Dallas, Texas and Oakland, California are legendary centers in the world of blues, a form of musical expression that has both absorbed and influenced styles as diverse as R&B, country blues, doo-wop, soul, rock and roll, and many others. Rarely an artist appears who has not just absorbed these influences, but has actually performed and recorded within these myriad genres, and the music he performs is heightened not only my hearing those influences but by actually experiencing them, giving an added richness and depth to the resultant music. One such artist is Cal Valentine.Cal was born in Dallas, Texas on May 28th 1937 to Earline and Clara Valentine. Cals father was a preacher and his mother sang and played the guitar, Cal began singing in the church choir at only five years old. So it was inevitable that gospel music was to be the foundation of his musical development. His love of gospel music led him to sounds of the Soul Stirrers and the great Sam Cooke, and it was Sam’s decision to switch from gospel to commercial R&B that was to be instrumental in Cals future musical direction.While at school, Cal met up with another youngster who shared his love of music, Al ’TNT’ Bragg who was also to make a name for himself on the R&B scene in the sixties and seventies. Together with several more of their friends they formed The Five Notes. The group entered a local talent contest which they duly won, rapidly becoming one of the hottest groups in the Dallas area. The Five Notes were signed up by agent Mike Coggs and appeared on shows with groups like The Five Keys and The Spaniels, and in 1955 they made their recording debut on the Chess label with the release of the single Park Your Love/Show Me The Way (Chess 1614). A change of name to The Five Masks and another single on the Jan label, Polly Molly/Forever And A Day (Jan 101) were to follow before the group, now called The Five Stars, signed for B.B. Kings short lived Blues Boy Kingdom label. Although a single was released, Hey Juanita/So Lonely Baby (Blues Boy Kingdom 106), B.B.s discovery by the white blues market and the subsequent upsurge in his popularity led to the demise of the label and the groups eventual return to Dallas where their popularity guaranteed them regular work and even an outstanding performance in the 1957 movie, Rock Baby, Rock It, along with Roscoe Gordon.The groups collaboration with B.B. did however leave a big impression on Cal, for it was B.B. along with local blues legends Frankie Lee Sims and Cal Green, Lowman Pauling of the 5 Royales, also Reverend Utah Smith who turned Cal on to both the guitar and the blues. Cal bought his first guitar when he was around 21 years old, helped by his mother who co-signed the HP agreement, and made his debut as a musician about 4 months later when he appeared with saxophonist Brother Bear at Jack Rubys infamous Club Vegas. Linking up again with Al Bragg, who had now started playing the organ, and adding the brothers Roy and Tommy Jordan on bass and drums respectively, the new band soon became established as one of the hottest in Dallas, playing rockin R&B in the style of Bill Doggett at clubs like Club Vegas, the Empire Room, the Zanzibar and the Golden Duck.The band did eventually split up and Cal joined forces with younger brother Robert Lee, who also sang under the name Lee Lamont, to form The Valentines and linked up with Syd Nathans King label in Cincinnati, recording 3 singles in 1960, Thats It Man/Please Dont Leave, Please (King 5338), Hey Ruby/Thats How I Feel (King 5433) and I Have Two Loves/Campin Out (King 5830). Further recording sessions with his band The Texas Rockers culminated in the release of the classic Boogie Twist parts 1 and 2 (Lyons 108) before Cal uprooted and moved to Oakland where his talents as a musician saw him secure a place in the houseband at the prestigious Showcase where he backed up artists like Etta James and The Four Tops, and sparred musically with the likes of Johnny Guitar Watson and T-Bone Walker. Cals talents eventually came to the attention of Jimmy McCracklin who was looking for a new guitarist and in 1962 he quit the Showcase to go on the road with Jimmy and althogh the money was good, circumstances dictated that he leave the band after about 3 months and return to Oakland. Leaving McCracklins band was the prelude to one of the most productive and creative phases of Cals career as he linked up with bass player Bobby Reed, drummer Frank Samuels and saxophonist Ron Jaws Lewis to form The Right Kind, a band who was so tight and so popular that in the first 3 years that they spent together they "worked seven nights a week, six hours a night, off one night a year and that was Christmas night.....we could play a whole month and not play everything we had accomplished". The band signed with the prestigious Galaxy label and although they recorded around a dozen songs, including My Money Is Funny, You Ought To Slow Dance Baby and the big hit Why Did You Have To Lie, Cal and the rest of the band found it difficult to submit to the strenuous demands placed on them in the studio and eventually quit.The end came for The Right Kind when they so impressed Etta James when backing her at the Sportsman in Oakland, she asked them to accompany her ona two week gig in Las Vegas, a chance that they jumped at, but when Etta moved on and asked them to go with her, Cal, who believed that this was a backwards step, declined and returned to Oakland, but the other 3 decided it was an opportunity they didn’t want to miss and left with Etta. Around 1971 Cal decided to take hiatus from music and find out "what the square world was like" and re-established the relationship with his father. Cal returned home to Dallas, started a family and a business. He became and ordained minister, seconding his father in the local church. Cals love for music was never too far beneath the surface and eventually refreshed by his new perspective on life, he returned to Oakland in 1987 to re-establish himself on the music scene forming a new band that was noted to be one of the best in the Bay area.In 1994 Cal was invited to perform at the world famous Blues Estafette in Holland, and was also able to record his last album The Texas Rocker while overseas. Sadly, Cal lost his battle with cancer on January 1st 1997. Cal Valentine is truly an unsung hero that has never gotten the recognition he deserved as an artist, but he has definitely received the respect and admiration of those who ever had the priveledge hearing his music. He has also been a tremendous influence and inspiration to the younger fellows in the blues world. So spread the word....Cal Valentines legacy is alive and well, and if this is your first Valentine experience.....hold on, you’re in for a great ride!
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