Daddy Cleanhead
By Marv Goldberg
© 2025 by Marv Goldberg
Daddy Cleanhead is best known for the raucous "Something's Goin' On In My Room".
Fred "Daddy Cleanhead" Higgins was a vocalist with the band of his younger brother, Charles William "Chuck" Higgins. Fred could also play the saxophone, but so badly that Chuck wouldn't let him play it on recordings. (However, by his own admission, Chuck wasn't much of a sax player either. He was quoted as saying "... I never let him play on my records.... Fred just wasn't that good - worse than me.") Fred had a short singing career, only about four years.
Fred Howard Higgins, Jr was born (per his WW2 registration) on July 8, 1916, in Georgetown, Texas (about 100 miles south of Fort Worth). He was the oldest child of Fred Howard Higgins, Sr and Hattie Lee Richardson.
Fred, his parents, and his sisters, Anna and Irma, were all born in Texas. However, for some reason, Fred's next sibling, Chuck, was born in Gary, Indiana in 1924. By early 1926, the family had returned to Fort Worth, where the rest of Fred's siblings (Sam, El Marie, and Robbie) were born. (Possibly his father had found temporary work in the Gary steel mills, as he would again in 1948.)
In both the 1920 and 1930 censuses, Fred and his parents lived in Fort Worth. By 1930, all his siblings were there, except sister Robbie, who would be born the following year.
I can't find the family in 1940, but Fred's October 16, 1940 World War 2 Draft Registration shows that he and his family were still in Fort Worth. When Fred, Sr. registered for the draft in February 1942, he once again gave a Fort Worth address. However, when Chuck registered, in July 1942, he was living in Sacramento, California and working for a Fort Worth-based packing company.
In 1943, Fred, Jr was still living in Fort Worth, but at a different address from his parents. It's possible that he moved to Los Angeles later that year. In June 1944, when he registered for the draft, brother Samuel Harold Higgins was living in Los Angeles. In July 1945, when Chuck Higgins enlisted in the army (occupation: musician), he, too, was living in Los Angeles.
In 1948, Fred, Sr. and Hattie were back living in Gary, Indiana; he was in the City Directory as a steel worker (in the 1930 Fort Worth census, he'd been a porter).
In the late 40s, and as late as 1953, brother Sam Higgins was a lightweight boxer, but he doesn't seem to have been very good at it. All of Sam's fights (at least those I can find) seemed to end in losses, with the exception of one draw. Interestingly, at the same time, there was a boxer named "Chuck Higgins", but he came from Pennsylvania.
On March 4, 1949, Fred married Myrtle Eugean Fatheree in Palm Springs, California. She was also from Fort Worth and the two may have known each other from there (although she'd briefly married someone else in 1944).
The first mention of a Chuck Higgins Orchestra was when it was advertised as playing for a 1949 New Year's Eve dance at the Downbeat Club in Fort Worth. I don't know if Fred was with him at the time, but that's the only mention of Chuck having a band until 1952.
At the time of the 1950 census, Fred lived in Palm Springs with wife Myrtle. He said he was working in a service station and had never finished the third grade. They had a son, Fred; there would be three more children: Clifford, Cynthia, and Barbara. Fred and Myrtle would remain married until Fred's death. His parents and youngest sister, Robbie, were all still living in Fort Worth.
Finally, something to do with music. The Chuck Higgins band (the Mellotones) recorded some tunes for Jake Porter's Combo Records in late 1952. Three of these feature Fred Higgins vocals: "Love Me Baby", "I Ain't Gonna Leave Baby", and "Cotton Picker". However, don't look for Fred's name on the label; they were all released as having vocals by "Geechie Howard". The fourth side, "Iron Pipe", says "vocal by Geechie Howard" on the label, but it's an instrumental. All of them were issued in December 1952.
Although Fred had now recorded, there were no appearance ads as "Geechie Howard". ["Geechie", by the way, is a nickname for the people who settled by the Ogeechee River in Georgia. They were the Gullah people, descendants of West African slaves who kept their cultural and linguistic history, as well as their language (also called "Geechie"). I have no idea why Fred chose to call himself that (although "Howard" was his middle name).]
The Mellotones at this time were: Chuck Higgins (tenor sax), Johnny Watson (guitar), Eli Toney (drums), and Joe Ursery (bass). Chuck would sometimes let Fred play sax at shows, but never on records.
[Note that, when "Love Me Baby" was issued, Chuck had just released "Pachuko Hop" on Combo, his most well-known tune. I've never understood the title, since there's no "k" in Spanish; it should have been spelled "Pachuco Hop" (I assume we can blame Jake Porter for not knowing that). Pachucos were a subculture of the Southwest Latino culture - those who didn't want to be assimilated into American culture. Their adoption of zoot suits led to the famous Los Angeles "Zoot Suit Riots" in 1943.]
The next Mellotones' Combo record, "Real Gone Hound Dog", was released around July 1953, as an answer to Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton's "Hound Dog". It has Fred's vocal, but he's not named at all on the label. The flip was the instrumental "Tortas".
Fred was probably with the Higgins band when they played Gene Norman's Fourth Annual Blues Jubilee at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium on August 15, 1953, but he wasn't named in the blurb. Others appearing were "Big Mama" Thornton, Johnny Ace, Camille Howard, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Helen Humes. It would be interesting to know if Big Mama sang "Hound Dog" and Fred sang "Real Gone Hound Dog".
Another Combo release was "Big Fat Mama", from around September 1953 (the flip was the instrumental "Boyleheights" [sic; Boyle Heights was a Los Angeles neighborhood]). Once again, Fred isn't named as the vocalist.
On December 25, 19, 1953, Chuck Higgins And His Pachuko Hop Orchestra (along with the Flairs) appeared at Riverside Park in Phoenix, Arizona.
Finally, "Daddy Cleanhead" arrives on the scene. He's first mentioned on the label of a Chuck Higgins release, on Specialty, in September 1954: the delightful "Broke", backed with "I'll Be There". This time, Chuck's band is called the "Joyboys".
An interesting item appeared in the October 9, 1954 New York Age:
Specialty Records has inked a new band, the Chuck Higgins combo, to a long term contract. At press time, negotiations had gotten underway to feature Daddy Cleanhead, a torrid blues artist along with the Higgins band on its premiere disc date.
What's so special about that, you ask? Well, aside from the nonsense about negotiations to feature Daddy Cleanhead, the title of that item was: "Morrow-Farrel Signs Up With Mercury Records". Go figure (and yes, it was the only text under that title).
The October 10 Billboard also gave us the news: "Specialty Records has pacted a new band, the Chuck Higgins ork, and has issued the combo's first release with Daddy Cleanhead on vocal." The sides were reviewed in the same issue and in the November 13 Cash Box:
Broke (BB; 77): The familiar story of how friends and the pretty chicks desert you when you can't pay your rent or the installments on your Cadillac. The material is humorous and read effectively.
I'll Be There (BB; 74): The vocalist pledges absolute fidelity if his girl will only promise to love him. The ork and choral group backing him swing along with him.
Broke (CB; B): Chuck Higgins [?!?] sings of his decline. He used to be a big shot, but now he's broke. The chanter sings a driving jump ditty with lots of enthusiasm.
I'll Be There (CB; B): A similar coupling. A quick beat jump item that makes for a happy pair. Higgins is backed on both decks by his Joyboys featuring Daddy Cleanhead.
At the time, the band consisted of Chuck Higgins (sax), Frank Dunn (piano), Ray "Candy" Johnson (bass), and James Lee (drums). That's a 100% change in band members since the Combo recordings.
Probably in December 1954, Combo released "Papa Charlie" (backed with the instrumental "Blue Sax"). This time, the credit went to "Chuck Higgins & His Mellotones - vocal by Daddy Cleanhead". "Papa Charlie's" was the name of an Italian restaurant the Higgins brothers frequented. Were these old masters or newly-recorded? I have no idea.
Those same musicians who were on the Specialty sessions (with the addition of guitarist Jimmy Nolen, who was probably just added for the session), also recorded for Gordon Wolf and Ned Herzstam's new Kicks label in late 1954. The two known tunes were "Shotgun Wedding" and "Groove" (an instrumental).
Note that Chuck Higgins didn't sign contracts with record companies, so his recording sessions were entangled, with several of them at once.
The next Specialty release (Chuck Higgins & His Band, with Daddy Cleanhead), probably in December 1954, was "One More Time". The flip "Dye Ooh Mambo", was an instrumental, although Fred is probably the one speaking the title a couple of times near the beginning and a few shouts of "ungh" throughout the piece.
On December 23, 1954, "Chuck Higgins And His Pachuko Hop Orchestra" were once again at Riverside Park in Phoenix. The Penguins would also be there, but the ad doesn't mention Daddy Cleanhead.
An early January 1955 Specialty release was "Something's Goin' On In My Room", backed by "Let Me Come Back Home". These were credited to "Daddy Cleanhead and the Chuck Higgins Band". "Room", written by Alvin Johnson of the Souvenirs, would become the song Daddy Cleanhead is most remembered for. The disc was reviewed in the January 29, 1955 Billboard:
Let Me Come Back Home (75): Pleasant blues effort, rather similar to a recent hit, is sung in okay fashion by the singer, but he needs more spark. However, the record is worthy of some attention.
Something's Goin' On In My Room (73): Daddy Cleanhead turns in an acceptable reading of a tune that certain to be banned on the air and on many juke boxes as well, even tho the situation is not exactly all that the title implies.
Kicks released "Shotgun Wedding" (credited to the Chuck Higgins Band, with no vocalist named), coupled with the instrumental "Groove", as Kicks #6. However, it's very hard to date. Numbers 1-5 had all been issued by late November 1954. The last two Kicks records, however (including "Shotgun Wedding"), were never sent out to the trades for review. Best I can do is early 1955. I get the feeling that Gordon Wolf and Ned Herzstam were involved with too many other projects to care all that much about Kicks.
The February 12, 1955 Cash Box said: "Ben Waller Enterprises has assembled a package unit called 'R&B Parade' for a tour of the Northwest. Included are Pee Wee Clayton [sic], Daddy Cleanhead, Little Willie Littlefield, and Chuck Higgins' Orchestra." This is the first time "Daddy Cleanhead" is mentioned as appearing anywhere. The first ad with his name appeared when that show played the Blue Note Ballroom (Tacoma, Washington) on February 19, 1955.
When the show reached Playland (Modesto, California) on March 10, Little Willie Littlefield had been replaced by Delores Gibson (who was in that ad as "Delores Martin"). Next was the Palomar Ballroom in Stockton, California on March 11. They'd be at Los Angeles' Elks Ballroom on March 13, as part of a "Gala Homecoming Dance" featuring Roy Milton's Solid Senders, with Camille Howard and Mickey Champion. March 24 found them at the Riverside Ballroom in Phoenix. Then, they were all at the Mambo Club, in Wichita, Kansas, on April 23, which was the last ad for the tour. (Note that Chuck Higgins, the East Coast boxer, got more print coverage at the time than the bandleader.)
On June 3-5, the Higgins crew, along with the Jewels, appeared at L.A.'s Five-Four Ballroom (by now no longer owned by Billy Berg). On October 20, they were back at Riverside Ballroom in Phoenix, along with Bobby Byrd's Voices and "Little Jesse" [sic; should be "Young Jessie", late of the Flairs].
While I'm sure Daddy Cleanhead was still appearing with the band, it would be over a year before his name appeared in another ad. However, it did appear in the Indianapolis Recorder of October 22, 1955, which had an article titled "Chuck Higgins From Gary Making Good As Band Leader In Los Angeles, Calf." Remember that, for some reason, Chuck had been born in Gary, Indiana, although all his older and younger siblings were born in or around Fort Worth, Texas. My notes [bracketed] will appear right below, so you can draw your own conclusions.
Hollywood . . . Like Hoagy Carmichael, one of Indiana's most famous sons, Chuck Higgins, bids fair to bring an added share of glory to the Hoosier state. Higgins, who attended Froebel High School in Gary [1], and whose parents are the Rev. and Mrs. Fred Higgins of that city [2], has blossomed into one of America's foremost young band leaders.
He's lived in Los Angeles since 1941 but he still likes to think of Gary as his home. Chuck has two brothers and four sisters, several of whom still reside in Gary [3].
Higgins fronts a lively six piece orchestra who have several recording hits to their credit. These include "Pachuco [sic; although this is the way it should have been spelled] Hop", "Broke", Wet Back Hop", "Tonky Honk", and "I'll Be There". He records for Dootone, top Negro owned and operated platter firm in the country.
A great showman, Chuck knows what the public wants and gives them plenty of the same. His group's the epitome of versatility . . . they play, sing, do comedy routines, and they guarantee to rock any audience not yet ready for the undertaker!
Always in great demand, Higgins and his aggregation just returned from a tour of the west coast and are eyeing a cross country trek through the South and Midwest. Chuck writes and arranges his own tunes and he plays a torrid saxophone and trumpet.
He's married and has a lovely wife and three children. One of his brothers, known in show business as Daddy Cleanhead, is quite a singer and comedian in his own right. Another brother Sammy, did quite as well as a boxer in California for a spell [4].
Chuck's big ambition is to return to his home town to play a dance and to thrill his friends and those who helped and encouraged him to get started in the band business [5]. And with his determination to succeed and reach the pinnacle in his chosen field, he will do it, much quicker than you think. All Indiana should be proud of Chuck Higgins.
NOTES:
[1] Chuck was born in Gary, Indiana on April 17, 1924, between siblings Irma (born in Fort Worth on February 1, 1922) and Sam (born back in Fort Worth on June 16, 1926). What they were doing in Gary in 1924 is a mystery, but they certainly weren't there for any appreciable time. In the 1930 census, the family was in Fort Worth, and still there when the 1935 City Directory was published. Chuck would have been high school age in 1940, but Cleanhead's draft registration shows the family was still living in Fort Worth that year.
[2] This seems to be the only place where his father is called a reverend. Fred Higgins, Sr's obituary only noted that he'd worked as a Pullman porter and in a drug store. In 1955, when this blurb was printed, Chuck's parents were in the Fort Worth City Directory, not in Gary.
[3] All three brothers lived in the Los Angeles area in 1955. There's no evidence that any of the sisters lived in Gary.
[4] All of Sam's fights (at least those I can find) seemed to end in losses, with the exception of one draw.
[5] In my Herb Lance article, I noted this, from the March 31, 1951 Cleveland Call And Post: "Home to Herb Lance is South Carolina, but the popular Pla-Mor Ballroom in Cleveland is where Lance has had a particular personal desire to appear." When he appeared, on April 12-15, at the Farm Dell Nite Club in Dayton, Ohio, the Dayton Daily Express (April 11) ran essentially the same article, except this time "The Farm Dell Nite Club is where Lance has had a particular personal desire to appear." This should help to put Chuck's "big ambition" in perspective. I wonder how press agents sleep at night.
The Higgins band, with Daddy Cleanhead, appeared at Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (Tulare, California) for an October 31, 1956 Halloween Masquerade Dance. They were back at the Riverside Ballroom (Phoenix) on November 2.
And that was it. There was never another word about either Daddy Cleanhead or Fred Higgins until 1967, when everything ended. On September 27, 1967, in Palm Springs, California, Fred Higgins was shot to death.
The first account appeared in the September 27, 1967 Palm Springs Desert Sun:
A self-employed Palm Springs gardener was shot to death, apparently after a fight at a vacant lot near his home early today.
The victim, Fred Howard Higgins Jr., 51, was found with fatal stomach wounds near his home at 395 North El Segundo at about 2:37 a.m.
Higgins was pronounced dead on arrival at Desert Hospital.
Officer William Manger responded to a report of a shooting at 403 N. El Segundo, and found Higgins lying nearby.
Lieutenant R. C. Harries told The Desert Sun that initial investigation indicated the possibility of a physical struggle.
He said a neighbor, not identified at this point, reported hearing what sounded like a gunshot.
Police today are conducting a survey of neighbors who might be able to help in the investigation.
An autopsy on Higgins is pending, police said.
Two brothers, Willie Earl Johnson and James Ernie Johnson, were arrested and charged with the shooting. There had been a fight, but nothing ever said what it had been about.
An obituary appeared in the September 29 Desert Sun:
Funeral services for Fred Howard Higgins of 395 N. El Segundo, who was found shot to death Wednesday, have been conducted in Palm Springs. He was 51.
Two brothers, Willie Earl Johnson, 29, and James Ernie Johnson, 27, both of Palm Springs, are being held in the shooting.
A native of Texas, he was a resident of Palm Springs 2 1⁄2 years and of California 24 years. He was a gardener.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Myrtle E. Higgins of Palm Springs; two sons, Frederick Higgins and Clifford Higgins, both of Palm Springs, and two daughters, Cynthia Higgins and Barbara Higgins, both of Palm Springs.
Services were conducted at Wiefels & Son Mortuary Chapel and cremation followed at Montecito Memorial Park, San Bernardino.
Not a single account of his death, or even his obituary, mentioned "Daddy Cleanhead", that he'd been an entertainer, or even that he was the brother of bandleader Chuck Higgins.
Geechie Howard/Daddy Cleanhead had a pleasant voice, if not a particularly distinctive one. However, I've always considered "Something's Goin' On In My Room" to be a great song, even if it wasn't a hit.
COMBO
13 Love Me Baby / I Ain't Gonna Leave Baby - 12/52
14 Cotton Picker / [Iron Pipe - instrumental, although the label says vocal] - 12/52
Above two by "Chuck Higgins & His Mellotones - vocal by Geechie Howard"
25 Real Gone Hound Dog / [Tortas - instrumental] - ca 7/53
30 Big Fat Mama / [Boyleheights (sic) - instrumental] - ca 9/53
Above two by "Chuck Higgins & His Mellotones" (no vocalist named)
SPECIALTY
532 Broke / I'll Be There - 9/54
Above by "Chuck Higgins & His Joyboys with Daddy Cleanhead"
539 One More Time / [Dye Ooh Mambo - instrumental] - ca 12/54
Above by "Chuck Higgins & His Band, with Daddy Cleanhead"
Cleanhead is probably the one saying the title to the mambo and "ungh"
COMBO (Chuck Higgins & His Mellotones - vocal by Daddy Cleanhead)
67 Papa Charlie / [Blue Sax] - ca 12/54
SPECIALTY (Daddy Cleanhead and the Chuck Higgins Band)
541 Something's Goin' On In My Room / Let Me Come Back Home - 1/55
KICKS (Chuck Higgins Band)
6 Shotgun Wedding / [Groove - instrumental] - early 55