Talk:Don Robey

Goodbye to Sugar Coating!

The original article identified Robey as an unscrupulous businessman, without documentation. The article was sanitized, with positive unattributed bromides. I've taken the trouble to document the fact that Robey was a murderous gangster. Truly a pleasure. Tapered (talk) 08:58, 13 September 2010 (UTC)

That may well be correct (but, at present, not very well referenced). Whatever, it is part of his biography, and there is no need for a separate heading to overemphasise the point. Ghmyrtle (talk) 16:32, 12 April 2015 (UTC)

There is something seriously amiss with this encyclopaedia entry. IMO it is biased against the subject reflecting the intepretation of the originator of the artcle. Undoubtedly Robey was inclined towards intimidation of business rivals but for every person who opposed him there were others Calvin Owens, Carl Carlton, Oscar Perry who thought otherwise-none of these are referenced. Owens described Robey as a great man. Arguably after Berry Gordy the single most successful Afro-American entrepreneur in the music business during the 60s. There is no evidence that he murdered anyone, not even Johnny Acey who died playing Russian roulette. This article misses out so much information that is available. It needs rewriting in a neutral, appropriate tone. I could do it but I suspect that the originator will ignore and change. dorkinglad (talk)

Tapered is just one editor here, not "the originator" of the article and no more (or less) important than any other editor. Robey is someone about whom many sources offer strong views. So, our role is to present a balanced biography, which recognises both his importance in developing African American music and culture, and his reportedly unscrupulous business practices. There's no particular difficulty about doing that - we have balanced biographies about all manner of contentious individuals - but it does require that everyone who edits here does so in the understanding that their contributions must be neutral, balanced, and based on reliable sources not personal opinion. Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:39, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

There are other reliable sources documenting Robey's original primary occupation--the most powerful black gangster in Houston. He was a gangster before he went into the music business via his interests in nightclubs. Berry Gordy is no saint, but he's a lousy analogue to Robey. Try Morris Levy or Corky Vastola. Tapered (talk) 19:52, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

There's a quote I'll have to find, but later--possibly fr/ Lieber--to the effect that Robey treated his performers pretty well, while treating his songwriters like dirt. That does put him a cut above Levy and Vastola. Tapered (talk) 19:55, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Whatever. We need to build up the biography from reliable sources rather than rumours. This article seems to cover both sides fairly well - also this. Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:43, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Oddly, the Blues Hall of Fame whitewashed him for his 2014 induction (copied full text[1] because direct linking is not possible):

"Don Robey built one of the most formidable entertainment empires in the independent music business with his Duke and Peacock labels, Buffalo Booking Agency, Lion Music publishing company, nightclubs, and other associated activities. His hardnosed business tactics made him a controversial figure, but many of his artists, including his first Peacock signee, Gatemouth Brown, and longtime Duke star Bobby Bland, who recorded for Duke for 20 years, spoke of him with admiration and respect. Robey was born in Houston on November 1, 1903, to a white mother and black father, a professional chef, and said he dropped out of high school to pursue a gambling career. In a rare interview published in Record World in 1973, Robey claimed to have lived in Houston all his life except for three years he was in Los Angeles. However, evidence from census records and other sources shows that he lived with his mother on a cotton farm as a teenager and chauffeured and labored on the docks in Galveston before he started a taxi service in Houston and worked at or owned a series of restaurants and nightclubs there in the 1930s. Robey was connected with the Sweet Dreams Cafe, Lenox Club and Harlem Grill, a large dance hall where he and partner Morris Merritt brought in top-flight big band entertainment. Robey and Merritt were longtime associates in promotion and management and were later joined by Evelyn Johnson in the Buffalo Booking Agency. Robey learned more of the business during a stay in Los Angeles, and back in Houston he opened the upscale Bronze Peacock Dinner Club, another major performance venue. In 1949 Robey launched Peacock Records and later acquired Duke and added the Back Beat, Sure Shot and Song Bird labels. At one point his company was regarded as the most successful black-owned record business in America, with multiple hits by Big Mama Thornton, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Johnny Ace, O.V. Wright, and a sterling roster of gospel acts including the Dixie Hummingbirds, Five Blind Boys and Sensational Nightingales. The labels' performers were signed to booking and management contracts as well, as was B.B. King. Under the pseudonym Deadric (his middle name) Malone (his wife's maiden name), Robey published many songs he wrote or bought outright from songwriters. [sic][emphasis added] Robey's operations at times also included a record store, pressing plant, print shop, and another nightclub, the Continental Showcase. Robey sold his record firm to ABC in 1973 and stayed on as a consultant, but his new position did not last long. He died of heart failure at St. Luke's Hospital in Houston on June 16, 1975." —Ojorojo (talk) 14:42, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

That seems fair. A prime example of a musician whose compositions Robey bought, and then credited to himself, was Joe Medwick - but, by all accounts, Medwick did not criticise Robey for his actions. Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:49, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

PS: I've expanded the article a little, based on a few sources. Will look for more. Ghmyrtle (talk) 11:59, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

Parents

The 1910 census gives his father, Zebulon Reese Robey, as white (contrary to some sources). The 1920 census gives his mother Gertie (who by then was married to Edward Milner), and both Don Robey (mis-spelled Robie) and his sister Ella, as mulatto. The 1940 census gives Don as negro, and his work as waiter in nightclub. Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:02, 16 April 2015 (UTC)

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