new band, Dennisons 2000, in which he returned to Ray Charles favourites like "Unchain My Heart". He planned his own funeral, insisting that another Charles song, "Hallelujah I Love Her So", should be part of the service.. George Holmes Tate, saxophonist and bandleader: born Sherman, Texas 22 February 1915; married (two daughters, and two sons deceased); died Chandler, Arizona 10 February 2001. George Holmes Tate, saxophonist and bandleader: born Sherman, Texas 22 February 1915; married (two daughters, and two sons deceased); died Chandler, Arizona 10 February 2001. Inspired, as so many tenor saxophone players were, by Coleman Hawkins, Buddy Tate became one of the most potent players to come out of the Swing Era.
He had a huge tone and the ability to honk on the instrument without its ever seeming to be in questionable taste. His prodigious swing and easy power when soaring through the upper registers of his horn marked him as typical of the tenor style from Texas.He played ballads beautifully and, despite the fact that he never played anything complex, was a consistently interesting soloist who was instantly recognisable. He gravitated to mainstream small group jazz, and, apart from leading bands of his own, graced many big bands and played for eminent leaders including Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton and Woody Herman.On his first visit to Europe with Basie, Tate found himself in a restaurant in Lyons with the singer Jimmy Rushing "Now, don't worry about the language problem. I'll order for you, I'm over here all the time," said Rushing Tate wanted veal chops and Rushing spoke to the waitress After a long delay she returned with six hard-boiled eggs Rushing tried to explain.
After another delay the waitress returned with six fried eggs. "Rushing and I started arguing," said Tate,and he blamed the waitress. "She can't speak English," Jimmy said, "and she's just not getting it right." The waitress listened to us arguing back and forth and she says, "Excuse me, what would you like to have?", speaking better English than either of us.An attractive and likeable man, Tate was popular in the Far East and Australia, but probably had his most determined following in France, where he made some of his best recordings. Notable amongst these was a series of albums of tenor saxophone and organ duets with Milt Buckner for the Black & Blue label. Here Tate best displayed his expressive way with both ballads and blues. Despite his tours throughout the world he found most of his work in New York, leading the band at the Celebrity Club on 125th Street in Harlem for more than 20 years.The Tates had a family band, which Buddy Tate joined in 1925 when his brother gave him a tenor saxophone. "We used to play stock arrangements of things that Louis Armstrong recorded.