50 Most Influential Musicians

Elmore Vincent

In the glory days of radio the new medium allowed a performer to create a fresh identity at will. Performers, that is, like Elmore Vincent, whose family had moved up to Tacoma from a Texas cotton farm. Vincent longed to be a radio singer and in 1929, when he was 21, got himself a gig with KJR, one of Seattle’s first commercial stations. He belonged to the in-house variety show crew called the Mardi Gras Gang and earned a reputation as the sweet tenor “Northwest Shanty Boy,” singing lumberjack songs with yodel arrangements. But during spare moments he worked up a comedy routine based on his word-mangling “Senator Fishface.” NBC, which bought KJR in 1934, loved the act and persuaded Vincent to move to San Francisco to join a nationally broadcast variety act. Vincent insisted on opportunities to sing on other shows as well and gained even more exposure. Meanwhile, his Fishface routine was such a hit that he was asked to bring it to one of the earliest TV broadcasts, in 1937. He later retooled himself as a character actor, appearing in shows from Dragnet to Little House on the Prairie. He died in 2000 at the age of 91. —TM

Because of him… Video couldn’t kill the radio star.
Now hear this: Recordings of Vincent’s vocal performances remain elusive, but you can check out clips of his “Senator Fishface” routine in the archives of The Dr. Demento Show online.

The Wailers

All the proof one needs to debunk the myth that Kurt Cobain pioneered that “soft-loud-soft” mode of songwriting is one spin of “Tall Cool One,” the Seattle-recorded 1959 hit by the Wailers. Just consider its sizzling hi-hat intro, those initial understated guitar chords and tinkly cocktail bar piano fills, which all lead up to a hurricane-force saxophone squall. That debut by the Tacoma band earned them a hit, a brief national tour, and big-time TV appearances alongside music impresarios Dick Clark and Alan Freed. In 1961 the band and their singer, Rockin’ Robin Roberts, made history as a teen band that formed their own label, Etiquette Records, which launched with a huge number one regional hit: a soulful take on Richard Berry’s 1957 obscurity “Louie Louie.” Etiquette went on to issue plenty more Wailers LPs, and many other classics by homegrown garage bands including the Sonics. But by the mid-’60s the Wailers lost their momentum, focus and, well, relevance. By then, however, their influence as stylistic trendsetters had inspired legions of up-and-coming Seattle players including Jimi Hendrix, the Ventures, the Sonics, and Paul Revere and the Raiders. —PB

Because of them… “Louie Louie” became a Northwest staple that the Kingsmen later took to global hit status.
Now hear this: Try a “Tall Cool One” on The Fabulous Wailers.

Harry F. West / Henry Hadley / Mary Davenport-Engberg

When violinist and conductor Harry F. West brought together 24 musicians for a concert on December 29, 1903, at Christensen Hall on Second Avenue—the spot where the Seattle Art Museum now stands—the Seattle Symphony was born. By 1909 it had moved to the recently opened Moore Theatre and was ready for the rapid expansion plans envisioned by its newly appointed, Boston-bred music director, 38-year-old Henry Hadley. He increased the number of season concerts and built the orchestra into an ensemble much closer to its present size. (He left after two years but continued to add to his estimable portfolio: He was the San Francisco Symphony’s first conductor as well as the Vitaphone conductor on the 1926 John Barrymore vehicle Don Juan, the first studio film to feature a synchronized music soundtrack.) The symphony faltered during a long period of unsteady leadership until it was rescued by virtuoso violinist Mary Davenport-Engberg. She studied music for a few years in Europe then upon her return conducted the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra. In 1920, she and her husband moved to Seattle where Mary began her efforts to resuscitate the city’s orchestra. On April 24, 1921, the revived symphony debuted at downtown’s erstwhile Metropolitan Theatre—its maestro widely heralded as the only female in the nation to hold the title of symphony conductor. She held the post through 1923 then taught for decades at Capitol Hill’s Engberg School of Music. —PB, TM

Because of them… Seattle has one of the oldest orchestras in the United States.
Now hear this: If you want to make your sound system erupt with civic pride, listen to current Symphony director Gerard Schwarz lead the ensemble through 1993’s Hovhaness: Mount St. Helens Symphony/City of Light Symphony.

Photo: Fritz Dent

Pastor Patrinell Wright

Odds are you’ve have heard the Total Experience Gospel Choir before—without even realizing it. Pastor Patrinell “Pat” Wright and her crew have lifted their voices for everyone from mall shoppers to President Clinton; accompanied Dave Matthews on his 2003 solo album Some Devil; and for the past nine years have featured prominently in Intiman Theatre’s annual production of Langston Hughes’s Black Nativity. Wright has a history of popping up in curious places: In 1969 she cut the Seattle soul classic “Little Love Affair” under her birth name, Patrinell Staten, and worked the club circuit for three years. But her gift has always served the Lord first. Born in Carthage, Texas, she was the daughter of a Baptist preacher and a schoolteacher. The family radio was tuned strictly to gospel programming—though young Wright surreptitiously sampled secular fare while her parents were out—and by 14 she was leading choirs and playing piano in her father’s church. In 1973 she formed Total Experience Gospel Choir at Mount Zion Baptist Church by merging ensembles from Seattle’s Franklin and Roosevelt high schools. The choir is unstoppable with this spirited grandmother at the helm, most recently doing extensive relief work for Hurricane Katrina victims, and performing and competing in Japan and South Korea. —KBR

Because of her… Seattle has a world-class gospel choir.
Now hear this: Motown should have picked up “Little Love Affair.” Instead, Seattle label Light in the Attic did on the 2004 compilation Wheedle’s Groove: Seattle’s Finest in Funk and Soul, 1965–75.

Phillip and Vivian Williams

Folklorists, musicians, and record producers, this couple has been playing and documenting traditional music in the Northwest since the 1950s. In the process, they have created an environment and supported a community that nurtures those traditions. Vivian is a championship fiddler who consistently brings home trophies from regional and national contests while, in a progression of bands, Phil’s tasteful accompaniment on guitar and mandolin have helped make them resident favorites for decades. And their record company, Voyager—the ultimate Seattle indie label—has documented dozens of old-time fiddlers, string bands, and other traditional musicians, along with local performers that operated below the radar of the commercial music machine, like Dumisani Maraire’s marimba ensemble. —JR

Because of them… The first Folklife Festival was organized in 1972 (around their kitchen table, to be exact).
Now hear this: Tunes like “Forked Deer” and “St. Anne’s Reel” on Vivian’s album Twin Sisters—made with her onetime student and protégé Barbara Lamb (now a successful Nashville session musician)—showcase some of the best traditional Northwest fiddling available on record.

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Published: December 2008