Herbert Hunter

Herbert Hunter was an R&B and soul singer mostly active in the 60s. His extensive recording catalog produced exclusively by Ted Jarrett, Hunter also played regularly on Jefferson St., primarily Club Del Morocco.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Discovered singing outside a bar on Jefferson St in 1957 by Ted Jarrett, Herbert would later travel with Ted Jarrett to Texas and back before it was discovered that he was working as a minor. Having learned piano songs from Jarrett, Hunter was able to secure steady work at the Del Morocco club.

With Ted Jarrett, Herbert Hunter made over twenty records in his own name as well as recording a significant amount of cover versions of popular hits of the days. These cover versions sold at a discount to the radio version in price and competed favorably in terms of quantity sold.

Hunter recorded for Spar and Hit 45s with all of his recordings being produced by Ted Jarrett. A single released by Poncello records in 1961 was written by Ted Jarrett (under the pseudonym of Jimmy Fran, according to historian E. Mark Windle) and a single from 1966 was written by local songwriting legend Mac Gayden.

His brother Rufus Hunter recorded for the Ref-O-Ree record label owned by Bob Holmes and Ted Jarrett.

Herbert passed away in Nashville in Dec 2017.

Discography[edit | edit source]

Comprehensive discographies are hard to assemble for Herbert Hunter. Performing on dozen on 45s under his own name, he is also routinely identified as one (of several singers) who used the pseudonym Leroy Jones for Spar records, as well as 'Marty" of the group Marty and the Merits. Other pseudonyms include 'Jim Porter' and 'Johnny Keaton' according to Discogs.

Several compilations have assembled Hunter's music after a resurgence of interest, mostly in UK and Europe in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Reviews[edit | edit source]

In the "Northern Soul Legend" review, critic Richie Unterberger remarks that "But the Nashville-based Hunter did a lot of soul records in the 1960s for Spar and Spar-distributed labels. Fifteen such tracks (one released using the name Leroy Jones) from the mid-'60s... show Hunter to be a decent soul singer comfortable with several different approaches, perhaps as an outgrowth of his main gig doing "soundalike" records (or close copies of then-current hits) for Spar...According to the liner notes, future Hendrix bass player Billy Cox can be heard on some sides, with others featuring renowned Area Code 615 session musicians."

Reviewing the same compilation, Cherry Red records provides more info:

This CD features Herbert’s recordings for Spar, Poncello and Ref-O- Ree records, as well as a handful of previously unreleased recordings produced by Fred James in the 1990s. Northern Soul fans truly covet and laud Herbert Hunter recordings and several of his 45s go for hundreds of dollars on the collectors market. Many of these were recorded with a group that would come to be known as the AREA CODE 615 band. These are the guys that played on Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young and Barefoot Jerry records, as well as many of Nashville’s R&B hits at the time.Herbert even performed with AREA CODE 615 when they appeared at the Fillmore Ballroom in the late 1960s. Several sides also feature the legendary Johnny Jones and the Imperial Seven, Nashville’s premier R&B band during the 1960s. The unreleased 1990s recordings feature members of The Roadrunners, The Amazing Rhythm Aces and Freddie & The Screamers.Herbert Hunter made his recording debut in 1961 on the Spar label with a cover of “Dr. Feelgood” that outsold the original. It was the Spar label’s very first release and it put Herbert in good stead with the company and with Ted Jarrett, who would go on to produce every record that Herbert released for the next four decades. Herbert recorded prolifically for Spar and its subsidiaries Giant, Kenilworth, Caravelle and Hit. He recorded under his own name and as Leroy Jones, Marty & The Merits, Johnny Keaton and several other pseudonyms so as not to flood the market with Herbert Hunter records.In 1962 Ted Jarrett started his own label, Poncello Records, and recorded H erbert for that imprint as well. Poncello was short lived though and Herbert continued to record for the Spar group. In 1968 Ted started the Ref-O-Ree label and recorded two sides by Herbert that were never released at the time. He then recorded for Ted’s T- Jaye label in the 1980s and 1990s.