LargeUp Audio: King Errisson, Incredible Bongo Man
October 18, 2012
In a healthy bit of editorial inter-office soundclash LargeUp saw our post on the Incredible Bongo Band documentary Sample This the other day and raised us a profile on King Errisson--the influential Bahamian percussionist behind the all-time classic b-boy break "Apache." Interesting stuff--and in Errisson's Motown credentials, a Detroit-Caribbean connection I'm particularly interested to know about. LargeUp's Jesse Serwer has the story. Read his words below, sample Errisson's solo work on "Well, Have A Nice Day" (after the jump) and then hit the link for more.
Born in Nassau, Errisson toured the Chitlin Circuit after emigrating to the US and landed roles in the James Bond movie Thunderball (he later appeared in Uptown Saturday Night with Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby) before becoming the go-to percussionist at Motown Records...in his autobiography To Be Loved, Berry Gordy even called King “the unsung hero of Motown.” In a 2006 story on “Apache,” The New York Times called Erissson one of the two most important drummers in hip-hop (the other being Jim Gordon, who played the trap kit on “Apache” and, a decade later, killed his mother in a drug-fueled delirium). And we thought Questlove had that title sewn up. -Jesse Serwer