Prince La La

Prince La La born Lawrence Nelson (1936 - 1963), from the Ninth Ward district of New Orleans, was a songwriter and vocalist who released a couple of classic R&B recordings before his death from a drug overdose at 27.

Lawrence Nelson was born into a family rooted in the rich musical tradition of New Orleans. His father, Walter Nelson, was a noted jazz and R&B guitarist who played with R&B pioneer Smiley Lewis. His elder brother, Walter "Papoose" Nelson Jr., played extensively in the 50s and early 60s with Fats Domino and Professor Longhair, and was a featured session guitarist for seminal New Orleans bandlander and producer Dave Bartholomew. Sister Dorothy was married to the singer, songwriter and producer Jessie Hill.

It was Jessie Hill who was responsible for Nelson, who started out as a songwriter, becoming a recording artist. In 1961 Hill brought his latest discovery, 19-year-old Barbara George, in for a debut recording session with Harold Battiste's newly founded A.F.O. (All For One) label. Hill proposed that she sing Nelson's song "She Put the Hurt on Me", and played a demo with Nelson's vocal for her and Battiste to hear. Battiste liked Nelson's version so much he decided to have Nelson sing the song instead and in 1962 it became the first release by the A.F.O. label, b/w "Don’t You Know Little Girl (I'm In Love)". (Barbara George would have a R&B #1 with her own composition "I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)" when A.F.O. issued its second release a little later.)

"She Put the Hurt on Me" was a national hit, reaching #14 on the R&B charts. It was credited to Prince La La - "La La" being Lawrence's nickname, and "Prince" tying in with the African prince costume adopted by Nelson in P.R. photos. Nelson followed up with a second single at the tail-end of 1962, the Charley Julien song "Gettin’ Married Soon", b/w "Come Back To Me".

And that was it, Nelson suffering a drug overdose in 1963. It's notable that earlier the previous year, on the 28th February, 1962, Lawrence's brother Papoose died aged 31 in New York, also from a drug overdose.

A further two Prince La La recordings are extant: "Things Have Changed", and a Jessie Hill song, "Need You".

Trivia

Oliver Morgan, a childhood friend of Nelson, had a hit in 1963 with a song about Nelson, "Who Shot the La La?", suggesting his death wasn't an accident. See the Home Of The Groove at http://homeofthegroove.blogspot.com/2005/08/hey-fellas.html

Bob Dylan selected "Gettin’ Married Soon" for the "Weddings" edition of his Theme Time Radio Hour on XM Satellite Radio, 21st June, 2006.