BIOGRAPHY AND DISCOGRAPHY

One of the more unlikely rock stars of its first decade, Rhodes brought impeccable credentials built over a twenty year career before he ever stepped foot into rock ‘n’ roll. At an age when most were thinking of retirement, Rhodes entered a new field and not only competed with artists half his age, but thrived.

Todd Rhodes was born at the dawn of the 20th century and after studying music in college he first rose to prominence in the mid-1920’s as pianist for McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, one of the more popular jazz bands of the era. By the mid-1930’s the group disbanded and Rhodes settled in Detroit as a club act for the next decade.

When rock ‘n’ roll came along in 1947 Rhodes was forty seven years old and twenty years past his first commercial peak. Signing to the small local Sensation label which only had distribution in Michigan and Ohio he cut a series of tight instrumentals with a crack band that stirred interest when they got national distribution by King Records in the summer of 1948, landing him two hits in the course of a year.

Rhodes eventually was signed to King Records directly where he not only continued issuing his own solid records but also backed numerous female vocalists who performed with his group, Kitty Stevenson, Connie Allen and LaVern Baker, as well as handling sessions for a few other artists over the years.

By the mid-1950’s he receded from the spotlight and after diabetes took a leg he retired from music and soon passed away in 1965 having briefly conquered two disparate musical genres in two distant eras.
 
 
TODD RHODES DISCOGRAPHY (Reviews To Date On Spontaneous Lunacy):
 
 
BLUES FOR THE RED BOY
(Sensation 6; November, 1947 / King 4240; July, 1948)
A tough atmospheric record that sets a vivid scene while exuding a sense of danger lurking in the grooves… rock’s first mood piece. (8)

SPORTREE’S JUMP
(Sensation 6; November, 1947 / King 4240; July, 1948)
A strong arrangement with plenty of room for each instrument to strut their stuff, all played with a cohesive purpose in mind gives notice that Rhodes is no mere club act but a viable contender for rock stardom. (6)

TODDLIN’ BOOGIE
(Sensation 4/Vitacoustic 1004; January, 1948 / King 4238; July, 1948)
Instrumental with shifting perspectives, jazzy at times but fully given over to rock by the time the interlocking horns take over down the stretch. (6)

WALKIE TALKIE
(Sensation 9/King 4252; November, 1948)
Revamping a Dinah Washington pop-rooted song for rock ‘n’ roll merely gives this mild offering a new paint job, as Louis Sanders vocal doesn’t generate enough heat, nor does the accompaniment which shows its age, as this was cut a full year before its late 1948 release. (3)

POT LIKKER
(Sensation 15/King 4287; March, 1949)
Rhodes biggest hit came with a vibrant look at a southern food staple that connected with audiences everywhere thanks to the boisterous attitude it reveled in. (7)

RED BOY AT THE MARDI GRAS
(Sensation 15/King 4287; March, 1949)
A hybrid song bringing to mind a lazy stroll at twilight through the French Quarter, evocative and well played but leaning back towards jazz rather than surging forward in rock ‘n’ roll. (4)

BLUES BY MYSELF
(Old Swing-Master 10; March, 1949)
As sideman to… Kitty Stevenson.

PAGE BOY SHUFFLE
(Sensation 16 / King 4299; June 1949)
A modest but effective rolling groove that became a hit but was more historically notable for being erroneously credited to Joe Thomas, who played sax on it, rather than Rhodes when it was re-issued on King Records. (7)

MOONLIGHT BLUES
(Sensation 20; October, 1949)
A slower song that never quite finds a groove, a mood piece that’s not quite moody enough and the aftereffects of King Records altering the credit on his last hit when distributing it nationally which meant this got much more limited exposure on Sensation conspired to derail Rhodes’ momentum. (4)

ANITRA’S JUMP
(Sensation 25; December, 1949)
A two year old recording pulled out of mothballs due to a contractual dust-up, the song was adapted from a classical piece and so it shows ambition and some inventive arranging, but one sax solo aside it’s too far removed from rock’s DNA to make an impression. (2)

I’M JUST A FOOL IN LOVE
(Sensation 29; February, 1950)
Parts of this make for really effective mood music highlighted by a sultry circular sax riff with an intoxicating melody, but the injection of a squawking trumpet to lift the energy in the second half breaks that spell and nearly ruins things altogether. (4)

COMIN’ HOME
(Sensation 29; February, 1950)
With only a moderately gritty sax early on to save this from being housed in jazz, the compromised hybrid sounds hold little of interest for rock fans even though the stellar band handles it well. (2)

IT AIN’T RIGHT
(Sensation 32; April 1950)
As sideman to… Kitty Stevenson. Rhodes puts together an ebullient backing track for Stevenson to strut her stuff with blaring horns, insistent rhythm and his own piano filling in the cracks, making this one of the most exciting records his band took part in. (8)

THAT’S THE GUY FOR ME
(Sensation 37; June, 1950)
As sideman to… Kitty Stevenson. Though Rhodes gives Stevenson’s excellent vocal performance an equally uptempo arrangement, he does so by reaching back a too many years with the horn section giving it a out of date jazzy feel which undercuts its effectiveness. (5)

MAKE IT GOOD
(Sensation 37; June, 1950)
As sideman to… Kitty Stevenson. Finally Rhodes’ outdated horn arrangements does in his dynamic singer as the poorly chosen arrangement plus a weaker composition means Stevenson has her hands full just to make it relevant. (4)

BEULAH
(Sensation 38; August, 1950)
As sideman to… Emmit Slay. As Rhodes hands over the featured role to a member of his retinue, hot-shot guitarist Slay rips off some good lines on his axe and while his vocals are strong on this uptempo kiss-off the voice sounds suspiciously like someone else. (6)

LOOKY PLOOT
(Sensation 39; October, 1950)
As sideman to… Emmit Slay. The arrangement Rhodes comes up with may fit the song’s out of date concept but it clashes with the modern sounds of Slay’s guitar and Louie Stephens’ sax making this too conflicted to take advantage of its modest enthusiasm. (4)

BELLE ISLE BOOGIE
(Sensation 39; October, 1950)
A really good arrangement highlights Rhodes’s final disc on Sensation Records, a nice throwback styled single in which he gives ample room for The Toddlers to all shine with a particularly gritty sax solo by Louie Stephens at the center. (6)

GIN, GIN, GIN
(King 4469; August, 1951)
A tight hard-driving song with a diverse arrangement that allows all of the horn section to get spotlights while the band chips in with surprisingly authentic vocals on a rousing party anthem for Rhodes’ first “official” King Records release. (7)

I SHOULDN’T CRY (BUT I DO)
(King 4469; August, 1951)
The mostly timid and elegant arrangement that leans towards a supper club vibe after a good Hal Dismukes lead-in does singer Kitty Stevenson no favors as she turns in another great performance that shows remarkable emotional nuance throughout. (6)

SWEET HOME BLUES
(King 4482; October, 1951)
As sidemen to… Dave Bartholomew.

TWINS
(King 4482; October, 1951)
As sidemen to… Dave Bartholomew. Some blistering and cohesive playing behind Bartholomew’s trumpet makes this a surprisingly effective rock instrumental with a great arrangement which features the entire band getting great parts that never lets up. (6)

GOOD MAN
(King 4486; November, 1951)
After some lackluster arrangements behind Kitty Stevenson they send her out with a tight explosive backing track here featuring a driving rhythm, good solos and lots of energy but even so Stevenson has them all beat with her powerhouse vocals. (9)

MY PLAYFUL BABY’S GONE
(King 4507; February, 1952)
As sidemen to… Wynonie Harris.

HERE COMES THE NIGHT
(King 4507; February, 1952)
As sidemen to… Wynonie Harris.

IN THE ALLEY
(King 4508; February, 1952)
As sidemen to… Dave Bartholomew.

I’LL NEVER BE THE SAME
(King 4508; February, 1952)
As sidemen to… Dave Bartholomew.

YOUR DADDY’S DOGGIN’ AROUND
(King 4509; February, 1952)
A well played accusatory rocker with a nice tenor solo by Lefty Edwards, but while the idea itself is good and features an entertaining and back and forth vocal between Connie Allen and the band, the role Allen has to play is far too limited which undercuts its effectiveness. (6)

RED BOY IS BACK
(King 4509; February, 1952)
Returning to the scene of the crime… revisiting the mood, style and construction of their breakthrough rock hit from 1947 that is… only serves to show just how far the entire genre has come since those days, making this an unnecessary trip back in time. (4)

KEEP ON CHURNIN’
(King 4526; April, 1952)
As sidemen to… Wynonie Harris.

ROCKET 69
(King 4528; April, 1952)
While it’s become Rhodes’ most widely known song due to its racy subject matter, the record itself is compromised due to a Connie Allen’s unenthusiastic lead vocal, leaving just the lyrical humor and the band’s solid rhythmic backing to compensate. (6)

SNUFF DIPPER
(King 4556; July, 1952)
Inoffensive, yet inessential, cut which features a decent riff at its core even if the array of horns used to play it aren’t ideal, the record manages to hold its tenuous groove throughout and serves as the kind of aural wallpaper that nobody really objects to. (4)

TRYING
(King 4556; July, 1952)
By far the weakest aspect of this record is the tame backing by Rhodes and company who somehow take an even more genteel approach on this cover song than the original pop rendition and are rescued only by LaVern Baker’s powerful vocal performance. (5)

PIG LATIN BLUES
(King 4566; September, 1952)
Though he gets label credit, Rhodes doesn’t deserve much of the blame for this record, for while he and the band supply far too modest support, the real offense is the idea itself which is far more cloying than clever with its gibberish-filled storyline by LaVern Baker. (3)

MUST I CRY AGAIN
(King 4583; November, 1952)
By sticking a pop arrangement to a pop cover song they ignore the talents of LaVern Baker who’s forced to submit to their stylistic treachery and since the song itself isn’t any good, this can’t result in anything but more tears for a still hit-less Baker. (3)

HOG MAW AND CABBAGE SLAW
(King 4583; November, 1952)
Though not the instrumental it’s billed as thanks to a vocal refrain used three times, this is still an effective instrumental showcase for the band written by alto saxophonist Hal Dismukes which churns effectively even if it’s just slightly behind the stylistic curve. (6)