Rock Pioneer Lloyd Prices Passed Away At 88

RIP

Lloyd Price, R&B pioneer best known for hits like “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”, “Stagger Lee” and “Personality”, has passed away at the age of 88. His longtime manager Tom Tripani confirmed the news that Price died on May 3. His cause of death was not revealed.

According to those close to him, Price had been battling health issues for the past five years.

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, Price was propelled to stardom when he was just 19 years old. He wrote “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” in March 1952 and by April, the single landed on the top spot of the Billboard R&B chart. Speaking about the song, Price said: “I revolutionized the South. Before ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy,’ white kids were not really interested in this music.”

“People like Charles Brown and Fats Domino really only sold to the black community,” he continued. “But 10 months after I was in business, they were putting up ropes to divide the white and black spectators. But by 10 o’clock at night, they’d all be together on that dance floor.”

Price eventually co-founded his own label, KRC Records. He also owned radio stations and in the ’70s, he even promoted championship boxing matches. He was far from being a one-hit wonder as he dropped two more smashing hits – “Personality” which earned him the nickname Mr. Personality, and his final top 10 hit “I’m Gonna Get Married.”

Lloyd Price is survived by his wife Jackie, three daughters and two sons.