Wes Montgomery’s 1967 album A Day In The Life
Guitarist Wes Montgomery’s given first name wasn’t Wes, but John. And his given middle name wasn’t Wes, either, but Leslie, the same name of the tropical storm expected to impact the eastern end of Canada today. Better they should get a day full of John Leslie Montgomery than TS Leslie.
Wes, born in 1923, came from Leslie, according to NPR.org, “apparently a childhood abbreviation.” Who’s to say if John Leslie would have been the guitar player Wes was, but all four Montgomery brothers of Indianapolis had given first names and musical first names.
According to an NPR documentary, the oldest, Thomas Junior, was nicknamed June, played the drums and died of pneumonia. The youngest, Charles, was born in 1930 and nicknamed Buddy, played the piano and vibes and performed with Miles Davis. And William, nicknamed Monk, was born in 1921 and played the electric bass guitar.
The surviving Montgomerys put out several albums together as The Montgomery Brothers from 1955-1969, including one with pianist George Shearing. Wes died at 45 in 1968 of a heart attack.
A link below to Here’s That Rainy Day (here’s, not there’s), played by Wes (and pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Arthur Harper and drummer Jimmy Lovelace ) and brought to us today by TS Leslie.
sources: npr.org, wikipedia.org, allmusic.com
Night By Night 
Leave a comment