Henry Bernard Glover profile

Born 21 May 1921, Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA
Died 07 April 1991, St. Albans, New York, USA

American songwriter, arranger, producer, trumpet player, and A&R man.

Glover's career began as a young trumpet player through high school and college before he joined Buddy Johnson's big band in early 1944 on Decca. It was with Lucky Millinder's orchestra, as both a musician and arranger in early 1945, that Glover met King Records founder Syd Nathan, who hired him as an A&R man. The label became an early pioneer in the cultural and racial integration of American music, from blues and R&B to rockabilly, bluegrass, western swing, and country.

Glover co-wrote "Blues Stay Away from Me" with Paul Williams. A 1948 Glover instrumental became the theme tune "Moondog", used by DJ Alan Freed. At King Glover had a run of recordings on its independent Queen Records label before it merged with King at 1540 Brewster Avenue, where Glover then began a series of successful blues fusion/R&B signings and recordings, later moving on to create Jay & Cee Music publishing and to control King's New York operations.

It was in New York that Glover departed King to join Morris Levy's Roulette Records label in 1958, helping revive the Gee label and introduce R&B to Roulette with the likes of Sarah Vaughan and Ronnie Hawkins. He helped The Hawks produce singles as a new Canadian group, which evolved into The Band. In 1961 Glover had a co-writing hit with "Peppermint Twist" and for a period in the early 1960s Glover managed his own label, 'Glover', recording Louisiana Red and Titus Turner among others. Back with King, after Nathan's death in 1968, Glover ran the company- now much reliant on James Brown's work- until its takeover by Starday Records.

Glover then founded RCO Productions with Levon Helm in 1975, whilst also producing the Grammy-winning Muddy Waters Woodstock album and helping arrange The Last Waltz. Before his death in 1991 Glover was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died of a heart attack, survived by his wife Doris, son Ware and daughter Syracuse.