“ Rock ‘n’ roll saxophone pretty much begins with Big Jay Mc Neely.
He’s the king of the honkin’, squealin’, bar walkin’, flat-on-his-back
Blowin’ tenor men...”
-- Black & White Blues (the Book)
Tenor saxophonist Cecil "Big Jay" McNeely has been "the king of the honkers" for over 60 years, and he's still going strong. Born in Watts, California, on April 29, 1927, he formed his own band with jazz legends Sonny Criss (alto sax) and Hampton Hawes (piano) while still in high school. But in late 1948, when he was asked to record for Savoy Records, he abandoned jazz for something more raucous and struck paydirt when his second release, a honked-up instrumental called "Deacon's Hop," went to 1 on the national R&B charts in February 1949.
For the next several years, Big Jay, according to The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, "was famed for his playing-on-his-back acrobatics and his raw, hard-swinging playing." During his act he'd leave the stage, walk across the top of the bar, and sometimes walk out the door of the club, often with a line of people following him. Once, in San Diego, during one such "walk," he was arrested on the street for disturbing the peace; inside the club, his band kept playing until someone could rush down to the police station, post Big Jay's bail, and bring him back to finish his song.
In the early- to mid-fifties, Big Jay added vocal groups to his act, beginning with Four Dots & Dash, which included, at one time or another, 16-year-old Jesse Belvin, Marvin Phillips (later of Marvin & Johnny fame), Tony Allen and Mel Williams. In fact, Belvin made his first recordings with Big Jay, including "All That Wine Is Gone." Big Jay also worked extensively with The Hollywood Flames, The Penguins and The Medallions up and down the West Coast. In 1955-56 he shared the stage with the Clovers, the Harptones (at the Apollo Theater), Bill Haley and His Comets, the Moonglows, Little Richard, and others.
In 1959 Big Jay enjoyed his biggest hit, a blues ballad called "There Is Something on Your Mind," featuring Haywood "Little Sonny" Warner on vocals. The record stayed on the R&B charts for six months and reached as high as 44 pop. The song was later a hit for Bobby Marchan. Other artists who have recorded Big Jay's song include B.B. King, Etta James, Freddy Fender, The Hollywood Flames, Gene Vincent, Albert King and Professor Longhair.
Big Jay retired from full-time music for 20 years, but in 1983 he returned to performing and hasn't looked back. In 1987 he played in a blues jam with B.B. King, Robert Cray, Etta James, Albert King, Junior Wells and others on the internationally-televised Grammy Awards. Two years later, he was honking outside the Quasimodo Club in West Berlin on the night the Berlin Wall came down--and the German press jokingly called him "the modern Joshua" after the rumor went around the Big Jay helped blow it down with his horn.
In 2000 the Experience Music Project in Seattle installed a special Big Jay McNeely exhibit that includes his original Conn saxophone; the Smithsonian magazine put the horn on its June 2000 issue cover, along with Jimi Hendrix's hat, Janis Jopin's feather boa, and Eric Clapton's Stratocaster. Big Jay is also the subject of Jim Dawson's Nervous Man Nervous: Big Jay McNeely & the Rise of the Honking Tenor Saxophone (Big Nickel Press, 1995), the only book ever written about the R&B sax and its influences.
These days Big Jay McNeely spends a good deal of time playing in Europe, Australia and Japan, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Some recent appearances include Art LaBoe’s variety revue, the Chicago Blues Festival, the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Adams Avenue Street Festival, and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Club in Paris. One of the last true old school entertainers, Big Jay is still tearing it up and knows how to delight and entertain an audience of any size, from small clubs to stadium crowds.
Big Jay is still available for booking at select concerts, festivals and clubs.
TO BOOK BIG JAY for concerts or events, send an inquiry message with an email contact here to MySpace.
Big Jay reads all messages and comments about once a week. He hopes to hear from all his fans and all of the musicians he's worked with and influenced over the years. Contact him here or via snail mail - attn: C.J. McNeely, 4821 Lankershim Blvd Suite F 292, North Hollywood CA 91601.
Mr. McNeely is taking a select number of students for sax lessons. He is also available for sessions for Television, Movies, and select recording projects. Contact him directly at (323)-295-9671.
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