(1940 – May 3, 2016)
(from The Greenwood Project)
Jefferson Street dominated Nashville’s 1960s R&B scene. Charlie Fite, Frank Howard, and Herschel Carter performed there as The Marquees, soon catching the eye of DJ/entrepreneur “Hoss” Allen, who renamed them Frank Howard & The Commanders, featured them on The!!!!Beat, and produced their earliest records. They became R&B royalty, performing alongside Earl Gaines, Etta James, and Ray Charles. Jimi Hendrix (still “Jimmy” then), who came down from Fort Campbell to perform in the clubs, recorded with the Commanders. R&B ruled . . . until Interstate 40 slashed through the music landscape, changing it forever. The Soul scene faded. Musicians took other jobs. But the Country Music Hall of Fame’s 2005 retrospective, Night Train to Nashville, brought The Commanders and others out of retirement. When Charlie Fite lost his house to the 2010 flood, Frank Howard and other musicians produced a benefit to help him rebuild. Charlie’s gone now, but a little Jefferson Street magic still survives in a few local venues.
Charlie Fite, about 2010 (family photo)
Frank Howard and the Commanders, about 1965; Charlie is on the left. (Photo courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
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Charlie Fite stands on the left in this video of The Commanders and is the second dancer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MjOQ5gd7QM
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The Greenwood Project is a series of 160-word biographies of individuals who lie at rest in Mt. Ararat and Greenwood cemeteries, two historic African American burial grounds in Nashville, Tennessee. The project, which began in September 2014 (and is still available on Facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064806156276), shares the stories of more than 300 consequential individuals, primarily African American, who changed the course of city, state, and national history through their words and deeds. (All biographies were written by Kathy Lauder unless otherwise noted.)
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