Kip Anderson

Kip Anderson
Birth name Kiphling Taquana Anderson
Born (1938-01-24)January 24, 1938
Starr, Anderson County, South Carolina, United States
Died August 29, 2007(2007-08-29) (aged 69)
Anderson, South Carolina, United States
Genres Soul blues, R&B, Southern soul[1]
Occupation(s) Singer, pianist, songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active Late 1950s–90s
Labels Vee-Jay, Checker, Excello, Ichiban

Kip Anderson (January 24, 1938 – August 29, 2007) was an American soul blues and R&B singer and songwriter.[1] He is best known for his 1967 single, "A Knife and a Fork." He recorded for a plethora of record labels, worked as a radio DJ, and maintained a career lasting from the late 1950s to the 1990s, despite undertaking a decade long custodial sentence.[2] At various times Anderson worked with Sam Cooke, The Drifters, Jerry Butler and Jackie Wilson.[3]

Biography

He was born Kiphling Taquana Anderson in Starr, Anderson County, South Carolina.[2][3][4]

Anderson had his first musical exposure in church, where he both sang and played the piano. After featuring in his high school band, Anderson met his future business partner, Charles Derrick, at Columbia's radio station, WOIC. In 1959, Anderson's debut single "I Wanna Be the Only One", was eventually released by Vee-Jay Records.[2] His follow-up release "Oh My Linda," featured guitar work from Mickey Baker.[1] Lack of commercial gains led to Anderson working as a disc jockey.[2]

Everlast Records released Anderson's third single "I Will Cry" (1962), and "Here I Am, Try Me," and "That's When the Crying Begins" (1964) followed; the latter reaching #79 on the Billboard Hot 100. His stock rose further with "I'll Get Along," "Woman How Do You Make Me Love You Like I Do," and "Without a Woman" (1966).[1]

In 1967, Anderson released "A Knife and a Fork" on Checker, which had been recorded at the Fame Studios in Alabama. "A Knife and a Fork" was a mid-tempo warning concerning his girlfriend's food consumption – "girl, you gonna let a knife and a fork dig your grave".[2] The single entered the US Billboard R&B chart. A follow-up release, "You'll Lose a Good Thing", issued on Excello, also made the Top 40 in the same chart. "I Went Off and Cried" (1968) remains alongside "A Knife and a Fork" as his most fondly remembered output. " A Knife and a Fork" was covered by Rockpile on their 1980 album, Seconds of Pleasure.[1][2]

A dependency on heroin started to affect his work by 1970, and Excello cancelled his recording contract.[1] Despite continuing to both record and perform in the 1970s, a ten year jail sentence in 1974 for possession of heroin, halted his activities. Later, Anderson opined about that time, "It probably saved my life."[2] While inside he formed a gospel group with other inmates, who performed under surveillance at local churches and community events.[1]

On release Anderson recorded a gospel album, before issuing more soul based material via Ichiban. His career as a DJ was also revived when he moved back to Anderson County.[2] He also hosted a gospel show on WRIX-FM, and served as vice president of Electric City Record's gospel division.[5] In 1996, Anderson duetted with Nappy Brown on the Best of Both Worlds joint album.[1]

Kip Anderson died in Anderson, South Carolina, in August 2007, at the age of 69.[3]

Discography

Albums

Singles

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jason Ankeny. "Kip Anderson | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Kip Anderson: Soul singer and songwriter best known for his wry but powerful single A Knife and a Fork". London: The Times. September 21, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2007 July To December". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  4. ↑ Kip Anderson Interview, in The Basement magazine Issue 25, February 2002
  5. ↑ Smith-Miles, Charmaine. "Musician Kip Anderson, an Anderson County native, dies". Independentmail.com. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Kip Anderson | Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  7. ↑ Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "Kip Anderson". Soulfulkindamusic.net. Retrieved 2014-01-26.

External links

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