“PERSONALITY” is a musical about the life and legacy of Lloyd Price. His story is somewhat unknown, yet this trailblazer’s contributions to music are landmarks. He gave America a brand-new sound, breaking down the “race records” barrier in the industry. Price’s recording of his composition “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” (with Fats Domino on piano) topped the rhythm-and-blues charts in 1952 and was later a hit for Elvis Presley. His tunes were also recorded by Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, and more.
Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical appears at The Studebaker Theater for a limited performance and is destined for Broadway.
Lloyd Price became known as “Mr. Personality.” He was born in Kenner, Louisiana, near New Orleans. A talented singer and entrepreneur, he was the first Black teenager to get airplay on white stations and the first artist to start their own record label. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
I interviewed the star of Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical Saint Aubyn and its music director, Shelton Becton.
Saint is an artist who strives to entertain his audience with the hopes that they leave each and every performance feeling fulfilled. Some of his accomplishments are performing with one of his mentors, Gregory Hines, in the Showtime movie Bojangles and sharing the stage with the incomparable Ms. Patti LaBelle.
Shelton is a musical wonder. He is a music master. He is a pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger, conductor, and vocal coach. He has worked with Judy Collins, Patti Austin, Roberta Flack, and Anita Baker. His credits include Lady at Emerson’s Bar, The Color Purple, Memphis, and Baby Its You.
N’DIGO recently chatted with the dynamic duo and is delighted to share this interview with you.
N’DIGO: Saint Aubyn, please tell me about the beginning of your musical career.
Saint Aubyn: I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I am the son of two Guyanese (South America) parents. My father worked for MTA, and my mother worked for ABC and was a real estate agent.
As a child, I liked to dance and was always dancing around the house, and my parents encouraged my professional training. Peggy Austin trained me, worked with Marie Brooks, and performed in Dance Africa for the great Kathryn Durham. My first theater show in high school was “Into the Woods.” My first professional music theater performance was in the musical “Hairspray.”
N’DIGO: Shelton Becton. How did you get into music?
Shelton Becton: I taught myself how to play the piano at four years old. I am self-taught; my first formal lessons were at eight years old with a wonderful teacher. At seven years old, I was the pianist for the church choir. I am from Kinston, North Carolina. My father was a Baptist minister. My people are farmers. My teachers inspired me. I attended Howard University on a scholarship, where I studied to be a concert pianist. I had a professor who suggested one summer I should apply for a position at The Kennedy Center. I did and joined the company of The Wiz. I wanted to be off that summer for five weeks. This one show started my career.
How did we get the music of Lloyd Price?
Jeff Madoff is the producer and author of the show. Lloyd Price worked on the show. The show is based on extensive conversations with Madoff and Lloyd Price. The show first appeared in Mount Vernon as a presentation for a select audience of investors, producers, and the like.
I was inspired to do the music for the show. I knew his music but very little about him. The music represents our heritage, our history. He influenced Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and Chuck Berry. Lloyd owned his record label, and his new sound is the roots of rock and roll; his music was the first to cross over to be played on white and Black radio stations, which was quite a fete in the 50s. He had a crossover audience.
What is the progression of Lloyd Price’s life?
He was very successful. He learned about the music business. In his time, Black entertainers were exploited. Many Black entertainers were paid with cars, cash, and clothes. But the agents and producers often misused them and cheated them out of their rightful ownership of their music. His first record was a hit –“Lawdy Miss Claudy.” His most popular recording was “Personality.”
He became a star. He had a great Black manager who became his business partner. Harold Logan was educated. They bought a club in New York that was going bankrupt, The Birdland, and renamed it The Turntable. It was on television, and Lloyd was a permanent act, what we call today a residency. Other entertainers played the theater in midtown New York City. James Brown played for a week, once without pay. It was unheard of for a Black to own such a club. They were quite successful. The mob killed Logan, and Lloyd feared for his life and went to live a few years in Nigeria. He thought he, too, would be killed, so he fled the States.
His final years were spent in New York, and he lived to see the show. He died in May of 2022.
What do you want the takeaway to be from the show?
Saint Aubyn: You know my music, and now you know my name and the story of Lloyd Price. I want folk to be inspired to research the life and music of Lloyd Price.
Shelton Becton: People need to understand that the music we hear now has its roots in people like Lloyd Price. He is an unsung hero in the music industry that we need to know about. This is particularly true for those of us in the industry. We need to see his career as a guide for ourselves. We need to know the history of how we got to where are now. Lloyd Price was a significant part of the entertainment industry. We have to tell our own story. His life is an example of what to do and what not to do.
What’s the next step for the musical?
Saint Aubyn: Maybe Broadway.
