Soul Series: Gee Whiz! It’s a Hit!
- by Joe Nolan
Carla Thomas
One of the gospel truths in the music business is that an artist or a label is only as relevant as their last hit. The success of “Cause I Love You” established Satellite’s working relationship with Atlantic records and solidified the little label’s identity as a purveyor of soul and rhythm and blues. However, when opportunity knocks, the door can swing both ways, and if Satellite turned out to be a flash in the pan instead of a hit factory, the support and access Atlantic offered would have all been in vain.
Carla and Rufus Thomas were anything but lazy, and after barely pausing to enjoy the success of “Cause I Love You,” the duo immediately headed back into the studio to see if lightning could indeed strike twice in the same place. However, while they prayed for another hit to rain down from the heavens, everyone at Satellite began to see the signs of a creative drought, without a drop of inspiration in sight.
After recording several sides that no one felt were hit-worthy, the Thomases put their heads together and found what they had been searching for. There are conflicting accounts of whether Rufus or Carla first suggested “Gee Whiz” as an appropriate follow-up to “Cause I Love You.” One story has father suggesting to daughter that she record the song she had written when she was 16, surprising the 18 year old who thought the song sounded too naive. Another account finds Carla working out some ideas under Estelle Axton’s patient guidance.
“Carla said,’I've got a song,’” recalls Axton. “She said it was called ‘Gee Whiz.’ As soon as Jim and I heard that song we knew it was a hit. It’s funny. When you hear a song, you know if it’s got something in it that will sell.”
- Estelle Axton, from James Dickerson’s Going Back to Memphis
Produced by Chips Moman, the recording of “Gee Whiz” demonstrated the competent, if somewhat haphazard, studio style that was developing at Satellite. Stewart arranged the string parts with Memphis Symphony conductor Noel Gilbert after the scheduled arranger failed to show, and instead of recording in the theatre, the session took place at Hi studios, a decision Stewart later regretted.
“I was a dumb asshole. I didn’t know what I had and I figured maybe they were better equipped.”
- Jim Stewart, from Peter Guralnick’s Sweet Soul Music
After some characteristic miscommunication, Satellite assumed Atlantic had passed on distributing the single, and Stewart went ahead and released it himself.
“And that’s when it was recorded here, in November of 1960, and it was sort of a sleeper, went on past Christmas, past New Year, and all of a sudden it hit like a ton of bricks.”
-Rufus Thomas, from Peter Guralnick’s Sweet Soul Music
Jerry Wexler was furious. The Atlantic head came directly to Memphis saying he had rights to distribute all of Satellite’s products. Stewart and Axton countered saying their deal only involved recordings of the Thomases as a duet. When the smoke cleared, Carla was still signed to Satellite, but ended up on the Atlantic label. The deal was sealed over champagne in the hotel where Wexler was staying; the record mogul and Stewart shuffling the Thomases between the garbage cans at the back entrance as the mixed foursome never would have made it through the front door.
“Gee Whiz” was an unqualified national hit, and the lovely, graceful Carla Thomas was known around the country as a teen queen. In Memphis, however, little changed for the talented beauty. She was a recording artist on a major record label, making records in a former cinema, but if she walked down the street to see the latest movie, she’d have been arrested. It would be six months before Thomas’ former high school would be desegregated, and in her home town, Carla’s immense talent was still obscured by the color of her skin.
Sources:
Peter Guralnick’s Sweet Soul Music, Harper and Row, 1986
James Dickerson’s Goin’ Back to Memphis, Simon and Schuster Macmillan, 1996
Michael Haralambos’ Right on: From Blues to Soul in Black America, Drake Publishers, 1975
Respect Yourself: The Stax Story, documentary film, produced by Tremolo Productions,
Concord Music Group and Thirteen/WNET New York, for PBS’ Great Performances, 2007
Joe Nolan is a poet, musician and freelance journalist in Nashville, TN. Nolan writes about visual art for the journal, Number, published by the University of Memphis. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.