From Jazz to R&B to Soul, music legend Don Gardner has done it all. A '60s/"Northern" soul legend thanks to such songs as "I Need Your Lovin'", "My Baby Likes to Boogaloo" and "Cheating Kind", Don continues to promote the virtues of music in his current role as president of the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts.
Interest in Don's music--especially his much sought-after '60s recordings--has seen him playing to appreciative audiences in Britain, Europe and in his native Philadelphia over the past five years.
Born May 9, 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Don has been "keeping the faith" with his music for nearly 60 years. He released his first record--a 78 rpm platter entitled "Dearest Darling"--in 1949! Throughout the 1950s, Don's Sonotones toured up and down the East Coast and released record after record of Jazz-fueled R&B... quite understandable when you consider that organ virtuosos Jimmy Smith and Richard "Groove" Holmes both had tenures with the band.
After Holmes' departure in 1960, Don hooked up with one of the most talented organists in the business at the time--the classy Miss Dee Dee Ford (ne Wrecia Holloway). Ford's great musical ear proved the perfect fit for Don.
"We worked well together. If we heard a record on the air in the morning and we both liked it, that night we played it," says Don. "She was just that good. She knew my key, she knew whatever, that was it."
(Ford also wrote Betty Lavette's 1965 classic "Let Me Down Easy"!).
The duo of Don Gardner and Dee Dee Ford had a 4 R&B hit in 1962 with "I Need Your Lovin'". In 1964, they traveled to Sweden where they played to SRO crowds and recorded a live album. Sweden so embraced Don and Dee Dee that they returned for extended tours in both 1965 and 1966.
"I was even thinking of moving to Sweden but the pace of life was too slow for me at the time," says Don.
When Ford left music in 1967 (due to ill health) Don continued on, releasing many of the floor-filling singles that still get 'em dancing today. 1966's mighty "My Baby Likes to Boogaloo" and 1967's propulsive "Cheatin' Kind" were released during this time.
Don became road manager for good friend Curtis Mayfield during Curtis' "Superfly" 1970s period, in addition to doing promotions for Mayfield's Curtom Records. After reaching 30 on the R&B charts in 1974--with a cover of the Marvelette's "Forever" recorded as a duet with Baby Washington, another good friend--Don left music. Ever resourceful, he moved to Atlanta and started his own construction company!
In 1985 Don moved back to Philadelphia to help care for ailing parents. Ever the musician at heart, he became involved with the non-profit Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts upon his return. He was named president of the organization in 1995.
Sometime around 2002, word filtered through to Don that some of his '60s records were actually quite popular among soulies worldwide. This prompted Don to resume performing. In 2002 and 2003 he did shows at the Clef Club with soul legends Maxine Brown and Baby Washington. 2005 saw him play to appreciative crowds at the Prestatyn Soul Weekender in Wales. And he "schooled" the younger, alternative rock crowd in 2006 at Philadelphia's IMMEDIATE! mod/soul/funk event.
And so this is where we find Don Gardner in 2008--An accomplished musician and all-around wise man ready to share his musical gift with the world.
