Biography of King Pleasure

Born Clarence Beeks, he was the inventor of and first popularizer of vocalese, the process of setting lyrics to instrumental solos. His first hit was "Moody's Mood for Love" (Prestige) in 1952, and he followed that with "Red Top" (Prestige) in 1953. His Prestige work was collected on an album Moody's Mood for Love. Later sessions for Jubilee (1955) and Alladin (1956) are collected on the Blue Note CD, Moody's Mood for Love, along with an album recorded in 1962 for Untitled Artists. One last recording session for HiFi Jazz (Golden Days) was done in 1960. Vocalese requires a bit of getting used to, but Pleasure's recordings are some of the very best in the idiom. Pleasure could also handle a straight lyric with equal ability. ~ Bob Porter