Singin' the Blues



"You gotta live the blues to do the blues," says Whop Frazier

-from The Naples Daily News
Thursday, December 6, 2001

Washington D.C.'s Whop Frazier has been singing the blues and playing the bass guitar for more than 25 years. He's played just about every bandstand and honky-tonk in the city. He's booked countless gigs around America and abroad, but he had never been to Naples, until he met up with local resident John Remington.

Remington, owner of A. Vernon Allen Builder Inc., heard Frazier's blues while visiting up north He liked it so much, he brought Frazier and his band down here for several parties, and is sponsoring a free public concert by Frazier Friday at River Park Center. It will be a musical closure for the center, which is being torn down for a new building this year.

"I was at a party in St. Michael's, Md. and some friends had heard him in a club in D.C. and had brought him over for sort of a house warming," Remington said. "It  was rhythm and blues and jazz, and they could play some rock'n'roll. It was just a good sound and every member of the band had a personality that showed through their faces and their music."

It happened that Remington had his eye out for such a band. "So while we were up there we struck it up and I told Whop that I had a company 50th anniversary coming up and could I arrange to get him to come on down. And he said he'd love to do that."

Not long afterward, Frazier and his band arrived in Naples and, under the auspices of Remington, immediately started booking gigs for public and private venues.

Frazier's third private gig was a Christmas party held by Tom Threlkheld of Nassau Pools Construction Dec. 1. After a quick warm-up, Frazier led the band into a rendition of Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces" instrumental from the popular "Swingers" movie soundtrack, a sound appealing to the younger generation.

"I try to keep it on the contemporary side. I do down-home and I do Delta, but you gotta keep it contemporary. The young people like it contemporary," Frazier said.

But he also had the house swaying to the classic blues favorite of B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone."

Frazier discovered his calling at the age of sixteen, a teenager living it hard in the ghetto.

"You gotta live the blues to do the blues, he muses. His life changed when he met D.C. blues legend Bobby Parker, who once played rhythm guitar for B.B. King.

"Bobby Parker, I played with him for around 10 years. He started me playing the blues--he introduced me to it. You see, I didn't respect that music at first. But music, it kept me outta jail, it kept me from bein' a drunk. I used to get mess with drugs, I did the whole thing. And I had a bad fall. Now I feel good about myself, I got 25 years sobriety, and I'm just goin' with what I got left."

In the years that followed, Frazier played blues with numerous other  musicians, including James Cotton, Junior Wells, and Carey Bell. He also recalls a time when he did a show with Eric Clapton. "Clapton really respects the hell outta the blues, I really envy that guy," Frazier said. "But you see Clapton he's about the closest thing, I think, as far as a white blues artist there is. He been hangin' around those blues artists so much he got that thing goin', that feel."

After yeyars of playing in the bands of other musicians, Frazier decided to go solo and assemble a band of his own. "My first album was 'Doing It On My Own'' and it came out pretty good," he said. "'Hand Dance' is my new one. They're all original tunes but three. I had to put "Mustang Sally" on there, you know how that is, and I did "Nite Life" by Willie Nelson--I love that guy."
Has living the life of a traveling blues player always been easy? "Man, what you talkin'a-bout? I had to eat peanut butter'n jelly sandwiches, sardines, and slept in rooms with rats--I did the whole thing. Man, one time we had three couches in the kitchen," Frazier said. "But that's part of livin' that life, man. You got to pay your dues. There's no way gettin' around payin' your dues."

Of his recent stint in Naples, Frazier has only good things to say about the town, and the man who brought him here. "John Remington, he's my main man. "He's just a great support," he said. "It's wonderful here. When I got here I thought I was in Hollywood. This is like another world. It's a beautiful place, man. I love the people here. I didn't know a place like this existed."

In addition to the private gigs Frazier has booked here in Naples, he will be performing Friday at the River Park Community Center from 7 to 10 p.m.

"The city council took a vote this week to tear down the old center and start with a new," said Remington. "So it's kind of like a celebration for moving forward. They'd like to get as many people to come out as possible."

Frazier and his band will also play tonight on Fifth Avenue South from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. during the Christmas Walk. And though he's leaving soon, Naples won't be seeing the last of Frazier. "Man, I'm already booked for next year. This thing that I'm doing here, next year it's gonna be bigger."

-from "Looking for the Blues" Magazine

Stretch out in Whop Frazier's tub for 40 minutes or so, and get yourself cleaned up blues style. Washington DC based Whop Frazier's second CD is an entertaining trip. Frazier, who plays bass and sings, is accompanied by a strong 7 piece band, including Roger Edsall on harp whose work is worth noting here. Frazier also penned most of the material here, and I have to admit that I like his originals better than I like his covers. When he stays right in the blues pocket he is very effective; he is very much influenced by Jimmy Reed, and Roger Edsall's harmonica work combined with Frazier's vocal styles make for a quite listenable combination. On two tracks Frazier goes the ballad route, and it really does not suit him, his stuff is a whole lot better in the barn than in the ballroom. When Frazier is singing about Fat Roberta or how Somebody is Pluckin my Chicken, he is a whole lot more fun. BATHTUB BLUES is worth slipping in to, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from this artist. 

Phil Casden
WNJC 1360 AM
Sewell, NJ

Whop Frazier -- 'Doing It on My Own' By Mike Joyce
 Washington Post Staff Writer
Published: September 1, 1995

Review: Whop Frazier: Doing It on My Own" (Stampede).

Singer, bassist and arranger Whop Frazier's "Doing It on My Own" is something of a coming out party, buoyed by the R&B veteran's spirit, soul and funk.

A Washington native best known for his long tenure with Bobby Parker, this is Frazier's first full-length album. Listening to these eight tracks, it's obvious he was intent on enjoying himself. He opens, not surprisingly, with a brassy shout called "Funk the Blues," and quickly succeeds in carving out some middle ground between James Brown and B.B. King. On "Whop's Jam," he ups the funk ante considerably (with a big assist from the horns) and then helps singer and guitarist Bobby Thompson punch up the blues staple, "The Next Time You See Me." The two divide the lead vocals on spirited homages to Albert Collins ("Put the Shoe on the Other Foot") and Stevie Ray Vaughan ("Pride & Joy"), but Frazier's tribute to Collins is by far the more natural and winning.

Even so, the most moving track is "Wish I Never Loved You at All," a soul ballad sung by Frazier with rueful honesty and graced by some typically tasteful guitar work from Thompson.

To hear a free Sound Bite from this album, call Post-Haste at 202/334-9000 and press 8103.

© Copyright The Washington Post

For information call Whop Frazier 703- 864-4863

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