Junior Ryder
By Marv Goldberg
© 2024 by Marv Goldberg
Junior Ryder was hired by Johnny Otis as a replacement for Mel Walker, but exactly when it came about isn't totally clear. (NOTE: this article should be read in conjunction with those on Little Esther and Mel Walker.) [Should I bother to mention that most references to Junior Ryder are about the "Junior Ryder Cup", a golf competition for those 18 and under? No? Ok, I won't.]
On November 10, 1949 the Johnny Otis orchestra held its first Savoy session. One of the songs recorded was "Get Together Blues", which was credited to "Little Esther and Junior". Who was "Junior"? I have no idea, but he was NOT "Junior Ryder" (who was 12 at the time and wouldn't even meet Otis until 1952). But whoever he was, he's barely on the record at all! For no particular reason, he duets with Esther for only about eight seconds at the end of the song. Therefore, let's forget him and move on.
The singer who'd become "Junior Ryder" was born Morris Lorenzo Riden on October 18, 1937, in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents were Luther Morris Riden and Brownie Mae Jackson. Note that a different Social Security record has his birthdate as February 20, 1936, but both his 1960 marriage record and the 1950 census support 1937 (the family doesn't appear in the 1940 census).
For unknown reasons, the Riden family moved to Portland, Oregon in 1945. Since his father was (per the 1950 census) a janitor in a meat packing plant, it's hard to see why they relocated.
In February 2001, Junior Ryder appeared on a show given by the Doo Wop Society Of Southern California. This is some of what was on their site:
He was a popular 14-year-old singer in his new hometown when the Johnny Otis Orchestra came to town to play at the McElroy Ballroom (1952). Otis's main vocalist, Mel Walker, happened to be in jail on a narcotics charge at the time, so the teenager got the chance to sing two of Walker's songs, "Gee Baby" and "Rockin' Blues" with the band.
Nothing much came of this at the time, since Mel Walker returned and was advertised with Otis through June 19, 1953, when the band appeared at the Sunset Terrace in Indianapolis (however, he would only be mentioned sporadically in 1953). The Otis crew was scheduled to appear at the National Grand Armory in Casper, Wyoming on June 26, but didn't show up. Otis' advance publicity, starting with that show, only has Marie Adams' name in ads, not a male singer.
Presumably, Otis remembered Morris Riden and managed to talk his parents into letting him go on the road with the band, sometime between July and November 1953. "A big mistake," he said many years later.
Since this led to a recording career and many appearances, it's strange that Morris would look back on it that way. But consider this: in 1953, he was still attending Roosevelt High School, and appears in their June 1953 yearbook as a junior (meaning he wouldn't have graduated until June of 1954). Therefore, I would imagine that he decided to drop out of school to join Otis, sometime over the summer of 1953, although the first time his name appears in an ad is in December 1953.
Otis didn't care for the name Morris Riden, and from then on, billed him as "Junior Ryder".
Over the summer, Johnny Otis had signed with Don Robey's Houston-based Peacock/Duke Records and, after rehearsing with the band, Junior did some recording in early December 1953: "Sad Story" (a Johnny Ace sound), "Better Stop", and "Take Me Back Baby". "Sad" and "Take" were done with a group billed as the "Peacocks" (some of Otis' band members).
Soon after, on December 18, the band appeared at the Evergreen Ballroom in Tacoma, Washington; this is the first time Junior is advertised with Otis. Note that I'll only be mentioning Otis appearances in which Junior Ryder is named.
In January 1954. Duke released "Better Stop", backed with "Sad Story" (#119). At an unknown date, Duke re-issued "Better Stop" with "Take Me Back Baby" as an alternate flip. (That record is listed in the collection of the National Museum Of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution.)
On February 5, 1954, the Otis crew appeared at the Manhattan Casino in St. Petersburg, Florida. The accompanying photo showed Otis, Marie Adams, and Junior Ryder, however, the text called him "George (Junior) Ryder".
On February 11, they appeared at the Macon (Georgia) Auditorium. But the big one came the week of March 5, when the band appeared at the Apollo Theater. The March 6 New York Age had this to say:
The new Otis band, with the full emphasis on "Blues," is complemented by new talent which is slated to follow into the big time. Among these are Marie Adams, reared in the tradition of Willie Mae "Hound Dog" Thornton; "Junior" Ryder, a blues singer in the Mel Walker tradition; and Lee Matthews, a song-and-dance man out of this world.
Billboard reviewed Junior's record in their April 10, 1954 edition:
Better Stop (74): Junior Ryder advises his gal to stop roaming and keep her affections for him alone. The ork jumps, and the chanter rides the crest easily.
Sad Story (70): The tale is truly mournful and Ryder wails his sorrow convincingly. The blues feeling is abetted by the odd backing. Should get spins.
The Otis band was at the Savoy Ballroom, in Los Angeles, on August 19. The headliner was B.B. King, sharling the stage with the Lamplighters, Shirley Gunter & the Queens, the Platters, Marvin & Johnny, Anna Marie, and Preacher Stevens. Note that Anna was Anna Marie Wooldridge, the future Abbey Lincoln (and the inspiration for "Anna Marie", the song Marvin Phillips [half of Marvin & Johnny] wrote for her).
Junior isn't mentioned again until November 27, 1954, when the Otis band played the Valley Ballroom in San Bernardino, California. Also on the bill were the Harris Sisters and the Jewels. December 4 found them at the Municipal Auditorium in San Bernardino. This time, the ad also mentioned Otis' guitarist, Pete Lewis, as well as the Peaches.
1955 began with Junior recording "Lost My Baby", "Don't Tell Nobody", and "Every Star I See", for Duke, on January 10.
On February 21, 1955 they were at the Savoy Ballroom in Los Angeles for the "Ookey Ook" dance contest. The Penguins, whose "Ookey Ook" had been released on Dootone a couple of months before, had abandoned Dootsie Williams to sign with Buck Ram and switch to Mercury. "Ookey Ook" had been envisioned as a new "dance craze", with the Penguins doing some kind of penguin waddle step. But, since they'd left him, Dootsie wouldn't use them at the dance, bringing in the Medallions and the Meadowlarks instead.
The next Junior Ryder record was issued in February 1955. "Boom Diddy Wa Wa" was a duet with Marie Adams, released on Peacock, Duke's parent company (the flip "In Memory" was a Marie Adams solo, a tribute to the late Johnny Ace). The record was Cash Box's Sleeper Of The Week on March 19:
Marie Adams comes up with her strongest piece of material in several years. Singing "Boom Diddy Wa Wa", a driving jump ditty, with plenty of oomph, Miss Adams does a potent selling job. Strong assist comes from the Johnny Otis orchestra and an in-the-background voice identified as "Junior". Tune is a southern flavored rocker that fits in well with what the kids are demanding. [Note that the label credit went to "Junior and Marie". His name was first and her last name wasn't given at all (although it was on the flip). Still, the review was in her name. Presumably the company sent descriptive material along with the record to be reviewed.]
The Billboard review of March 26 (which gave it a 73), was only attributed to the Johnny Otis Ork: "Patterned after 'Ko Ko Mo', this ditty uses the same refrain 'I Love You So'. Johnny Otis' ork gets a good sound." Even Peacock's March ad for the record mentions Marie Adams, but not Junior.
The band was at the Coliseum in El Paso, Texas on April 9, 1955. On May 5, they were at the Riverside Ballroom in Phoenix, Arizona. That ad credited "The Peacocks, featuring Marie Adams" and, as an afterthought, "And Junior Ryder". It was part of a 10-day western tour that had kicked off on April 30. May 27 found them at the California Ballroom in Modesto. On June 4, it was the Municipal Auditorium in San Bernardino (along with the Cadets).
Junior's final Duke record was "Every Star I See", coupled with "Don't Tell Nobody", released around May 1955. While the "Peacocks" weren't credited on "Don't Tell Nobody", it once again has band vocal backup. The sides were reviewed in the June 18 Billboard:
Don't Tell Nobody (74): This chant about the charms of his gal gets a strong reading from Ryder and his associates. Side moves well and mounts in interest as it spins
Every Star I See (70): Warm rendition of a pretty, romantic ballad.
Over the summer of 1955, when Junior was 17, he broke with Johnny Otis. Since he was still a minor, he was able to repudiate his contract. At that point, he signed with Buck Ram, manager of the Platters (still riding high with "Only You"), and was signed to Mercury Records.
Ram decided to make Junior part of a duet and created "Sugar And Spice", along with Blondean Taylor, one of the original members of Shirley Gunter's Queens. Junior was "Sugar" and Blondean was "Spice".
Blondean Taylor - What's In A Name?
Blondean Taylor was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on April 30, 1936 to John Taylor and Cloretha Gibson. (Trust me, "Cloretha" was even harder for census takers to spell than "Blondean".)
But was she "Blondean"? The definitive answer is "yes and no". She registered with Social Security as "Blondean"; she's in the 1940 census (in Baton Rouge) twice as "Blondine": with mother Cloretha and, separately, with father John. The 1950 census has her as "Blanden" (now living with her mother in Los Angeles). With Shirley Gunter, she wrote "Oop Shoop" and "You're Mine" (copyrighted as "Blondine"). The 1963 Los Angeles city directory had her as "Blondean". Her California death record has "Blondien B. Taylor". (It's heartwarming to know that there was a "Blondean Taylor" in New York State whose name also sometimes appears as "Blondine".)
My feeling is that her name was supposed to be spelled "Blondean" and pronounced "Blon-DEEN". She probably got tired of correcting people and spelled it "Blondine" for most things (although she kept the correct spelling for Social Security).
We first hear of her in an August 18, 1950 silly column in the California Eagle, which had Blondean Taylor as one of a list of kids who attended Ophelia Crawford's hop in L.A.
The October 1, 1955 Cash Box said: "Buck Ram has set The Peppers (formerly the Flairs) and a new duo, Sugar and Spice, with Wing Records." Wing was a subsidiary of Mercury, but only one of their releases would be on it.
On November 12, 1955, Sugar & Spice recorded "Hey Joe (Let Me Know)" and "Indeed I Love You". Released in January 1956, they were reviewed in the February 25 Billboard and the March 10 Cash Box:
Hey Joe (Let Me Know) (BB;79): Mercury's new boy-girl duo wraps up a catchy rhythm item with an infectious beat and a sock performance, loaded with personality. Could go pop as well.
Indeed I Love You (BB; 75): A forceful interpretation of an attractive tune, but flip is better showcase for duo's talents.
Hey Joe (Let Me Know) (CB; B): Sugar and Spice, new he and she duo, make a bow on Mercury with a medium paced calypso cutie. Chuckley [sic] wax.
Indeed I Love You (CB; B): The team dishes up a smooth reading of a melodic, tender, romantic ballad. Smooth vocal teamwork comes off with appeal.
The week of March 30, 1956 found them on the Doctor Jive (Tommy Smalls) Easter week show at New York's Apollo Theater. They shared the stage with Bo Diddley, the Teen Queens, Charlie & Ray, the Moonglows, the Solitaires, the Fi-Tones, Dean Barlow, the Schoolboys, "Brooks Benton", and the Buddy Griffin Orchestra, with Claudia Swann.
From the April 14 Cash Box:
Buck Ram hosted a party at the Hotel Martinique [Manhattan] last week to honor his roster of acts, all of whom are currently working in New York on either the Alan Freed or Tommy Smalls Easter shows. At the party were the Platters, the Penguins, the Colts, Shirley Gunter, the Blockbusters, and Sugar and Spice. Ram, who writes most of the material used by his artists, made a little speech in which he praised "this true natural talent that is a part of Americana." Just a short time ago, explained Ram, these artists were car washers, students, mechanics, etc. Each of the above acts contributed to the festivities by performing their specialties.
On April 14 and 15, Sugar & Spice were at the State Theater in Hartford for a show MC'd by Larry Dixon (of WJKO, Springfield, Massachusetts). Also on the show were the Moonglows, the Teen Queens, the Cleftones, the Royaltones, Dean Barlow, the Schoolboys, the Solitaires, and the Buddy Griffin Orchestra, with Claudia Swann.
More recording: "Strawberry Shortcake", "Don't Be A Bunny", "You Are My Baby", "First Last And Always", "There Were No Angels", and "The Clock" were all recorded around May 1956. The important one here is "Don't Be A Bunny".
Rock 'N Roll fans were getting out of hand in some cases, causing trouble at shows. Alan Freed, probably the leading disk jockey in the country at the time, tried to calm the waters. To this end, Buck Ram (under the pseudonym "Lynn Paul") and Freed wrote a song called "Don't Be A Bunny". ("Bunny" was supposed to be a troublemaker or a wiseacre. Let's see a show of hands: how many of you ever used the word to mean that in 1956?)
The June 9 Billboard said:
Buck Ram, who manages the Colts, along with the Platters, the Flairs, the Penguins, and Shirley Gunter, and who cleffed such smashes as "The Great Pretender", "The Magic Touch", and "Only You", is joining forces with deejay Alan Freed in a campaign to cool down teen-age mischief makers who have been giving rock and roll a bad name. He has come up with a tune titled "Don't Be A Bunny", which has been cut for Wing by Sugar and Spice. The title, for any of our readers who may be square, means don't be a wise guy or trouble-maker.
Mercury released "Don't Be A Bunny", backed with "There Were No Angels" on its Wing subsidiary in May. I listened to Alan Freed all the time back then, but I don't remember ever hearing "Bunny", although, with his name as part writer, I'm sure he played it a lot.
A Jolly Joyce (booking agency) ad for Sugar & Spice appeared in the June 23, 1956 Billboard, however it didn't say where they were appearing.
The record was reviewed in the June 16 Cash Box and the June 23 Billboard:
Don't Be A Bunny (CB; B+): The teenage term "Bunny", a name used for a trouble maker, is the subject of this rock and roll jumper cleverly presented by Sugar & Spice. Side has a good beat and an important story to tell. Should aid in the fight against juvenile delinquency. [It must have worked; you no longer hear about juvenile delinquents.]
There Were No Angels (CB; B): The boy-girl team displays some pretty harmony on this romantic fish-beat rock and roller. Right up the teenagers' alley.
Don't Be A Bunny (BB; 78): Tricky rhythm backing on this light, happy tune makes the side stand out. Cute lines sell it and the side can grab a share of coin.
There Were No Angels (BB; 70): The gal and guy pairing give out with a lusty, full decibel interpretation of a love opus with "heavenly" overtones. The couple doesn't lack for power or enthusiasm.
The tunes were re-released, on Mercury, in late August. However, this time Cash Box's reviews (in their September 22 edition) were reversed:
There Were No Angels (CB; B+): A pretty piece of rock and roll ballad material is excitingly performed by the delightful blend of Sugar & Spice. Strong side that's showing territorial action. Could bust wide open.
Don't Be A Bunny (CB; C+): This lively bouncer advises the teenager not to be a "Bunny" - a bad egg who's always looking for a scrap. Good item to combat juvenile delinquency.
Why did they re-release it in August? It took Billboard until October 13 to tell us:
Mercury Records is reissuing the Sugar and Spice waxing of "There Were No Angels", as a result of unexpected action on the disk in Cleveland, Buffalo and Boston during the last few weeks. The platter was originally released on Mercury's subsidiary label, Wing, some months ago, but nothing happened. The reissue is on the parent label.
The week of October 19, 1956, Sugar & Spice made another appearance at the Apollo Theater, this time along with the Wheels, Marie Knight, and Jimmy Cavello & His House Rockers. On the screen was the world premiere of "Rockin' The Blues", featuring the Harptones, the Wanderers, the Miller Sisters, and the Hurricanes.
1957 started with Mercury issuing Sugar & Spice's "Strawberry Shortcake", coupled with "First Last And Always". They were reviewed in the February 2 Billboard:
Strawberry Shortcake (73): Duo swings thru an upbeat job that's on a confection kick. Has a cute flavor that makes this definitely the lead side. Can get some spins.
First Last And Always (68): The couple wail their way thru a slow love opus, extolling each other's attributes. Two [sic] slow and too little content to kick up much fuss.
And that was it; after this, Sugar & Spice were no more. Junior later said: "Blondine was just too wild, too unpredictable. And she wanted to get back home [to Los Angeles]. If I had found another girl, we probably could have gone on with Sugar & Spice, but I guess I was getting tired of it too."
Blondean (as "Blondien B. Taylor") died in Los Angeles on October 26, 1963. [Actually, 1963 wasn't a good year for someone named "Blondean Taylor". A different one died in August of that year, although she'd been born in 1881.]
On July 7, 1957, Junior's father, Luther, was stabbed to death in Portland.
The killer, Elton Campbell, admitted the stabbing, but said it was self-defense while protecting his property against Luther and two others. A different story was told by Riden's friend Fred Gunter, who said he heard a scream for help and broke down Riden's door. He saw Campbell with a knife and beat him with a broom to disarm him. Police found blood-stained pants in Campbell's home. Gunter said the argument was over a $3 debt.
Campbell had already served eight years for second-degree murder in the 1940s, but was unanimously acquitted this time for reasons that make no sense to me. He was found not guilty of first degree murder. However, the judge had instructed the jury that the only choices were second degree murder, manslaughter, and innocent. He "had removed first degree murder from their consideration" (said the November 23 Bend, Oregon Bulletin). So how could they acquit him of something he wasn't supposed to have been on trial for?
Morris Riden married Geraldine Snyder on October 22, 1960 in Los Angeles. It didn't last and she remarried in 1967. This seems to have been his only marriage.
Supposedly, Junior Ryder spent the 1960s and early '70s with the bands of Chet Harris and Jackie Kelso (who'd once been a saxophonist with Johnny Otis), but there was never another ad with his name.
The name "Junior Ryder" appeared in papers only once more, as part of an August 18, 1984 concert at the Casa Ramona in San Bernardino. It featured the "World Famous Coasters", Rosie & The Originals, Don & Dewey, Marvin & Johnny, and Gene & Eunice. So where was Junior? He'd become "Gene" in the Gene & Eunice duo. However, the reporter for the San Bernardino County Sun got a bit confused when he interviewed Junior:
"It's a tough business," said Junior Ryder, the current "Marvin" of Marvin and Eunice. "I've been in it for 30 years and it's just something you've got to love to stay in. If you don't love it, it will kill you. The small clubs and the lean times.
"But it's good right now, so we'll take advantage of it while we can. It just proves my motto, 'What goes around, comes around.' You're popular one year but not the next. But if you can hold on, you just might get popular again."
Fortunately, I'm not writing about Gene & Eunice. She's especially hard to track. Born Eunice Hazel Russ in Texas in March 1931, she seems to have grown up in Phoenix, where she married Harold Levy in 1948. In June 1956, she told Social Security that she was Eunice Wilson (having married her Gene & Eunice partner, Forrest Eugene Wilson). In June 1972, she was Eunice Frost and at some point moved to Las Vegas, where she died in 2002. I don't think that Junior and Eunice were together all that long in the 80s.
However, they reunited on February 10, 2001 for a show given by the Doo Wop Society Of Southern California. This is his last known appearance and she would die the following year.
Morris Lorenzo "Junior Ryder" Riden died in Los Angeles on December 25, 2006. As usual, there was no obituary. I'd be interested to know what he did with his life after Sugar & Spice (he must have had an occupation other than singing).
I like Junior Ryder's Duke releases, but I can't say that the Sugar & Spice tunes do much for me.
DUKE (Junior Ryder, featured with the Johnny Otis Ork)
119 Better Stop / Sad Story - ca 1/54
119 Better Stop / Take Me Back Baby - 54 (alternate flip)
"Sad Story" and "Take Me Back Baby" have the Peacocks, members of Otis' band.
PEACOCK (Junior & Marie)
1649 Boom Diddy Wa Wa / [In Memory (A Tribute To Johnny Ace - Marie Adams] - 2/55
DUKE (Junior Ryder - Johnny Otis Orchestra)
139 Every Star I See / Don't Tell Nobody - 5/55
"Don't Tell Nobody" has a group made up of members of Otis' band.
UNRELEASED DUKE
Lost My Baby
MERCURY
70788 Hey Joe (Let Me Know) / Indeed I Love You - 1/56
WING (Mercury subsidiary)
90081 Don't Be A Bunny / There Were No Angels - 5/56
MERCURY
70960 Don't Be A Bunny / There Were No Angels - 8/56 (reissue)
71034 Strawberry Shortcake / First Last And Always - 1/57
UNRELEASED MERCURY
You Are My Baby
The Clock
