James Bracken
James C. Bracken (May 23, 1909 - February 20, 1972) was the African American co-owner and co-founder of Vee-Jay Records, along with his wife Vivian and her brother, Calvin Carter.
Life
Bracken was born in Oklahoma and grew up in Kansas City. He was living in Chicago when he met Vivian Carter in 1944. In 1950 they founded Vivian's Record Shop in Gary, Indiana, and three years later decided to start their own record company, which they named Vee-Jay from their initials[1]. As well as producing and releasing records through his label, Bracken also wrote some of the songs recorded. During the 1950s and early 1960s Vee-Jay became a major independent record label with acts including Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, The Four Seasons and, for a time, The Beatles. However, the company folded in 1966.
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- See main article, Vee-Jay Records
Bracken died in Los Angeles in 1972[2].
Songwriting
In the late 50s to early 60s, Bracken formed a casual writing partnership with influential blues singer John Lee Hooker, and together they wrote songs for Hooker to perform and record. Some examples of this partnership include "Baby Lee", "Dimples", "Little Wheel" and "Kiss The Girls". He also wrote songs for Jimmy Reed, including "High and Lonesome" which was credited to Reed himself[citation needed].
Probably the most widely recognized of Bracken's solo compositions is the instrumental track "Steppin' Out", which was covered by Eric Clapton while with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and later by Cream (of which Clapton was a part) in a 14 minute version released on their live album Live Cream Volume II.