Lloyd Price Gives Casey James' Cover of Lawdy Miss Clawdy Props

Idol contestant, Casey James, covered "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" in "Elvis Week," to mixed reviews. His worst critic, Simon Cowell, said "I'm going to call that one, bearing in mind this was Elvis, a wasted opportunity with a song which is completely forgettable but your vocal was good." There are quite a few famous artists who have covered "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" who might take exception to Simon's remarks, including Elvis himself, Sir Paul McCartney, Fats Dominos, Little Richard, Johnny Rivers, Travis Tritt ... and the list of notable artists goes on. "Lawdy Miss Claudy" is not really an Elvis song in the first place. It was Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Lloyd Price who gave them permission to perform his song.

"Lawdy Miss Clawdy" was written by then 17-year-old Louisiana artist, who cut the song for Specialty Records in New Orleans on March 3, 1952. Lloyd Price wrote the lyrics and music, inspired by New Orleans Disc Jockey Okey Dokey Smith and his Maxwell House coffee radio commercial. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy ... it's time to drink up ..." Antoine "Fats" Domino, then age 24, played the piano intro for the recording. Upon its release in April, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" took off like a rocket and topped the R&B and Best Seller Charts for 7 months. It also became a huge hit with white audiences and sold over a million copies. That was no small feat in 1952 for any black artist, but for a teen-aged singer and songwriter just starting out, it was quite a coup. Lloyd Price was the first teenager in history to sell a million records. Lloyd made the R&B charts with 4 more hits before he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Korea from 1953-1956.

Upon his return, Lloyd recorded a song in 1957 called "Just Because," which peaked at #3 on the R&B charts and also crossed over to the pop charts, hitting #29. Lloyd's song were always wildly popular and successful but 1959 was a banner year when he released "Stagger Lee," which became the first No. 1 song to be censored when Dick Clark asked Lloyd to tone down the violent ending for American Bandstand. Lloyd also had a hit with "Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)," which was covered by Billy Joel and appeared in the 1999 movie, 'Runaway Bride." Lloyd charted with "I'm Gonna Get Married," and "Come Into My Heart," but "Personality" gave Lloyd another No. 1 hit so popular that after 1959, Lloyd was known to all as "Mr. Personality."

Lloyd Price's songs are among the most re-recorded hits in the history of music. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" has been covered in every decade since its original release. Elvis was a big Lloyd Price fan. He was 21 when he first cut it in 1956. He re-recorded the R&B classic over 40 more times. In 1996, it was the basis of a French song "Miss Claudie" by French rock icon, Johnny Hallyday. Eric Burdon, The Hollies, Ronnie Hawkins and too many others to mention have covered "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." It is a staple in every R&B repertoire. Lloyd's top hits, when you include "Stagger Lee" and "Personality," have been covered by a combined total of at least 590 artists. The funny thing is, as many a famous artist will agree, Mr. Price's originals remain the classics. There's just no comparison to seeing Lloyd Price perform one of his own songs in person because he is a true original.

As a mentor and inspiration to some of the best-known stars of the 50s and up, Lloyd Price brought Little Richard's demo tape to Specialty Records. Little Richard once said on meeting Lloyd: "He had a black and gold Cadillac. I wanted one just like that. The only place that had one was the funeral home, and you had to die to ride." Lloyd took a young Wilson Pickett under his wing and launched Pickett's career on his Double-L label. John Lennon had such great admiration for Lloyd's style and sound that he covered the 1959 classic "Just Because." James Brown also covered Lloyd and they worked together in a hilarious television episode of "Amen" starring Sherman Helmsley.

Curious to find out what they thought about Casey James' cover, I sent Lloyd Price and his manager "Dollar" Bill Waller a link to Casey James' performance. I have been a fan of Mr. Price since I was 8 years old and I just had the honor of speaking on the phone with him.

"Valerie, I'm happy when anybody sings 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy'," Mr. Price said.

I said, "Then, you must be a very happy man, Mr. Price, because everybody sings it," and we laughed. Then Mr. Price listened to Casey James' youtube and said he liked Casey's performance: "He's doing it like Joe Cocker and Joe would like it, too." Mr. Price said "It's a good effort and Casey has got his groove going on," but he noted that Casey might consider getting some piano in his arrangement, adding: "'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' is built all around the piano." Mr. Waller pointed out that Casey was playing his acoustic guitar really well and Mr. Price agreed.

Those words come from the man who wrote and made "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" a crossover hit (before the term was even invented) and they should be a great boost to Casey James' confidence and also inspire him to keep on singing R&B and playing his guitar so well. Look for Casey and the other contestants to perform inspirational songs on the next American Idol.

As for Lloyd Price, you will be hearing a lot from him this year. Lloyd was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame on March 9, 2010 (his birthday), in a surprise ceremony attended by La. Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, making him a member of 5 Halls of Fame. That happened the day after he filmed an infomercial for a special edition of the new Time Life collection of the greatest all-time R&B hits. The spot will begin airing on many TV stations on Apr 23, 2010 (Bravo, ION, BET, etc.). Lloyd is also bringing "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" to Broadway as a musical, and he will soon be in New Orleans filming for the popular HBO series "Treme," in which he will play himself.

"The True King of the 50's: The Lloyd Price Story," a veritable history of early R&B and rock music in and of itself, is currently available on his website, www.lawdymissclawdy.com. Highly recommended If you pride yourself on a thorough knowledge of popular music. Your collection will be incomplete without it and it comes with a free Lloyd Price CD, the next best thing to seeing Mr. Personality onstage.

Sources: embedded and
Lloyd Price: Mr. Personality
"Dollar" Bill Waller
www.lawdymissclawdy.com